Would you mind giving me any basic information about your vanities and your experience with the company? I had a terrible experience with Bertch with two deliveries that took 6 weeks each of wait time and came damaged and partially unfinished which was never explained to me when ordering(unfinished part). I have one remaining bathroom and am looking to not repeat such an experience.

Beautiful!

What a knockout. The tiles are gorgeous. Kudos.

Truly beautiful -- congratulations! I am curious why you installed the handshower on the wall in the bath? We will also have a handshower, though I didn't think of installing it higher up. Is it because of the hose? Thanks

paige16:
Our experience with the cabinet company was fine: all cabinets were delivered in excellent condition. I don't know how long the delivery time was, but we did have to wait on them for a couple of weeks, but I don't know exactly when our contractor placed the order. It might have been that she placed the order a little late, or that they took a little too long. The two panels on the tub took even longer as Bellmont contracts them out to a custom cabinet maker...they were the last part of the bathroom to be installed. That said, they also were in excellent condition, and the stain, finish, and design exactly matches the vanity cabinets. Good luck on yours!

cjc123:
A ballpark figure? Well, first of all, we are not DIYers, so we pay dearly for everything. Second, we live in Southern California, where I'm sure prices are higher than average (rather like home prices). Third, we waited a long time to do anything to our house, so we indulged our every whim (mirrors, extensive tile work, marble floors, countertops). We kept rationalizing: we only will do this once, our home, while not new or a mansion, is in a higher-end market, we plan to stay in this house for many more years, the bathroom is small, it was my design, so I didn't want to compromise, etc. And fourth: we used the same contractor who did our kitchen last year, and we were very happy with the quality of the work and all of the subcontractors. They were all back for the bathroom remodel, and we felt very comfortable with all of them. A ballpark figure? If you really want to know, after reading this so far, email me and I will be more than happy to tell you. I truly envy the wonderful DIYers who share their beautiful bathrooms, and I'm amazed at what they were able to do for so little money. That never seems to work for us!
As for the dimensions: the bathroom is about 9' x 9'3".

hello8:
Yes, we installed the handshower on the wall because of the hose. I really wanted one to help clean out the tub mainly. It works great!
Patti

I love it! Those calacatta slabs are just drool-worthy :)

Not to hijack the thread, but I wanted to say, about handshowers in tubs: you can also get "roman tub filler sets" that have a handshower with a holder in the tub deck, so the hose disappears below when stowed. You can probably put that together with pieces from other manufacturers, even if they don't have a "set".

It would not have been a great solution in natenvalsmom's case with the wall-mounted faucet, though!

Like this:

staceyneil:
I would have loved to have had a deck-mounted faucet and controls. I much prefer that look over the wall-mounted. Unfortunately, it didn't work for us. Our main impetus for the entire remodel was to make the shower larger, which meant keeping the tub at 60" and butting it up agains the wall where all of the plumbing already was. I have seen several posts on your bath with the calacatta marble in the shower, and I have admired it, and love the deck mounted fixtures in your tub area. Just a question: what do you use to clean your marble in the shower? I have some products to use, but wondered if there is the 'perfect' cleaner that won't etch. Ours is honed.

cjc123: I forgot to mention this: the shower was originally about 35" x 32", and now it is about 45" x 46". It feels MUCH bigger.
Patti

Congratulations on completing your bath and thank you for sharing your photos! We're also planning calacatta marble for our bath. It looks like you got some beautiful slabs with very even veining for your countertup/tub surfaces-that even patterning is hard to find in the slab yards around here! Beautiful.

I've never seen a 3.5" hexagon tile, only a 1" and a 2"...where did you find the 3.5"? (Do you know who manufactured/what tile vendor that came from?) Thank you!

Beautiful! I love the wainscoting, the floor, the tub deck, the fixtures, everything. Did you work with a designer? How long did it take?

What are the sizes of your pieces of cabinetry?? The vanities under the sinks, the bank of drawers and the pull outs (which are a wonderful idea in the bathroom). You mention the depth of the drawers...what depth are they??

I'm assuming that you centered your sinks based on the counter top length and not the vanities??

Did I already say that I love the mirrors!!

Tks.

Thank you all for your comments! It is so nice to hear the opinions of others.

littlesmokie:
I looked on my invoice for the hexagon tiles; they are actually 3" (not 3.5"). The invoice does not say who the vendor is, but I went on the website of Surfaces USA, where we got them, watched the Oxnard showroom video, and at :42 seconds in, there is my calacatta gold 3" honed hexagon tiles! They are from Bergammo from Italy, I think. I'm sure that they could help you find a vendor near to you, if you are interested.

Also, the honed marble slab that we found was unlike any other we saw, after going to about 15 stone yards. It was the only one that was 3 cm, too. We saw it on our first day looking, and we pretty much knew that would be it!

dilettante:
We worked with a design/build firm that did our kitchen the previous year. The designer helped with figuring out the cabinet configuration, and she came up with the idea for the hexagon floor, but the rest of the design was mine (with input from my DH). It took about 3 months (the glass tile took quite a while, as the tile man is very meticulous, but not fast, and there was a lot of tile).

rsvlle-nj:
Actually, the cabinets were configured FIRST, then the countertops were fabricated based on the length of the cabinets. The two pull-outs (I LOVE THEM) are 10.5", the cabinets are 18", and the drawers are 15" wide. The sinks are about 18", but they had to 'shave' some off the tops of the sink cabinets so that the sinks could drop down into them. There is a 1" filler next to the door end so that the pullout could clear the door with ease. The 2 large drawers are 12" deep. The cabinets are frameless. The cabinets are 21" from the front to the back, which I think is pretty standard. Thanks so much for your interest.
Patti

Hi Patti,

Can't find your email addy and wanted to ask you about pricing for the cabinet.

Thanks...Barb
rsvlle@aol.com

I believe Ann Sacks and Walker Zanger make a larger ceramic hex as does Olde English Tiles, USA (eeesh that name!) to coordinate with their encaustics. You have to sort through for them.

That bathroom is beautiful by the way.

Love it! Great selection of materials.

Patti,

*Love* your reponse to cjc123 about the cost of your bathroom. My DH & I did the same thing (as far as justifying and making our every whim come true...between radiant floor heat, dual shower heads in our now 6x7 wetroom that *used* to be our entire bathroom, to a warming drawer to warm our post-shower towels...oh yeah, *and* the custom concrete ofuro-type soaking tub). We are constantly ribbed about having the most expensive bathroom in town for our li'l ole 1,000 sq ft cracker jack box house.

We were well aware we were over-improving for the neighborhood but, as I tell my DH, when I die, just bury me in the tub and make a planter out of it...we're not moving anywhere. Besides, even though it was pricey, we still feel like that we gave some trades something to do and $ for their families in this economy. We also "saved" (in the form of religiously paying extra on our mortgage) for many years before we did what we wanted to do. It took us 5 years to design and plan our dream bathroom (we cannibalized space from an unused 3rd bedroom to give us a powder room and a double sink vanity area).

We are also thrilled with the end result (lots and lots of soapstone). Your bath is gorgeous and I know you enjoy yours, and smile every time you enter it, just like we do.

Congratulations! Both on your new bathroom and recognizing your limitations (as did we).

Tammy

Thank you so much for looking into the source of your marble tile, I'll definitely check it out.

I can really empathize both with paying dearly for a remodel and with the long search for "the" marble! I've been to about a dozen slab places-in a couple states!-and haven't seen The One. We have a slab on hold that will probably have to do. Everyone says "Don't settle!!" but at some point I've got to keep this project moving forward.

Hope you'll enjoy your bath for years to come!

Tammy:
I would love to see your bathroom. Do you have pictures to post, or did I already miss it? Yours sounds much more luxurious...we didn't do any warming drawers or heated floors (we're in Southern California and a rug seems to be adequate for us most of the year). We stayed within the 9 x 9'3" footprint of the original master bath, so it is hardly massive, but my DH and I also joke around that, between the kitchen remodel and the bath remodel, we did our part to keep the economy afloat in these hard times. We have lived here for 19 years, and after raising the children, and putting them through college, and one wedding down, one to go, we felt we deserved something nice for ourselves! Enjoy your bathroom!

Your bathroom is absolutely gorgeous!!! It is a spa in your home. You have given me some great inspriation. Thank you for sharing your pics!

Your bathroom is absolutely gorgeous!!! It is a spa in your home. You have given me some great inspiration. Thank you for sharing your pics!

Love, love, love your bathroom. Start to finish, top to bottom, a gorgeous and elegant room.

Wow! What a beautiful space. Enjoy it!!

Regarding your other comment on clutter: just make sure there is none when you take pictures... :=D

Wow your bathroom is fantastic! Great color scheme and the elements blend so well together. Love everything about it especially the WZ mosaic tiles.

Few more questions if you don't mind....

Can you please tell me about your cabinet hardware?
Is the shower floor the same as the bathroom floor?
Are the mosaic shower walls easy to keep clean? Have to use a special cleaner so they don't scratch or get dull?

Last but not least... You mentioned you live in S. CA. Me too. Are you anywhere near San Diego? We're not DIYers either and I could really use your design build firm!

Did you post pics of your kitchen on Garden Web? Would love to see it.
Thanks for the info!

Sorry a few more questions.
My shower and tub are laid out the same way as yours, sandwiched between 2 walls so no room to go with a longer tub without shrinking the shower or vice versa. Can you please give me the dimensions of your shower and the length of your tub area from where it butts up against the shower to the opposite wall where the tub fixtures are?

Our tub fixtures are also on the wall like your original and we have a large window just inches above the tub like yours. Another 1980's So Cal home! I've always been perplexed about appropriate window treatment. We have wood blind now, but I'm not wild about it. When we remodel the window size will probably remain the same and we need splash proof privacy! May I ask what kind of window treatment you have? Can't tell from the pic. Thanks.

island: Thanks for your interest. Here are some answers to your questions:

* cabinet hardware is Quincy, from Restoration Hardware
* shower floor is calacatta gold hexagon tiles (1.75"); floor tiles are calacatta gold hexagons (3")
* glass tiles in the shower have, so far, been easy to keep clean. I have gotten into the habit of taking a towel and drying the floor and lower walls after I shower...it really only takes 1-2 minutes, and keeps any moisture from sitting around. No special products are needed for the mosaic, but I have to be careful with the marble floor/slab bench, so I only use pH neutral cleaners.
* I'm in Agoura Hills (NW of LA), so San Diego is a bit far.
* Yes, I posted our kitchen in the fall of 2009; the title of the thread is "Our Finished Traditional Kitchen." It is also in the "Coming Soon Kitchens" in the Finished Kitchen Blog...right at the top of the list, so it might be officially posted soon.
* Shower size is about 43" x 48"...it is 43" from fixture wall to glass. The tub is only 60" long, with 5" marble before the glass (total wall length: 108").
* We have Hunter Douglas Silhouette shades on the bathroom window. We really don't anticipate using the tub much at all (I've only used it once, so far), so 'splash proof' was not a real concern for us. We really like them, and we were told that they were fine for a bathroom. The window looks out into a very private backyard (no houses behind us, trees).

I hope this helps, and that our kitchen is still available for you to see. We love our kitchen, too!
Patti

natenvalsmom,
I may have overlooked it but, what is our paint color?

carlyj:
Paint color is BM "Whispering Spring."

Thanks so much Natenvalsmom for the paint color.

Natenvalsmon thanks for the additional details. Your measurements and layout is similar to mine, except we have a little toilet room, so it's great to see what may be possible. Bummer that you're contractor isn't in my hood though, but your bathroom is certainly on the inspiration list. Bathroom jewelry!

Hi natenvalsmon,
Are you willing to share the name of your kitchen/bath contractor? I am also in SoCal and planning a bath addition this year. Were you happy with your contractor?

absolutely beautiful!!! We too are "almost done" with our bathrooms. We started in our downstairs bath putting travertine in a 4x6 shower, then remodeled the kitchen, then added a deck, and now are tiling our two upstairs baths. We ripped out fiberglass showers and put in tile. We love it!

pipdog:
Yes, we have been very pleased with Westside Remodeling, in the Conejo Valley, 30 mi. NW of LA (if you are not familiar with the area). You can check out their website (www.westsideremodeling.com).

Naten I think Westside needs to get pictures of your bathroom on their website lickitysplit because it surpasses anything they're already showing. Seeing your pics would make me want to hire them. Wait maybe they need to hire you!

island:
They came out a few weeks ago and took pictures, so maybe they'll show up soon! Thanks for the wonderful compliment!
Patti

Beautiful! We are in the middle of remodeling our master and two other bathrooms. I hope to achieve the same spa like feel in our master as you did. I looked up the paint color you used and it is pretty on a chip, but can't really tell where you used it. Would you mind telling me where to look?

Thanks!

stiles:
Yes, we used the BM "Whispering Spring" on the wall above the tub and over the window (admittedly, not much), but we also used the same color (different finish, of course) on the walls of the master bedroom, where we added French Doors to the pool, scraped the ceiling of the popcorn stuff, added baseboards, etc. Interestingly, though, the paint looks a bit different in the bedroom than it does in the bathroom because of the different light, I guess.

I love what you did! I just beginning a major master bath remodel and would really appreciate knowing about what you paid. Yours is very similar to what I have in mind, and being in Northern California I think our costs would be comparable. Can't find your email address, so could you send the info to me at mine?
pitaerin@gmail.com

Thanks so much.

So pretty! We're in the process of doing a similar color scheme but on a budget--no tile anywhere! I chose vinyl flooring and a Sterling Vikrell tub/wall surround, I was afraid of tile! I may add a backsplash at a later date, though.

Would you please share which Ben Moore line you used and which sheen for the Whispering Spring color?

Also, I'm loving your white paneled wall! Can you please share some information about it? How tall is it? Is it solid wood or just applied mouldings over drywall? What paint line and sheen did you use for it (trim work)? Is the trim solid wood? Sorry~I hope you're not tiring of answering questions!

Thanks so much for being such a sport and also for sharing your bathroom pics with us!

We're all smitten :~)

erinob:
I saw your message, and I am working on an email to you regarding some of the specific costs of our bathroom. Thank you for your interest!

catkin:
Thank you! I believe the Benjamin Moore paint line we used for the walls was called 'ben,' and the sheen was semi-gloss in Whispering Spring. It is a bluish-green, very light, and goes really well with the tile. We painted the master bedroom in the same color, but with an eggshell finish; it is more blue than green in the bedroom...I guess the lighting is different enough to make them look a bit different.

The white wainscoting in the bathroom is 36" inches high (same as the counter). It is wood with applied moulding. The paint was a bright white (not sure of the exact name), semi-gloss sheen, from the Aura liine of BM paints. All of the baseboards and window trim were painted with this paint. We had originally planned to have the entire wall tiled, but thought we'd save a little money by doing the wainscoting...I don't actually know if it was any cheaper, but I'm glad that we did it, as there is plenty of tile, and I think it breaks it up a bit.

I hope this answers your questions. Good luck with your remodel!
Patti

natenvalsmom thank you for answering.

I have such a problem picking paint! That's a pretty color, I looked at it on the fan deck.

One more question if I may! Do you know if they used a 1/4" or 1/2" high grade plywood for your paneled wall or a thinner luan type of material? I want to get this right! I have a textured painted drywall at the moment.

Thanks again!

catkin:

Wow! I can't believe it, but I DO know the answer to your question about the paneled wall!
They actually used both: they used 1/2" high grade on the wall with the towel rack, that extends from the shower. It has the applied mouldings. They had to use the 1/4" behind the toilet. If they had used the thicker, I believe they said that it would make the toilet sit too far away from the wall, and the drain/bolts wouldn't match up, if that makes sense (I am probably saying it wrong...I understand it, but I hope you can figure out what I'm talking about).

I don't know what "luan" is. The 1/4" was thin enough to not compromise the position of the toilet. We kept it simpler behind the toilet, with just a top moulding, since the area is so tight there.
Patti

You're the bomb! LOL Thank you! My bathroom is virtually the same size and layout as yours with a few exceptions. I've viewed thousands of bathrooms online and yours is the first I've seen that is so similar!

Our two vanities are situated where yours is except they extend the length of that wall with a lower shelf/space in between for sitting to put on makeup, etc. Our toilet sits directly across from where your toilet is placed in little alcove and our tub/shower combo is where your tub is.

I'd like to do your panel treatment in the same area where yours is and behind the toilet, too! I'm excited!

I've also decided to go with a pale green/blue/gray paint color--just have to pick one from my list of a dozen or so. :rolleyes:

Thanks again for the inspiration.

thanks for the great pics! We are right in the middle of our bath remodel and I hope ours looks as wonderful as yours.

Did you use white or bisquit tub and sinks? What color Toto toilet, colonial white, cotton or bisquit? Also, what color white did you paint the trim?

Thanks again for sharing all of the info. It has been a great help.

menmsmom:
Thanks!
The tub and sinks are white, and the Toto toilet is cotton, I believe (whatever color is the whitest). I am not sure what the white paint trim color is! I thought I knew, but now I'm not sure! It might be BM Decorator White, as we have some cans of that in the garage that are recent, but we had some other things painted, as well. Sorry!

sorry to hijack thread, but I'd like to ask Ferrets x 2 to post a picture of her bath. I'm planning a soapstone tiled bath, and would love to see hers.
salbwil

Wow! Every single choice is perfect! I love the tile, the floors, "the jewelry" (faucets, mirror, showerheads and such). Enjoy!

I love your sinks. Are they the Archer? Do they drain well?

catbuilder:
Yes, the sinks are Kohler, from the Archer suite. Very affordable, and we have had no problems with draining. My original vision was to put in hand hammered polished metal oval sinks, but they were sooo expensive (1400. to 2000. each!). I had seen a photo of one that was so beautiful with marble countertops, and I was smitten. Now, I am so glad that we didn't! The sinks are used so much, and I would have to worry all the time (water spots, keeping the finish from being ruined from toothpaste and cosmetics). These were only about $120. each, easy to clean, and they are simple and understated. The others would have been much 'too much' with the tile.

And the shape coordinates so well with your bathtub! I think that's what I like best about them.