Master Bathroom Remodel Part IV - Major Progress and Major Reward!

Last we chatted in my previous post, I was so happy to share with

you that after months of disappointment and false promises made

by two paid contractors, my husband took over and set me back

on the road to having my master bathroom remodel completed...

And, as you can see, we are still on that happy road!

I arrived home from work last Friday to find the new light fixture for

the shower installed and the back wall and ceiling perfectly aligned! He

rented a wet saw too, so the tiles along the shower floor were cut to fit

perfectly. Although it takes more effort/skill, I chose to have the walls

tiled from the top down to ensure the top tiles would be full. This was

very important to me because with most of the floor hidden behind the

shower wall and the custom vanity and storage cabinet, it matters less

if there are cut tiles around the bottom of the room. Since the eye will

be drawn forward and up by the light fixture, shower head and glass

panel I have planned for the wall, I want perfectly full tiles seen first!

Which is exactly what I have!

I love everything about this!

While I'm not proud of it, I don't mind telling you that I drove everyone

a bit crazy about what color grout to use for my subway tile. It's not an

easy decision to make; especially when you're tiling all the walls in the

bathroom and a portion of the ceiling too! In the hall bathroom, I

chose white grout and I still love it. But the tile in that bathroom is a

beveled subway tile so I didn't want the detail in the bevel to compete

with grout. Let the bevel be the star! However, with this flat subway

tile and especially since I'm using so much of it (2,243 pieces, to be

exact) I felt a little contrast was in order. And, I knew exactly which

grout I wanted to use too. As you know, I am in love with this floor...

Everything about it is perfect. Including the grout color. It's

called Platinum and to me, it's the perfect compliment to white tile

because while it creates contrast, it does not make the tile look busy!

So why the struggle and conflict about which grout to use? Because

contractor number two insisted on using what he said was a "better"

grout; and, wanting to keep him happy, I bought whatever he told me

to buy. In the end, his choice of warm gray, which he insisted was the

perfect match for the grout on the floor downstairs was wrong. Sadly,

we found out it was closer to white than gray after he grouted the floor

in the shower and bathroom! Nevertheless, even though mixing two

different grout colors made me nervous, I wasn't willing to give up on

my original design and wish, which was gray grout on white subway tile!

As it turns out, the grout requested by contractor #2 is no better than

Power Grout... What he was after was a pre-mixed grout, which would

help save him a little time over having to mix it. Fortunately for him, the

premixed grout he chose is no worse than Power Grout either and, I was

able to get a very close match to the gray I was after with the Silver option!

I think I'm going to have to buy my sweet tile guy some new jeans!

But that's okay because I know sacrifices must be made...

Especially for fantastic work like this! He didn't want to do it; in fact,

he made me promise that I would NOT buy a scone when I found this

one at the Pottery Barn Outlet during our last trip down to Gaffney. But I

couldn't help myself... I mean, it's the Mercer, which means it matches

the other hardware for my bathroom and at only $49, it was a must have!

Get this! Not only did he agree to wire up a box for it, he even

put it on a separate circuit and switch... So if I want to use it

without the light fixture over the mirror being on, I can! And,

as if that weren't enough, he installed a switch/outlet combination

so that the tile wall isn't disrupted with two separate outlet covers!

He certainly earned a steak dinner for that one!

Another man that earned a steak dinner is my carpenter!

I am so happy with this storage cabinet and the vanity he

built for me, I just cannot tell you! Although I was asked not

to get too far ahead of myself, I couldn't help but start loading

them up! After all, I designed this storage cabinet to hold my

bath towels exactly the way I fold them; so I had to test it out!

And, from there... Well, my organizing gene kicked in and off I went!

Everything I have been shuffling around between

six different storage cabinets hanging on the wall

and standing on the floor in my bathroom fits!

I am going to love this storage cabinet forever!

But I am not going to lie... This exercise did help shed a little

light on just how much I have and how much of this stuff I

need to collect. Seeing it all in one place, I now know I have

more than enough; so I really need to get busy and start using

it. After all, the more I use up, the more new stuff I can buy!

Speaking of buying... I've been thinking about how to thank my

darling husband for all the work he's doing to make my master

bathroom a happier place to be and I have decided it's time for

him to realize his dream of seeing a Yankees game at Yankee

stadium in New York! So in a few weeks, we are headed back

to New York for a little more Big Apple fun. I've already

bought his Yankees tickets, reserved a limo to take us from

the airport to our hotel in the financial district, booked tours

for Grand Central Station and the New York City Public Library,

(where Mr. Big left Carrie standing at the alter...) and One World

Trade Center - I paid extra for the VIP pass there because I know

that given any time to stand in line and I probably won't go up! Oh...

And, because I think I deserve a little treat during this trip too, I did this...

Yes! I am finally going to see Wicked on Broadway! I'll be missing SpaBoy

and my favorite Elphaba, Christine Dwyer; but Janet's going to Broadway! If

you missed it when SpaBoy and I got to watch her Greenafication, see here!

Now that the ball is finally rolling in the right direction, my

master bathroom remodel shouldn't take much longer. In fact,

I learned today that all of the Carrara marble for the wall and

vanity will be installed next Wednesday... So do stay tuned!