Happy August, my friends! It’s been a busy one for me and mine over here. On top of it, we are in the middle of a complete bathroom renovation of one of our bathrooms. I wanted to take some time today, to share the design plans and an update on our Foxhill House renovation.
If you are new here, we bought a saltbox colonial in Connecticut, and have been working room by room renovating our family home. So far, we have finished the living room, dining room, upstairs hallway, our primary bedroom, and screened-in porch. Now we are moving onto the real exciting parts–the bathrooms, kitchen, and the additions.
The bathroom we are renovating is off the upstairs hallway. It was getting some water damage, so we bumped this one up on the renovation list. The demo crew has been here the past couple of days taking it down to the studs. It had a lot of issues. I didn’t mind the 1940’s tile, but it lacked storage, decent lighting, and the lavatory fixtures and vanity were not the best quality, breaking, and showing damage. We also had a plumbing leak recently that went down to our first floor, so we diverted our attention to this space.
Where we started…
Where we are at…
The plans…
I love that we have a blank slate to work with. We can make sure all the plumbing is replaced and installed correctly, run more electrical for better lighting and more outlets, and make this space function better with more storage and counter space. Also, we are making a walk-in shower stall where the tub/shower combo once existed. We have plans for a primary bathroom with more square footage, so we are keeping this blueprint and just changing the layout a bit. I want to keep it traditional with marble and white subway tile for the surfaces. That will flow so nicely with the rest of our home. I have some details up my sleeve to incorporate, like the Delft tile I found while antiquing on Cape Cod.
For the lavatory fixtures, I always say this is where you definitely don’t want to scrimp and save. Do not buy your faucets and shower fixtures from a big box home store. They are not made the same, and they have cheaper plastic parts inside that break. That’s why they can offer them for such a low price point.
For selecting our fixtures, we went to our contractor’s recommended local plumbing supplier, and selected fixtures from the Kohler Artifacts Collection in Vibrant Polished Nickel. I love this collection for its timeless appeal. Their finishes are so beautiful.
Back when I did design work, I had the pleasure of touring the Kohler headquarters in Wisconsin, and stay at their luxury hotel, The American Club. I saw firsthand how the artisans and skilled workers created their products. The quality and functionality of their fixtures won me over, and I’ve been loyal to the brand ever since. I always recommend Kohler to people, the quality is worth the price tag.
For the tile, I had a budget to stick to, and cut the tile cost in half by mixing classic white subway tile with marble tile. We visited our local Floor & Decor and selected everything in person. On the floors, I’m doing a small scale marble herringbone tile. The walls will be tiled with subway tile with a warm gray grout, with some added pencil details and sink rail. The vanity counter will be another marble moment. Where the tub used to live, we are turning that into a walk-in-shower that will have the same subway tile and a glass door and partition. I designed a custom built-in shelving nook for soaps and products using marble tile. We are incorporating a touch of the sea in the shelving nook featuring that Delft tile. Instead of doing a bench, I’m doing a garden stool in the shower. This approach, blends the marble moments with the classic white subway tile. The touches of blue and white in the Delft tile and garden stool add that touch of the coast that we love to have throughout our spaces without being too themey. Is themey even a word? Probably not!
All the fixtures, towel bars, hooks, mirror, hardware, and sconces are in polished nickel. Polished nickel looks warmer and richer than chrome, and I prefer it in bathrooms and kitchens.
The vanity I saved on by not going custom. This choice was more because of time, and having to get this space done in a few weeks. Going custom is always best, but it does take at least 8 weeks or more to have it on site. When buying a premade vanity, make sure it is solid wood and has dovetail drawers. Check the materials to make sure you are getting a well-made product. I don’t recommend going cheap on this part of your remodel either, but buying premade does save a little coin. I wanted to maximize the storage and countertop space here. I was able to triple the size of the vanity, which will be so helpful for storage and getting ready in the morning. We did not like the lack of countertop space in this bathroom.
Our vanity was delivered early! That never happens, right?! It’s living in our kitchen right now until it gets installed. I will say that seeing the marble in here definitely has me excited for our kitchen renovation. That is the next project we are doing, and is the one I’ve been excited about the most.
What I selected…
Featured here
*all tile available at Floor & Decor
I met with the electrician and plumber today. They will be working on the space for the next couple of days. Right now deliveries are arriving for everything we selected for the bathroom. It’s all running smoothly so far. I’ll give you another update once the tile is installed, and things look a little more exciting than insulation and missing walls.
You can follow my Pinterest board to see what’s inspiring me for this renovation.
xx Kristy
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