thanks for the encouragement lesleyintn and karena. To answer you questions Karena...there is some natural light. There will be a narrow (about 10") tall (about 36") nonfunctioning window to let some light in. And I don't think there will be any "countertop" per se on the vanity. The space for the sink is teeny, tiny, because of jogs in the wall where the old brick row house joins the new wood framed extension . So it's going to end up being only about 18" wide and 20" deep. I'm having a small arts and crafts oak table made to fit the spot...sort of like an end table or night table--four legs, a small shelf at the bottom and a sort of apron to cover the sink plumbing. And the sink is only 12" in diameter. Faucets will be wall mounted or on a narrow raised deck at the back of the table. Since there is so little of the top, I'm inclined to leave it wood, using waterlox or a really strong, oldfashioned beeswax finish on it to protect it. But if I panic about water damage, I'll probably use a bit of soapstone. The room won't be light and bright, but I think it will have a warm glow.

I sent my sister a thread from this site because it had a cool litter box and she's an animal person. She replied: "The inspector showed up today, so our patio and walkways are being poured tomorrow. Bit of a shame that part of the stuccoed block wall nook that was constructed for our trash cans had to be knocked down and rebuilt because someone didn't measure properly and it wouldn't fit all of the cans. Honestly, I don't know how this is actually getting completed. [husband] talks with [GC], our contractor. The workers go at it. At the end of the day [husband] tells [GC] that there is a problem or two. [GC] says no problem and then they do it again. Job security I guess. The spa patio cover was supposed to be freestanding on four posts. When the day to dig arrived, [GC] finds out that the county has just changed the rules: move the cover 10 feet away from the house, or remove two uprights and attach it to the house. They dug two enormous and deep holes for footings (which [little dog] fell into twice - poor vision?). [Husband] pointed out that they were too far distant from the house for the spa cover to line up with the existing patio cover. [GC] says Oh you wanted them to line up? In order to keep the job on time, let's wait until the inspector approves them, then we'll fill them in and relocate them. Inspector approves, then [GC] realizes that, because the cover will only span 11 feet, not 17, the enormous footings aren't required. So tomorrow they fill in the inspected holes, and in the end mount the posts on top of the patio. Honestly. We trust [GC] and he seems to have sharp, hard-working people, but somehow I thought it would be more organized. And no one can tell me just what color all of this concrete will end up being. I'm praying that [husband] remembers what colors I kept pointing to in the samples, and then praying that the work boss will actually make that happen. In the end I'm preparing myself to smile and say how great it turned out because what choice do I have after it's on the ground?" So, yeah, Melissa, Keystone Cops.

Love the French Gray and do not like the Oceanside blue with it. I would do the entire room in the French Gray and the only accent wall I would consider is just the front wall in the entry. it would not be Oceanside. Wait until you start painting the gray and you will see how much of a lavender undertone it has. I do not see the French Gray working with the colors you have now…the yellows and greens. You might want to reconsider the gray. Try “online” gray. It will work with Oceanside. And I would only paint that front door wall in the teal. Then you can bring it into the main room.

Hi, Denise. (a) YES on the pocket door. My husband and I redid our master bath and did a pocket door, I love it. (b) Do you really want your closet open to your bathroom? I have never had that, but seems to me the bathroom would get steamy when you take a shower, then your clothes would get subjected to humidity. although understood if that is your only option. (c) re having a WC or privacy wall - someone made a point about it being difficult to get in there with a wheelchair or a walker... agreed. also: we thought about doing that in ours, opted against it. works fine... because DH uses the hall bathroom when he needs to do his business, ha! I use our bathroom but just lock the door. not sure how well that would work for you. Below is the layout of our bathroom in case it helps. the staggered vanities work well for us, and the shower is a nice size. The thing in the lower right corner is a stacked washer and dryer. you could have it be a linen closet.