Sorry I didn't get to this sooner, djdoggone, and sorry this is long but I can go on forever about bathrooms. LOL If it's too much to digest at once, you could save it to your "clippings" (look on the right side of the screen) and read it in bits. Glad your library is getting you the Powell book. Even if you find absolutely nothing else useful, which I doubt, there's some great eye candy in it! :-) However, 8'x9' is not a small bathroom, it is quite generously sized! When you said "tiny bathroom" I was thinking more like the 5'x6' bath that's fairly typical of a small house! Do you have a floorplan? I was able to fit both a soaking tub (a clawfoot, yum) and a shower stall into the 8.5'x8.5' master bath in my previous house; in the same-sized upstairs bath (oh, do I miss having separate baths) had a shower/tub but a double vanity and good-sized linen closet in the same size room. Very rarely do you have to lay mosaic tiles individually - they pretty much always come in sheets for easy installation, thank goodness! Unless you cough up for custom made borders (yeowch) or use a simple strip border, they have to be put together by hand but you can set them up on mesh mosaic sheets beforehand, which are then just laid onto the thinset. I had eliminated the small mosaics because you had specified "easy to clean" and that's a lot of grout! (I was unimpressed with the so-called stain-resistant epoxy grout. It DID stain, had a bit of a plasticky look, cost a lot extra for both materials and installation, and just wasn't worth the hassle in the end.) While Greek key borders can be had premade they are virtually always either glass or stone which isn't really appropriate for the style of house you're aiming for. One of the other nice things about the Daltile octagon-and-dot, it's dirt cheap. :-) You can do a simple but attractive border by cutting out the small tiles in, say, a double line around the perimeter of the room (before installing the sheet) and replacing them with those of another color. It is very classic and goes pretty much anywhere. (Some people will insist that you have to use large floor tiles with a small bathroom "to make it look larger". I disagree, especially if the color values of the small tiles and the grout are similar which minimizes visual clutter and busy-ness. I also disagree that small spaces must be automatically made to "look larger" - we have in this culture an attitude of "bigger is better" even when perhaps we should really embrace compact efficiency.) If you live in a chilly location, electric floor warming mats are probably the best few hundred bucks you'll spend in a bathroom project. On average they use about the same amount of electricity as a light bulb, and you can get a programmable thermostat as an option. I loved mine and the people who bought the house were totally jazzed about having such a "luxury". (It cost about $300 for the mat and the fancy thermostat - Home Depot and Lowes both carry the Suntouch brand, which is what I used.) Per the pedestal sink... maybe I'm just strange (okay, that's nothing new) but having pedestal sinks has always made it much easier for me to manage the clutter factor in the bathroom, because it forces me to put things away when I am done with them. When I have plenty of horizontal space like a full countertop, it accumulates "stuff". Some pedestal sinks have wider decks than others, too, giving you more room to set things down while they are in use - American Standard's Retrospect and Standard are two right off the top of my head, as are many of the wider pedestal sinks from Kohler (Bancroft, Kathryn, Devonshire, for example; the narrower versions have skinny decks). Toothbrush holders and suchlike can be wall mounted to get them off the sink top, or a glass shelf placed above the sink under the mirror or nearby. If there is floor space, a small standing cabinet (here's a spendy one at Pottery Barn, but it gets the idea across) can be placed next to the sink. As for toilet paper storage, there are attractive cylindrical storage containers especially for TP (Wal-Mart, Target, Linens & Things, etc.) that hold a four-pack and can tuck behind the toilet, keeping the "stash" within easy arm's reach. If you get monster packages, the remains can be stored elsewhere and the in-bath container kept filled from that. You obviously already know about recessed cabinetry, which is usually your best friend in a small bathroom - a wood-framed recessed medicine cabinet (VanDykes.com has a nice kit that is cheaper than a similar readymade from somewhere like Restoration Hardware) over the sink is stylistically compatible with beadboard etc. and holds some stuff, and if you use beadboard on the walls you can use a beadboard door on your recessed wall cabinet to help it blend in, and keep your trim very narrow. I had a tall, skinny (I'm talking like a 10x15" footprint) freestanding linen cabinet tucked into the corner near the toilet to keep the standard bathroom things in; things that were not used often were stored in the closet of an adjoining room. A pretty decorative cabinet can hang over the toilet to hold yet more - in the upstairs bath in the previous house that's where TP and such lived because we could just reach over our heads to get a fresh roll! LOL I am not much for the "spacesaver" sort of over-the-toilet cabinet, although some people like them. If you think the right way you can cram a positively ridiculous amount of storage into even a small bathroom. Can you do a pocket door? They are some of the best spacesavers in the world, and they have come a LONG way from the flimsy things of the 60s and 70s, more like the heavy and durable ones of the Victorian era (many of which are still functioning just fine today!). There is even locking hardware available. I understand the PITA factor of the combo shower and tub in a vintagey bath, I'm in the same boat. (Complicated by the need for a deep soakable tub for the 60" niche - I'm a daily soaker - in a lighter-weight acrylic tub in this 107yo house, feh! I love the feel of cast iron, but reinforcing the floor joists to permit the cast iron would require tearing up the floor in the hallway and one bedroom, or tearing down the ceilings in the dining room and kitchen. Uh, no.) Pretty shower/tub faucet sets are available - I love the one in American Standard's Standard Collection and it's very reasonably priced. Subway tile (white with light gray grout) would look especially lovely for the tub surround but if the hubby is being super stubborn then a solid surface (Corian type, but there are several other brands now) material would be attractive behind that glass and easily cleanable. A light gray with a subtle granite-like flecking, perhaps, although Corian does make a pretty solid light gray (Pearl Gray). Not quite sure what you mean by "how do I frame this bath" - can you clarify further? Have you visited the Smaller Homes forum? It's going through a slowish patch now but it has flurries of activity, and if you post questions you'll almost certainly get plenty of answers.

I’m glad I posted - I very much like the idea of adding a little bit in the way of slightly nicer trim and doors. That seems like something that can be done without it looking like we were trying to make the house something it isn’t. (I don’t mean anything super fancy, just better than the current stuff which looks like the cheapest option from a big box store and doesn’t have nice proportions.) We’re lucky in that there aren’t popcorn ceilings, too. Though I don’t think adding crown molding would look right, the ceilings aren’t high enough. I’m still in a bit of a rut about the kitchen, but we have a bit of time before we get started on that so hopefully I can get my mindset away from shaker and more shaker, which is where I was leaning for the current house as it seemed the right balance of simple and traditional. We may still end up going a bit traditional there, though - we’re going to look into opening up the wall some between the dining room and kitchen to help with the lighting issue (the dining room has a big window and the kitchen has none) and I don’t want to totally lose the idea of a more formal dining space, so I’m thinking the kitchen shouldn’t be too casual. My wish list is soapstone counters but we’ll see what the budget looks like. I do hope we can spring for proper hardwood floors, at least on the main floor - this house still has the original hardwood and even needing to be refinished it has a depth that’s gorgeous. I think that would help add a lot of life to the basic structure of the house.

ok bob. i'm not talking about marine varnishes. and perhaps my statement was a little generalized. although,At its core, polyurethane is a petrochemical resin that contains isocyanates.so technically i'm not too far off. However, i'm talking about readily available products that a novice could get. the stuff you buy off the shelf at the big stores that most of these people visit. personally I've used about 6 of those names on your list but don't think this OP needs to spend that money and get that varnish. a regular poly is perfectly fine for this table. it's not going to crack because it isn't outside. Epifanes is $50 for a small can. she really has to use that when a GF topcoat will work just as well ? Or Deft water based poly from Lowes for under $15? Polyurethane is a sealant and finish product that is used to protect and enhance fine wood floors, cabinets and furniture. While it is similar to varnish in terms of application and appearance, polyurethane is generally harder and more abuse resistant, which means it is commonly used for sealing wood floors. Unfortunately, polyurethane is less flexible than varnish, so it may not be the best choice to use on wood pieces that move or flex. Which is what I mentioned in my comment. you don't have to worry about the poly cracking so there is no need to spend money on a varnish. The "Oil and Urethane Blend" on the Arm-r-Seal is like calling a loaf of bread "Flour and Yeast Blend" what is your point to this comment? I wasn't part of the naming crew for this product.

Well! I am glad. Because IF you were my client, I'd have made you rip all the bedroom carpets to hardwood, before you tackled a lick of trim. : ) Realize too, that an attempt to turn a perfectly lovely 1990's contemporary shell INTO a Craftsman......? Can fail you and empty your pockets. You can have " the beef" ......with care , a great result too. A five inch window casing, NO change in size/trim at the top, for just one instance. Simple single panel doors. .....glowing hardwood. Also a lighting plan that is cohesive. ( kitchen ) If your new "help" is very honest,? She is going to rein you in a bit, slow you down a bit. Resist the urge to fire her, as she will be giving you good advice should that happen. Along with, finish that which you start, and don't peck all over the house. Rome isn't built in a day. A designer can help you focus your efforts for most appropriate result and value.......over time. Good luck!