DROOOOOOL.....Stacey, I was eagerly awaiting to see your pix and they blew me away! What a beautiful space! I also LOVE your vanity.

Everything is perfect with each other...match made in heaven! Cannot wait to see finished pix and LOTS of them.

Aw, you guys are so nice.... it is very gratifying to hear your kind words, since it has been a really incredibly difficult renovation. (Mostly due to the surprise nature of it -mold discovery- and coming at a time when we had neither time nor money to take on such a big project.)

plumberry, here are some approximate costs:
tile for shower walls and tub surround ($2.50/sf) $362.00
tile for shower floor and niches ($33.40/sf + ship) $810.00
marble for curb (this was too expensive, I should have shopped better!) $175 (incl ship)
thinset, grout, caulk $200
cement board & screws... can't remember, maybe about $100?
labor to build shower base, set all tile including the floor (not including building shower niches or installing cement board, both DIY) $2856.00

Note that I tiled the entire outside of the shower wall, so that added cost as well.

I am not sure how much of that labor was for the floor, but MOST of it I am sure was for the shower/tub area. The little glass tiles are difficult to install; I suspect my labor cost would have been quite a bit lower if I was using subway tile or something easier. Also, I had three quotes for labor, ranging from about $1600-$2856. I chose the most expensive guy because I felt he would do the best job, had the most experience, and I knew that the materials I had chosen were difficult to work with. If I'd chosen larger-format ceramic tile, I probably would have gone with the cheaper labor and saved a lot.

I had originally budgeted only $2500 for tile, materials, and labor, and I obviously exceeded that!!

Also- don't forget about a shower door. If you're doing frameless it's pricey. We are DIY-ing the install and the glass + panel cost about $1100 shipped. A simpler style, like just a door or a door and straight panel, can be about $800 shipped, and I had a local quote for a simple door/panel for about $1400 installed. My neo-angle situation increased the cost.

Stacey, just saw this--it's *stunning* and perfect. Just delicious combination of restraint and exuberance. And my stomach just turned as I saw the labor (...) for the tile -- Bill, I could have afforded you and I would have avoided all that irritating mess with the epoxy grout and the grout in the changes of plane...waaaaahhh...stacey, whatever you paid Bill was WORTH IT in peace of mind. Don't ever consider that any other alternative would have been viable. It wouldn't have been.

May I ask, how much was the vanity to construct? And could you please tell me the ebay seller of the sinks? Thanks!

(and the delicious Siamese--WOW she's beautiful! Did you buy her from a breeder or rescue or how did she come into your home?)

Hi flyleft!

Thanks for the compliments :)

Yes, it really did come down to spending extra to hire Bill for peace of mind, That is exactly how we justified it!

The vanity and bath cabinet (on the wall behind the toilet) cost $1300 together. We added our own legs, countertop, glass shelves, and (soon to add) pulls. There are some issues, though, but hopefully the cabinetmaker will resolve them. The legs were like $25 at Ikea, and the wood for the top was about $250 extra.

The sinks are from an ebay seller whose name I can't remember, but the invoice says www.buysink.com. It's in Canada. They were CD$100 each plus CD$130 shipping, or about $312 USD for both, shipped. They are almost exact copies of the Ronbow sinks, although there are probably differences (mine don't sit EXACTLY straight-flush on the counter, for instance, and the cutout isn't an exact rectangle due to some waviness of the porcelain... perhaps the Ronbows have better quality control) Also the pop-up drain and overflow cover are chintzier than the rest of my hardware. I may replace at some point.

and the kitten, Willa.... she's from a lady who breeds pet-quality Siamese as a hobby. We have another older Siamese, and my 13-y-o DD came to the dinner table a few months ago with a very well-prepared presentation, complete with printed out arguments and quotes from experts, as to why we needed another kitten! So- as an early Christmas present, we decided to get her a kitten. I am allergic to most can't other than some Siamese so I needed to go visit the cats first... But there were none to adopt (I looked as far as 7 hours drive radius!) and most breeders charge $800 or more for kittens!!! I spent days searching the online classifieds of small local newspapers, and finally found one 3 hours away. We drove to Vermont and picked out this kitten. She's great, has a wonderful personality, like most Siamese I've known...

Not sure if you saw my question, what are your floor tiles (make/style/color)?

Beautiful, beautiful, beautiful! Forgive me if you mentioned it already, but did you get Starfire or some other kind of ultra clear glass?

Oh, sorry catmom! The floor tiles are by Iris, they are Oyster Brushstroke. They have some issues, though; they are a bit higher in the center than on the ends, this creates "lippage" because we laid them in a brick pattern. It would not have mattered in a soldier pattern, but I really wanted brick. It's not bad, barely noticeable, but not perfectly perfectly flat...

nutherokie, the glass is just regular plain old tempered 3/8 glass. I hadn't read about teh Starfire (or forgot about it) when I ordered it, and was worried it might look too green, but it doesn't! Looks great with everything else, happily :)

We've been looking at tile for two bathrooms. Yours looks similar (at least in the picture) to one or two that we'd looked at. The color (of the one we actually saw), while gorgeous, wouldn't work in one bathroom, and is a bit iffy for the other, so we decided against it for the time being.

Despite yours having issues, it does look lovely in your bathroom!

stacey, Those sinks are lovely and I am glad you bought from buysink. I bought my white marble sink from them a couple of years ago and was very pleased with the experience.

As much as I try to support local businesses, it is impossible to ignore the variety, price, availability and customer service you can get with online/remote dealers.

Yes, they were nice to deal with. I am also keen on supporting local businesses, but there was no place local for anything like this (that's not true- I could have ordered the real Ronbow sinks from a local shop for $600 each or something like that. Definitely not in my budget.)

I did decide, though, to order most of my tile through local tile stores, even though there was a mark-up over on-line. The glass was the only one I got online.

Fabulous job, and I envy you being able to hire Bill V as your tilesetter. Perfect installation, as always.

Your kitty is ab-fab! I had a cat who was so intrigued by my bubble baths, one day she just couldn't help herself and leaped in. I barely had time to open my mouth to yell when she reversed herself almost as soon as her paws hit the water! I didn't even get scratched, she flew out so fast, LOL.

BTW, in another thread I posted a link to Brookstone's website, where they have a very neat towel warmer appliance that supposedly can hold a big towel sheet or bathrobe, for a very reasonable $80. Might be just the final finishing touch to that gorgeous spa you've created!

Stacey, it's interesting to know that you ordered your glass online. And it looks like it had custom dimensions. Can you please share the site where you ordered it from?

The glass tile is from here:
http://okglasstile.com/art-tile-case.aspx

I wrote above that it was $2.50/sf but actually it was less because I bought it by the case... $45 for 23 sq ft, plus shipping. My color was blanco, which they seem to only list here:
http://okglasstile.com/art-tile-collection.aspx

The tiles are 3/4" x 3/4" x 1/8" and come face mounted on paper. A full sheet contains 225 pieces and is approximately 1.15 square feet. There are some flaws in them, at this price... some inclusions, chipped corners, etc, but I actually like the overall natural effect of that. Especially for the price.

I've been meaning to check back and find your bathroom update. Uh, WOW! is all I can say. I'm very happy for you, and I'm very happy for me, since I'll have a similar floor plan. Congratulations and thanks for sharing the beauty and all the helpful detailed information, it's really beautiful.

I'm curious about your shower door; you say you ordered a frameless door and you are diy'ing the install? I see you already have one glass wall; did you order it from the same place as the door to get a match, and did you have the pieces shipped separately bc you'd be needing them at different times? Just wondering bc we'd like to do frameless too, and I haven't thought out all these nitty gritty details yet. Any tips/lessons learned appreciated.

Hi slateberry51. Thanks for your kind words :)
We ordered the door and fixed panel together, and started to DIY the install last weekend. But we found that the fabricator had sent the wrong hinges, so we couldn't do the door. We have the correct hinges now, and are about to install the door this afternoon. I'll post about it when we're through!

Stacey thanks for the info on the woods and finishes, I am so happy to see how beautiful your room turned out. It is just so well executed and relaxing to look at. I get the same feeling when I go to the Danish furniture store. Your cabinet looks like it could have come from there. Anyway I would love to hear how this counter works out for you in the coming months. I have a real problem here with a counter top ($$$ whole slab issue & don't need that much) and this would be beautiful and still let my sink be the star. Thank goodness you had the right man for the job in respect to the tiles not being dead flat. I shudder to think what would have happened without him. Wonder if he needs some R&R in Florida! : )

Beautiful!

We need to do our master due to some issues and I love what you have done. Enjoy!

any new photos of the rest of the items put in?

it is a lovely bathroom, nice job~

Beautiful!

What are the dimensions of the room? And dimensions of the inside of the shower?

Our two (used to be) kittens fell into the tub once - only once. :)

TIA

Sorry Stacey. I found the shower dimensions on another thread. I should have checked first.

Thanks all- this update is not quite so happy today:

(Susan, did you find the room dimensions, too? It's 13'2" x 6'4". The interior useable space in the shower (wall to glass) is 36" wide x 60" long.)

I'll get some more photos up tomorrow. WE had a very depressing, frustrating weekend of work :(

1) We finally got the correct hinges and hung the shower door. it was very, very difficult, figuring out the neo-angle installation drilling the holes in the glass tile, not shattering the big glass panel... The side panel had been cut too short, so the door cannot sit exactly even on it's curb (probably no one will notice but me) and only one side of the hinges' screws fell on the stud (probably fine since some hinges are one-sided anyway). DH and I have NEVER had such a stressful, bad day of work together, and that's saying a lot since we have completed several very major DIY renovations and sailboat restorations. A straight-line door-and-panel, or even a 90-degree corner probably would have been much easier. I recommend NOT attempting a neo-angle DIY install.

2) The grout in the bathroom is staining badly. We did not seal, and finding it to be a real bummer. We taped cedar shims to the tile during the glass install (with blue painters tape). Drilling the tile requires water be sprayed on the drill bit. Water worked behind the tape, along with some sawdust, glass dust, etc. When the tape was removed the grout was badly stained. Tried several things to clean it. Finally, long soaking with bleach has removed most of it. Floor grout was stained with an innocuous "all-natural all-purpose cleaner"!!! I am going to have to dig out and regrout most of it. Very depressing.

3) DH spent last week after work making a lovely mahogany frame for the vanity mirror. I dropped the mirror off at the glass store on Friday to be cut to size; DH picked it up and brought it to his wood shop to finish. Proudly brought it home and installed it on Sunday. There is a large, deep scratch down the mirror RIGHT IN THE MIDDLE OF MY FACE when I stand at my sink. We do not know if it was already on the mirror (which was in store packaging when I dropped it off, whether the glass store did it, or whether DH did. The mirror cannot be removed/replaced without wrecking the frame. DH says he's not building another one. (Like I said, it was a long and discouraging weekend...) so I'll have to live with it :(

4) We got custom-cut glass shelves for our custom-made mahogany wall cabinet, and went to install them. Cabinetmaker had drilled the peg holes TOTALLY out of level. Front-to-back on one side they are over 1/8" off (in a shallow cabinet that makes a huge difference). Now we're going to have to ask it to be redone. he's a really nice young man with a young family, HATE to do that, but WTF? WE can't use it as is, the shelves wobble waaaay to much!

Sorry for complaining. I needed to get my frustration out. I know these problems are absolutely ridiculously unimportant in the big scheme of things, and I am incredibly fortunate to even have a master bathroom, let alone such a beautiful one :)

Omg I'm so sorry to hear all this. I'm glad you said something about Diy and shower glass. My plan was to have it done happy with that decision. As for the grout I'd try a few more things and time before I started removing grout. Did you ask bill? I saw somewhere maybe on kitchen side about removing stains from granite. He said to make a poultice of baking soda and water might be something else pile it up cover with plastic and tape it down don't touch it for 3 days. Then repeat as needed. Try this! As for the mirror don't worry I don't think your husband is going to make you stare at a mirror that makes you feel like Sibal. I just think he's had it for now. Sorry about the cabinet. They sell a jig just for this work guess he didn't use one. Well Sorry again and were pulling for you. Maybe take a short break and walk away from project for a few days!

Yes, we've discussed this. I'll be going over there probably some time tomorrow with some grout.

Omg I'm so sorry to hear all this. I'm glad you said something about Diy and shower glass. My plan was to have it done happy with that decision. As for the grout I'd try a few more things and time before I started removing grout. Did you ask bill? I saw somewhere maybe on kitchen side about removing stains from granite. He said to make a poultice of baking soda and water might be something else pile it up cover with plastic and tape it down don't touch it for 3 days. Then repeat as needed. Try this! As for the mirror don't worry I don't think your husband is going to make you stare at a mirror that makes you feel like Sibal. I just think he's had it for now. Sorry about the cabinet. They sell a jig just for this work guess he didn't use one. Well Sorry again and were pulling for you. Maybe take a short break and walk away from project for a few days!

Some updated pics with the shower door and mirror up, and door hung. The door is the original 1956 back door (exterior door) that we removed when we removed that exterior wall during the kitchen reno. Its a lovely old door. I'm going to put privacy film on the glass panels (like etched glass) next week, and we have a beautiful old chrome knob set to install. Also hoping the vanity hardware shows up soon...

Exquisite bathroom, just exquisite. If DH doesn't mind the mirror scratch, is there a way to turn it 180 degrees (make the present top the new bottom), so the scratch is on his side? In the pics the mirror looks symetrical, so it might work. Did I say exquisite!

Thank you, smiling!

We tried flipping the mirror, but the scratch is actually more noticeable when its the other way.... oh, well.....

I was noticing the square drain in your shower. Do you remember where you got it? What brand is it? I want to do something similar for my shower.

It's a Kohler drain. It seems quite nicely made, and is much easier to tile around.

Yup!

Lovely, especially the matching cat accessory.

How are you preventing water damage to the windows that are in the shower?

Thanks!

The windows are vinyl, so no wood is exposed to water. The cement board butts up to the window frame, and Bill pitched the "sill" area towards the shower before tiling, so water doesn't sit there.

Also, the cement board was waterproofed, and then caulked to the window frame.

bumping this up with a question: Stacey, what grout did you use for the wall tile? I might have mentioned elsewhere that we're using the same tile for our upcoming bathroom remodel (except in the smaller size). I made a sample board and grouted it with whatever white grout that I found at Home Depot, but I'm wondering if I should go with something better/different.

Thanks!

Glad this got bumped up. I have a question as well... what did you use for your Niches at the bottom and I think I see the same material on your shower curb? I have had a few tile guys try to get me interested in tiling the bottom of niches and window. I don't want all those grout joints. I see yours are solid surface and would love to know the material you used. Also how is the wood counter holding up?

I have a feeling Stacey might not have seen this, so I'll answer the questions that I can. The grout was Hydroment's unsanded white, and the niche shelves, as well as the curb were Thassos marble tiles that were cut down and then bullnosed.

Thanks Bill!

Very nice...such clean lines...I love it. So funny...when I looked at that second picture I wondered what the tan extension was on the hand held sprayer...took me a moment to realize it was the tail of your cat cause the colors blend so well...LOL

I LOVE your bathroom! It is perfect and oh so beautiful! Nice job :)

Gosh I love this bathroom. It's definitely the look I'm hoping for in our new bathroom.

Stacey (or Bill, if you remember), can you tell me the rough dimensions of your shower? It looks similar to what we're thinking of doing and it's nice to be able to visualize these things.

Great lights by the vanity too!

Um ... ignore that post .. if I had just read the entire thread I would have my answer. And yes, it's almost exactly the same size as our shower will be.

Still love the room!

It's 36x48, obviously with a corner cut off.

What a pretty, serene bathroom! Love it!

I made a mistake. I was just there yesterday to complete the repairs to the shower floor. It's 36x60.

Hi guys!
Thanks so much for the compliments. Bill was here today putting the final touches on everything (we're so excited!!) and he told me there were questions on this thread. Sorry I didn't respond earlier.

I think Bill answered most everything, except the wood counter question. It's holding up great! Looks brand new. Of course it's only a couple months old, so I'm not sure what that's worth :)

I just have to finish the window curtain and apply grout colorant to the floor tile grout (which was stained before we even used the bathroom by all-natural cleaner, grrr....) and then I think we can officially call it completed.

What brand/model tub is that? I like it very pretty and non-fussy looking.

It is a Kohler Archer soaking tub. It was the cleanest/sleekest looking tub I could find without spending an arm and a leg. I'm happy with it...

Here, Terri, I'll bump this thread for you to see....

Very Beautiful!!!!
You definitely have a talent when it comes to decorating!
We have our second bathroom tore apart now...DH said he wanted his done after he saw how well mine turned out. It is a smaller bathroom, the tub/shower, floor & ceiling are staying so it shouldn't be as costly as the other bathroom. Plus we are probably doing all of the work ourselves this time.
Again, very Exquisite as someone said earlier.
Terri

Stacey,

Your bathroom looks fantastic! Just wondering how the tub has fared. Has it yellowed at all or remained close to its original color? I recall reading some complaints about acrylic tubs losing their color.

Thanks.