threeapples--I'll see if I can make it over to my Mom's house today and snap a pic of her powder room for you. Hers is set up like layout 1. You really do not see the toilet-part of that is that it is tucked near the wall and for the most part out of direct line of sight. The other part is her sink presentation is stunning & a show stopper when you open the door. I think a photo of a similar layout will help. Positioning the toilet the other direction will make it more difficult to get to the front of the toilet so that would be a no-go for me--see layout below of that scenario. Layout 1 is with Kallista Sink, Layout 2 is with 30" Vanity: Just a question--the layouts show that you can easily do the Kallista console sink, so why not go that route since that's the one you really want? Also, I saw you can just order the legs of the sink--if the width still bothers you, why not just order the legs & have a stone fabricator take care of the top & sink for you? As far as the other vanity goes, I like it and think it will work (but still like Kallista better). I'm not sure about the brass hardware. I'd have to get a sample of the antique brass and put it up against that stain to see how it looked. With a hammered silver sink (which I think would be stunning), I'd really have to think long & hard about the brass... I've also posted a layout of the 30" vanity for you to see the difference (or lack thereof--you're only talking 3" savings on each side)).

Thanks Bill, Am excited and afraid at the same time at the thought of our first tiling project! Fellow at the tiling store basically told me I was over-thinking everything- but this reno has taken so long, I don't want to mess up the final few details. After this, we have two more bathrooms, and our kitchen BS, and maybe another kitchen BS - so figure we'll 'get our feet wet' on this one. I have read and bookmarked your bathroom tile FAQs as well as have read (and hopefully retained a little) so much of your advice over the past year that I feel I have a guardian angel looking over my shoulder! :>) BTW, couldn't find a 6X6 tile the right colour- so have ordered the 2X4 brick in the Botticino. It'll be in Wednesday, so may get it up on Friday!

Noobs - I'm thinking of going the same direction as you. However prices are much higher than when you said "I can get 21mm for about $3 and less for 1x6." Where did you find that 21mm Ipe and 1x6 Ipe? Thanks in advance,

If you use the same windows, the 2x6 exterior frame would help. And yes, that is what I meant by framed windows. The best scenario would be to increase the sill depth (outside edge of sill to window) and leave off any side and top framing. Have your sill extend at least 2 inches wider than the window opening on each side. Norman has a crown z frame that works as I described in the earlier post, and extends out 2 1/8 outside the window opening-- framing out your window nicely. The important thing is to talk to someone early on and choose shutter framing-- saving yourself the finish cost of framing out the windows on the construction end. That way you also won't have as hard a time matching stains to an existing frame. Are those windows tilt-out? Certain shutter installations no longer allow you to tilt them out. What size louver are you considering? If you want a 3 1/2" louver, for example, you would need about 1.2 inches of clearance from the back edge of your shutter panel for the louvers to open fully without hitting the glass. It's good that you are thinking about this ahead of time. We do shutters all the time on existing framing, but when you add zero sill depth to the situation, build-outs are required and can start looking bulky.