I always had problems with hair collecting in my bathtub drain. I tried all kinds of shields, screens, etc.I got used to pouring Drano down. We had a plumber in at least twice a year. Then I found the answer. My youngest daughter moved out. She has waist-length hair. She's also a professional hairdrsser, always trying the latest hair fads on herself, coloring, straightening, extensions. When she and her long hair moved out, so did my plumbing problems. I know this works.

My parents house is like that, but there’s a wall with a wide doorway into the area with the vanity, so it’s open but also easy to close off by just putting a curtain rail up. It’s also oriented to the room such that if you only use enough light at the vanity to wash your hands for a midnight potty run, it really isn’t enough to bother someone in the bed if you place the bed sensibly. Getting ready in the morning would be trickier if you needed to do makeup and so on so needed proper lighting, so that’s where a screen or a curtain would come in.

Lovely! I like the classic white tile and porcelain and how you used furniture pieces in the bathroom. I love that the storage at the end of the tub has pull-outs that can be reached from the toilet. Your custom sink and backsplash and counter are unique and beautiful. Yours may be the first bathroom sink I have seen in which a small or medium dog could be washed! That is a good thing! I showed your pictures to my DH because I am thinking of classic tiled walls with a chair rail for when we redo our bath in a couple of years. He liked it! I was expecting him to say, "too old fashioned." He did not, he said it looked nice. From him, nice is a compliment. He even liked your rows of listello. I was just at the Tile Shop's site the other day looking at the Hampton tiles because someone was selling some on Craigslist. I am hoping to do as you did and get what I can cheaper there, and fill in the rest from the store. I can see that you worked very hard to secure all of your materials - and then cut the floor tiles to size and culled the Hampton tiles, too! You succeeded very well in getting the look you wanted while saving money along the way. Congratulations, and thank you for the pictures and great detail and supply list.

With the temps we have had, I knew there had to be an explanation! No need for the heated birdbath yet. No juncos so far, and haven't seen a flicker for months, no cardinals for a while either. Haven't put up any feeders yet, but they will go up later this month. Lots of resident bluebirds are still around, as well as nuthatches, chickadees, downys, some blue jays. Goldfinches have been scarce ever since they pretty much stripped the sunflowers. That will change as soon as the thistle feeder goes up. Hoping the abundant crabapples will bring in the waxwings like they did year before last...nothing last year. And there is an upside to the leaves falling...better visibility. Too bad there will be so little daylight. Trade-offs! Susan