Choices made (mostly) and now I am stuck

9 years ago

We had a water leak behind a wall in August, that affected two bathrooms. Our selections are made but our cosmetic remodel is having us do a change to a pony wall, which has befuddled me and changed my original plan.
This is our tub area right now.

It is a cultured marble jetted tub that has not worked in several years and is 17 years old. It is leaving. In its place, we are putting in a free standing white claw foot tub. To do that, I am having to take the pony wall down about 18-22 inches to allow for the length of the tub. The glass shower enclosure will just go down further and sit atop the now lowered pony wall, and be placed more to the inside of the shower. I will gain 5 inches by doing this. The under mount sinks are also white.

My dilemma is that something is bothering me about just having a finished edge tile up the alcove wall and that is it. I did have a plan to put a listello all the way around at the top but never found the "one" before the need to lower the wall came into play.

I feel like the travertine tile, while the edges would be rounded, is not finished off and I want something pretty but not over powering. I thought of a 2x12 trav chair rail but it looked awkward and big on one wall, around the window of another, and then stopping. 4" listellos did the same thing or were way too overpowering- being a focal point instead of a soft accent.

So, looking around the web, I found a 2.5" border that is pretty and if I ordered the sheet as well, I could cut a 4" backsplash. I need a second set of eyes on this and envisioning how it will look. The stripes in the above photo show where the border will go in the alcove. (travertine under it)

This is my color palate:

The shower and alcove will be tiled in 12 x 24 Torreon Travertine laid brick style. The floor is 16x16 Trav with 3" dark emperador diamond accents.

The counter tops, window sill, top of lowered pony wall and threshold are San Luiz Granite (bottom 2 pieces)

The slab Trav goes on my curved corner bench in the shower and the pearl brick tile goes on the face of the bench.

The small Versailles is the floor.

This is the border I am thinking in the alcove - on the wall with the picture, the window wall and inside the window, and just under the San Luiz Granite cap on the lowered pony wall.

The sheet would be cut to be a 4" back splash (though the example photo shows a different mosaic) and both would be topped with a 1/2" dome rail.

My biggest fear is that putting the border, after spending the money on it, will look dumb because it does not go all the way around the alcove at the same height. And by using it as a back splash, I would be tying it in to the room. It would also tie in some of the dark emperador from the floor and the granite.

Thanks for your input. I have just become overwhelmed in doing two baths at the same time and don't want regrets.

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Comments (11)

User
9 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
I'm not following all the details, but it seems there's a lot of materials being mixed. I would eliminate the MOP tile. It has cool silvery tones and often has blues and other colors. It has a blingy glamour effect that conflicts with the rustic pink travertine. The fleshy tones of the travertine clash with the gold tones of the granite--have seen that mistake many times. It's also too similar a pattern. You need to eliminate a pattern so the eye has somewhere to rest.

You'd get better design feedback in Home Decor or even Kitchens. Yes, people sneak bath questions into Kitchens from time to time, and there's more people interested in tile in there than in HD. The Baths forum seems to be more on the technical side in my experience. An Olioboard of your elements and fixtures would be a good tool to get better feedback once you get your technical questions answered.
razamatazzy
9 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
Are you saying the area below your photoshopped black/white deco will be tile? Which tile will it be?
I think eliminating the flower border and just putting the domed tile on top of the tile for a finished edge would be better.
Seems there is a lot going on without adding that in.
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llcp93
Original Author
9 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
Thank you for your response May_Flowers. Being thrown into two bath remodels when I had not even been considering it, plus the lives of 3 busy teenagers, I have been overwhelmed with this. This has been my inspiration photo.
Right now, I have light Bottocino Fiorito marble floors, stained cabinets and white culture marble counter tops and 4x4 white shower tile with faux painted walls and ceiling. So I am basically reversing everything.

[
[(https://www.houzz.com/photos/los-altos-hils-formal-french-chateau-traditional-bathroom-san-francisco-phvw-vp~1945470)

[Traditional Bathroom[(https://www.houzz.com/photos/traditional-bathroom-ideas-phbr1-bp~t_712~s_2107) by Danville Interior Designers & Decorators Culbertson Durst Interiors

I am going for the light stone with dark counter tops and white cabinet look. I am even doing the kick board on the cabinets as this photo does, plus the dark accents in the floor.

The MOP tile I was only putting on the corner bench base in the
shower as I wanted something pretty, as I have had to give up a lot of other things that were pretty from my original inspiration photo.

I ordered several samples of pearl tile and this one has no blues. It is white with tan/pink tones. I should have posted before I ordered it. The online photos of rooms didn't show blues like MOP does, so I am keeping fingers crossed. when it gets here, If it looks bad,and shows more colors than in the sample, I will not go with it, but are you saying you think it is too much going on to use it on the bench only, if the whole shower is 12 x 24 travertine with the Versailles floor?

Here is a photo of my slab of granite while still in the warehouse. The little sample pieces I have are not a good representation of the whole piece.

The water jet mosaic I wanted to use in the tub alcove and as a back splash, was the flower one (but I don't have a sample of it yet) and used the other one just to get an idea what it would look like.

Raz,
Thanks for your reply. The whole alcove will be 12x24 brick laid travertine. The photoshoped line would be the border tile at the top of the trav, with a dome liner on top of the border. After reading some suggestions here and showing DH, we may just eliminate the border altogether in the alcove and back splash and do as you suggest, and just go with the dome liner on top of the travertine.
Thanks for you input. I really needed some outside eyes and opinions.
lascatx
9 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
Why not have the pony wall on the toilet side and take the shower glass all the way to the floor or a curb on the other? Doesn't seem the pony wall serves any purpose on the shower side and makes things like this awkward.
llcp93
Original Author
9 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
We were leaving the pony wall on the shower side due to the bench construction on that wall inside the shower.
User
9 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
Too overwrought and complicated. Eliminate some of the materials, and simplify the design. Are you even a regular tub bather? If not, then enlarge the shower and eliminate the tub. Dedicating space to the Temple of the Tub is over with.
llcp93
Original Author
9 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
Lascatx, You have hit the nail on the head about the pony wall on the shower side. Here is a photo I found that is as close to our configuration I could find. It has the corner bench, like I am having built in. I had not even thought of getting rid of the wall completely and had it stuck in my head that I needed the wall all the way across to keep the bench. This way, I will just have a curb and the glass will follow the lines of the curb and up the bench. Perfect. THANK YOU!

[
[(https://www.houzz.com/photos/traditional-bathroom-traditional-bathroom-toronto-phvw-vp~100340)

[Traditional Bathroom[(https://www.houzz.com/photos/traditional-bathroom-ideas-phbr1-bp~t_712~s_2107) by Thornhill Interior Designers & Decorators Avalon Interiors

Hollysprings: Your suggestion of keep it simple is right on. I gravitate towards the ornate but right now, with so much going on, and being thrust into a remodel, I lack the ability to pull it all together and with two baths to do, I don't have the budget to go all out and hire someone to pull it together for me. So much is new from when I picked things 17 years ago for these baths. It gets over whelming. But that is why I love gardenweb. So many great people to bounce ideas off of . I thank you for your input.
loves2read
9 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
Just my opinion--and do agree to simplify choices--some of those tiles are very pretty but less is more usually works out better--
also--
I am big on horizontal lines matching when at all possible--
your top tile line along the tub walls comes taller than the window ledge--
that ledge is pretty prominent--
I think you would be better served to cap the tile at same height as window--
I know that would be lower but you don't have lot of spashing in tubs unless little kids are using one so you probably don't need higher tile line to contain splashes...
llcp93
Original Author
9 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
Thanks LovestoRead
With the input from GW, I have decided to scale back and have said no to any border or listelle at all. My granite is a wow and and I needed to keep what first inspired me in mind.

I think you are perfectly right about the tile height in the tub alcove and keeping it under the window. My window sill will be the granite also. My tub filler will be wall mounted (instead of deck or floor mounted) and I think window height for the tile will allow plenty of room for it.
Thanks for the suggestion.
loves2read
9 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
I would try to end the tile at same height as the window ledge--not under it but level w top of granite if that is what ledge will be
So those materials merge visually when looking at that alcove
llcp93
Original Author
9 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
YES! Great point. I was leaning towards a chair rail that would line up even with the sill but it looked out of place only being 7" on either side of the window and on one 41" wall. It had nowhere to end that didn't look disjointed so, like you suggest, and it is something I need to make note of to tell my tile guy, is to stop at the same height as the window ledge. In fact, I just took my strait edge and drew it on the walls.
Thanks for the collaboration.

Choices made (mostly) and now I am stuck

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