Mommielady, I'm in Love with the curbless shower, even a year later! Not only does it have the appearance of making the room seem more open, with no curb to step (or trip) over on the way in/out, it's easy access. My Dad had problems with his hips in his old age, my mom has problems with her knees, and I have at times been physically handicapped enough to know that a shower you can simply walk into is much easier than one you step into. With aging and genetics being what they are, I was going to make it as easy on myself as I could. (If I'm ripping out the rest of the bathroom, well then why not?) Also, water does sometimes go beyond the opening, and a curb would make it seem more of a problem than if I expected it to stay within certain boundaries, especially since there's no door on the shower. I don't plan on being in a wheelchair, but I know how easy my shower is to access for anyone (even to bathe the dog). I would do it again in a HEARTBEAT. Is the end result of going curbless worth the headache of removing pre-existing concrete? It was for me, absolutely. If your contractor doesn't have experience with this however, I would find someone who does. Removing the concrete seems less problematic to me than getting the right slope on your mudbed so the drain will handle the water in the shower. You absolutely need someone with experience at this, so pick your tile guy carefully. Yes, the drain is off-center. Being centered, especially with two straight and a bowed wall didn't really matter in the grand scheme of things. What matters is the slope of the floor which allows the water to drain. The only way to get that is to build it from scratch. No, it wasn't hard for my tile guy to get the slope, although he had experience. They did have to tear out to the sub-floor so there'd be enough room to run the heated floor into the shower. I particularly love this because it dries the shower floor and I've never had an issue or mold or mildew. Again, setting a heated floor mat into your mud bed can be tricky so you really want someone who is experienced and will assume some liability with the company who manufactures the floor mat (I used Sun Touch). That way if there are problems, you have someone who knows where the problems can arise, and which path to take. What I saved on keeping the shower doorless (by not purchasing a frame-less glass door) allowed me to use the savings on the heated floor. I'm sorry, I couldn't back up enough in my small bathroom to get a picture of the entrance with my camera! It's very small, which is why I love so much having the feeling of even a little more open space. I hope this helps you.

Thanks everyone! We decided to purchase the last two slabs from bundle A. Stay tuned, I'll post photos once we get them installed! Jam_sf- We're in Central California. All of these slabs were in the bay area. Most of the stores had the vein cut and cross cut Luce di Luna. In person they are slightly gray. These specific bundles were from Pietra Fina in Hayward. I worked with a gal named Victoria. They had 3 other bundles as of today. Integrated marble in SF had some as well. Good luck! Here is a link that might be useful: Pietra Fina

I can echo ebse: our 1930 house has its original glass doorknobs backed by polished silver/chrome. But the little knobs on the hall closets wouldn't work in our kitchen--too small, and I don't want to push a tiny button to get out the plates. Our KD keeps saying: think classic, think simple: so I'm looking through Schoolhouse Electric and Rejuvenation and RH catalogs, and we're trying to reproduce the look of our shaker cabinets (but updated: slides and depth added). Our home, according to previous owners, had linoleum, and I love the Marmorette I've chosen. The finish carpenter wants to duplicate some of the woodwork, since we're taking out a wall and the kitchen will open into the former formal dining room. But the sticking point is this: I want SS appliances. I want those two lovely SS sinks and faucets. I had Traci's double-oven for 15 years (it finally died---it's from the 60's. It was the first GE to make a self-cleaning oven, according to the old appliance store where we purchased it back in the early 80's). So, we all make those decisions to try and reproduce the elements that remind us of "days gone by." Ellen Goodman wrote years ago about our generation building huge homes to act as perfect stages where we perform our lives...except, nobody's home, because we're all working hard to be able to pay for those big stages. Sigh. The most hospitable home I've ever been in was a tiny, nondescript ranch in So. Cal. where a tiny Japanese-American woman cooked over a gas range, in a non-A/C kitchen. The food was amazing, and always prepared with love. Best kitchen I knew. I want a prettier "stage," but I want her essence in that room. I'm working on it.

Hi jaluca, welcome! The floors are just a shade over 5" wide, they are all one width. DH and I had decided on random widths and when I went into the reclaimed flooring place I changed my mind at the last moment and went with all 5". I think both would have looked great, but I'm very pleased with the 5". We have a water-based finish on the floor. We opted not to go with a more typical oil-based finished in part for environmental reasons (and to reduce odour) but also because oil finished tend to yellow the hardwood and I loved the blonde/light brown colours in the birch. Hope this helps, let me know if you need any other info.