For nearly 20 years, we've lived with two travertine bathrooms done by the previous homeowners. Considering they were do-it-yourselfers, they did pretty good. One bathroom, our guest bathroom, has an antique hutch converted into a bathroom vanity with marble replacing the countertop surfaces (I love that piece), marble floors, a slab marble tub counter, marble on the walls, a marble wide windowsill, and a marble with wood trim tub surround. The wood was probably not the best idea around a bathtub, but it has not warped and has help up pretty well. It's required repainting, of course. I am mindful to keep the wood as dry as possible. The grand slab bathtub counter (don't know what else to call it) has held up well. We've had to replace plumbing, but the marble has held up. Maybe next year, we will have the marble polished up in there. That bathroom has light to moderate use and has, miraculously, no real etching even after 20 years. Some hard water deposits around the toilet base. The caulk (sanded caulk?) needs to be replaced around the perimeter where the marble on the walls of the shower/tub touches the marble slab counter. For what it is worth, we never put in a shower curtain there - it is a bathtub bathroom only. I think that helped preserve the marble and the wood. The marble on the windowsill was not done correctly. The windowsill had to be reworked by experts who chose to demo and replace it with something else. Our master bathroom is all pinkish travertine. This bathroom features the travertine shower with glass doors, pinkish (really flesh colored)travertine on the walls, and the windowsills as well. Same problem in here with the travertine on the windowsills. Those sills cracked, warped, and had to be replaced. There is a weird problem on the wall. It looks like there was some filler used in the travertine when it was sold/installed. Over time, the filler seems to have evaporated and has left a more pitted and hollowed surface. The affected area is directly above the wall mounted lights that flank the mirror. I think the heat from the lights might have contributed to it. It looks odd. I have found a tile and marble restoration person. After we finish other projects this year, I'll consider having him inspect and repolish this bathroom, too. This second bathroom has a travertine shower. The shower is badly etched and I don't trust the pan. We have had hard water at times over the past 20 years. The hard water is not kind to the marble. Also, we certainly should have recaulked over the years. Didn't know to do that. Probably sealer too? Not sure, but we had no idea how to take care of it. There is etching of the marble, too, where we used too harsh of cleaning products. I am the most unhappy with the travertine in this shower. I don't think I want a marble or travertine shower in any remodels in the future, but for lower-use situations, like our guest bath, it still works for me. If well-trained adults are the occupants, it might work. My husband, though, tends to nuke the shower to clean it on an occasional burst of energy without my OK. I should have a bathroom that he can nuke with Lime-Away if he wants to, not something with a picky product like marble. I have found a steam cleaner to be useful inside the shower for cleaning. Not sure if it gets the experts OK, but that is what I've been doing in recent years. I haven't needed to use the steam cleaner anywhere but in the shower. The floor in both baths is travertine. We had a bathroom scale that left a small rust stain on the floor where the plastic glide came off its foot. I was able to rub most of it out, forgot what I used - - some sort of Helful Hint - but a bit remains. I am super-hyper about no metal in the bathroom on the floors -- no metal trash cans or step stools, for example, even if coated in plastic. When we first moved in, people warned us that we would be slipping and sliding on marble bathroom floors. Knock on wood, no one has ever slipped on the bathroom floors. We've been mindful to not put down polishes that are meant for wall or counter marble. Polishes for floors must say floor on it. I am always worried about stepping out of the bathtub as it is rather a high ledge to get to the floor. I never step onto the marble, always onto the rug. That's our marble story.

I have no idea if paint would hold up in that environment. Hopefully someone else will comment on that. Can the seat be taken apart or does it have plastic pieces? Powder coating might be the way to go in your situation but any plastic parts will melt during the curing process. Lockers in damp bath houses are usually powder coated.. it would probably work. Google it, there's a lot of info out there and depending on where you live, local companies that will work with you. There is a company in Pennsylvania that works on items shipped to them. I will be sending a robe hook with some stainless cabinet legs and they are going to try to exactly match the copper and black distressed finish.

We're going to put oil rubbed bronze hardware on our wood doors, but we are building a log syled home (not a primitive interior but a more refined farm look). We are putting mostly all pocket doors in, so it'll be whatever the nicest pocket door hardware is. We're still in the process of building, but getting close to being finished. I wasn't trying to discourage anyone from mixing oil rubbed bronze items with chrome, or any other finishes in a room. I mix and match all the time, as I buy what I like when it comes to curtain rods, lights, etc. that I like. It all always works and looks personal and homey. It's sort of like when I enjoy wearing a silk blouse with a pair of jeans. What I meant was if you have a certain shade of ORB on a sink, and that is near another matching sink, or a bathtub, etc. that if you ever need to replace the faucet it may be hard to make them blend to satisfaction. It sure is a shame to feel one has to replace other things not broken if they don't like how the differing finishes work. However, that might not be an issue with many people. And even though that has happened to me before, the chance of ever having that happen is probably low and would happen so far down the road you would want a total change by then anyway. I'm not a matchy matchy person, but when I tried to imagine if I had to mix and match the ORB faucet fixtures I didn't like it. I'm actually considering a vanity light that has oil rubbed bronze even though my faucets are chrome. All the magazine pictures show the vanity light metal matching the faucet. I don't think that is necessary. It all boils down to going with what your gut is telling you what YOU like. You need to feel happy every time you walk in the room. Just double check the warranty on the finish. Some companies won't warrant that. Sandy

* Posted by coconut-nj (My Page) on Sat, May 30, 09 at 11:27 Sally, anywhere that has alot of British imports would probably have it. I was checking out who had it online the other day and while you might not want 6 bottles of it.. smiles... Amazon has 6 bottles for $27.05. It's free shipping too. Most places sell it for between five and six or up to eight dollars, so that's a great price. They say they're 15 oz bottles. Maybe somebody else would want to go in on it with you?? I've always heard of it described as a mayo with more vinegar and also with a mustard taste. Sounds good. Smiles. My DW used it when she used to travel to the UK all the time for buisness. Surprised she didn't bring any back. I have a head of savoy cabbage so I'm going to make my easy 'stuffed' cabbage casserole that I described above. It makes it so easy and quick which is just what we want on a Saturday night. Steam the cabbage briefly, layer it with dirty rice, pour some tomato juice mixed with onion and garlic powder between layers and on top and bake for about 40 minutes. I'll see if I can manage to take a picture. I seem to be terrible at that. The camera is always in the other room and it's a kind of big house and by the time I'm done cooking I'm not walking very well. LOL.. We will see. Oh btw, I always make two dishes of this because Christy gets burnt out on "red" since I always have something made with red sauce around I make her a version with just some broth on it. I do stuffed peppers for her the same way. No red. I do love the red on it but prefer tomato juice since it's nice and light although I'll just water down tomato sauce or puree with chicken stock/broth, if I don't have any handy.