Hi enduring, Do you rememeber you helped me with my bathtub decision? I am so glad I could offer bathroom vanity photos for your reference. If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to ask. First photo is the bathroom full view. The vanity cabinet is custom made using clear alder wood. Cabinet pulls are from Ikea. The counter top is made of quartzite Moonlight. We use same quartzite to trim around the bathtube, shower nitch, and window frame. The quartzite is very pretty, almost maintainence free, super easy to clean. We thought it would be easier to bath small kids, we decided using long shower curtain (from Restoration Hardware) instead of glass shower door. This photo shows the towels storage. I put two big bathsheets, and one roll of paper towel in the top drawer. There are 4 regular bathtowels and 4 face towels in the bottom drawer. The 2 top drawers on the right sides I keep make ups, grooming items, in the bottom drawer I put a bath scale and jewelry cleaner there. This photo shows trash pull out. The top shelf I put hair products there. 2nd shelf I put body wash, mouth wash, body lotion, shampoo bottles, face cleaner..etc. 10 full size bottles in total, and still has room for more. Next to the Toto toilet there is storage room for toilet paper rolls, paper towel and magazine rack. By the toilet (cannot see from the photo) there is an electrical outlet in case we want to add a washelet later. The two wooden boxes next to the mirror are medcine cabinets. The only doors are under the sink. There is plenty room for cleaning products and equipments. The top left drawer is for medicine. The 2nd drawer keeps hair drayer, curling iron, and toiletry bags for trips.The bottom drawer is for shoe polishing kit, shoe pads, emergency medicine bag...etc. . As I mentioned earlier, I am glad we chose full size cabinet. The ample storage keeps everything, so nothing is out. The counter top and tiles are all easy to clean, therefore keeping this bathroom clean does not take much effort at all. This post was edited by azmom on Fri, Jun 28, 13 at 3:49

" Is it okay to use grout at the perimeter to hold small pieces in place? " NO. Drywall: Industry standard is A 5/8" gap between drywall and your slab and that is a seperate concern from the tile perimeter expansion gap. Drywall can and will wick moisture from a slab and turn to mold. In time that mold will spread behind your baseboards and into your wall cavity until you see it. Tile: TCNA Handbook recommends allowing for expansion and contraction in every tile installation. In small rooms, a gap at the perimeter of the room (often hidden by baseboard or shoe molding) is sufficient. No grout at the perimeter means no grout at any part of the perimeter. Nor caulk. Be it a wall stud or drywall hung to low. As defined by TCNA EJ171 and ANSI this means the tile must have expansion at the the stud itself or the drywall if it is installed to low. Beyond that Your homes framing will expand and contract both vertically and horizontally. The drywall still needs to have a gap and should never touch the tile anywhere just like the drywall cant touch the slab anywhere.

Chip Minimizer is an edging enhancement to the sink cutout. The most common area for chips is around the sink from handling pots and pans. Chip Minimizer is the addition of a rounded or beveled edge around the sink cutout. I’ve been quoted $195-$250 for this and it comes with a warranty where they will repair any chips that occur on a sink cutout with Minimizer. Many Home Depot fabricators will offer this feature, and their direct competitors have been offering it too in recent years. Some of the smaller companies or ones in more rural areas sometimes don’t include this in their quotes (but might be able to do it). The cost to repair a chip is more than $250 so it can make a lot of sense. Visually it is only noticeable if you’re looking for it. It feels smoother to the touch too. One of the companies in my area supports Home Depot. They warehouse all the slabs, fabricate, Demo and install, coordinate all plumbing, offer sinks and faucets, assist with design for backsplashes, repair walls and uneven cabinetry, and order the tile, and hire the tile installers. They are able to quote all of this in minutes right in your home. I’ve also seen some move toward digital measurements with a handheld scanner instead of using measuring tapes. They are also able to measure, template, and fabricate without demolishing the counters. That means you don’t live without counters and the demo and install happen the same day. More and more products are now sold by the sf, not slab, including selected granite, quartzite, and quartz (not sure on Marble - I’ve never gotten a quote). Every quartz I got quoted was by the sf, not slab (with a 25 sf minimum). We needed about 1.3 standard slabs so this mattered to me. Financing options with 12 months interest free is popping up too (in addition to discounts, free sinks, and free vanity counter fabrication with your remnants). Sorry if I’m explaining stuff everyone knows and encounters. I’ve just noticed differences between the big and small companies and changes in capabilities and integrated services over the last 10 years.

they're all over. some are known as Kit Kat tiles. others "Japanese finger tiles" . houzz has these on sale in this color, but scroll down on this page and see the other colors Wayfair has a bunch https://www.wayfair.com/The-Mosaic-Factory--3.5-x-0.5-Microbeveled-Porcelain-Mosaic-Sheet-Tile-SEF12-L2970-K~MSFC1171.html https://www.wayfair.com/home-improvement/pdp/the-mosaic-factory-35-x-05-micro-beveled-porcelain-mosaic-sheet-tile-msfc1171.html?piid=57370416 Glass? https://www.tilebar.com/maya-stacked-sky-polished-glassmosaic.html check out the Portmore tiles. (comes in diff colors) https://www.tilebar.com/portmore-white-3x8-glazed-ceramic-tile.html Tilebar has them, but I think Wayfair and HomeDeport carry them under the IvyHill tiles. https://www.wayfair.com/home-improvement/pdp/ivy-hill-tile-kingston-3-x-8-ceramic-subway-tile-sost4285.html?piid=50449687