I’m headed over the house this morning to meet the tile installer. Tile was more of a beast than I expected. I went to a fancy tile place initially and picked out everything I wanted. The total was $4,500 and I about fell over… and that didn’t even include installation. It is easy to get swayed and distracted when shopping for tile – there are so many pretty options, I see why people can go overboard. I almost did! Well, I didn’t “almost” because that wasn’t anywhere near where my budget was. When it came down to it, I referenced back to my inspiration board and realized that I really just like simple and clean and I needed to stick with my original plan.
At the beginning of the project we were really clear on our priorities and keep revisiting that. I knew that my priorities were kitchen cabinetry, fixtures, hardware and trim. I kept reminding myself that if we went over on everything there would be nothing left for extra fun at the end in finishes and fixtures – where the fun stuff really happens. Things happen during construction (hello, replacing water main and sewer line…), but for the most part our contractor (Noblit+Didier) was prepared for everything and our budget seemed to be padded for those unexpected problems. So, what we thought seemed high on the initial bid were just realistic. I’m so glad we decided to use a contractor that is a straight-shooter. Our trim and fixture budget is also thankful : )
This is the inspiration for our shower. I almost went with marble subway tiles for the walls, then I came back to this photo and remembered how I loved the clean look of the subway. That little reminder saved almost $1,000 : ) If it were something I really wanted I would’ve just gone ahead with it, but at this point in the game I have found that we really have to keep our priorities to keep us in budget. $1,000 is a drop in our no-yet-overflowing bucket, but 10 drops could add up to no furniture or landscaping when we move in!
We are doing a simplified version of this – no seat, no window, but it will feel very much like this. We bought most of the tile from Home Depot, except for the floor hexagon because they didn’t carry a 2″ marble in a honed finish. By hunting around for tile and ordering the bulk from Home Depot we saved almost $2,500+ on tile. Adding that to landscaping and furniture budget : )
I made a diagram of each area for the tile installer. There were a lot more complexities when ordering that I wasn’t expecting, like where I’ll need a bullnose edge, what should the curb be made out of, how will the cornice merge with the wall… This diagram makes sure that he will know exactly what goes where, vs. just assuming, which I’m finding out is always the wrong answer. I’ve made a Blank Template for those of you who are in the same boat. You can download the template, here.
Walls : Biscuit Daltile Subway (Home Depot)
Floor : Hampton 2″ Hexagon in Honed (The Tile Shop)
Curb : MS International Grecian White in Honed (Home Depot)
Shower Heads (we’ll have two) : Danze Opulance in Polished Nickel (build.com)
Did you notice the Shower Bottles from the spring collection slipped in there ; ) For those of you that have emailed, I hope to have the out-of-stock items restocked by the end of the week – stay tuned!
This is the inspiration photo for the tub, but again, we are doing a simplified version. We are using 12×12 pieces of marble to create the deck (top of tub) and the splash. I think the larger pieces on the splash (wall area) will actually be a cleaner look vs. subway tiles. We are using a cornice trim piece on the top of the splash and on the front of the tub deck to create a finished look and ad a little fancy.
I’m obsessed with the fixture from Signature Hardware. It took me a very long time to find something that looked classic and simple without being fanciful. It is in a chrome finish, but since it is not right next to all of the polished nickel finishes it will be ok (hopefully!). We’ve compared them in person and they look very very close. It was $268, which was a relief after looking at $800+ polished nickel tub fillers.
Cornice Trim : Jeffrey Court Marble Honed Cornice
Tub Filler : Signature Hardware Barlow Wall Mounted Tub Filler
Deck & Splash : MS International Grecian White in Honed (Home Depot)
This is a similar layout to the world smallest bathroom that we squeezed in our old walk-in closet. The shower will be in the corner, and the vanity to the right. We are doing the same scheme as in the master bathroom. Because it is such a small bathroom, I wanted the prettiness to overshadow the size.
There you go! All of my exhausted tile and shower fixture research in one tidy post. There was a lot of running around town and comparing tile swatches to make sure ordering from various sources would work out ok, but the savings was hugely worth it.