All In a Day's Work

I feel sorry for people who dread going to work on Monday morning.  I love my job, and for me Monday is the beginning of another week helping people turn their dreams into reality.

Connie and I have been busy lately doing just that—turning dreams into reality.  One of our recent projects was a total re-make of Sandi's and Mark's master bathroom.  Here's a brief looks at the bathroom before we started.

It was a typical 20-year-old master bathroom—outdated wall color and border, cultured marble tub and shower with a low ceiling in the shower, tile floors.  The cabinets were stained oak with cultured marble countertops and lots of polished brass—towel bars, faucets and shower door frame. 

Fortunately, Sandi and Mark had a pretty clear idea of what they wanted, and provided us with this inspiration picture from a magazine.

We started by gutting everything.  We tore out sinks, faucets, tub, shower and tile.  The only thing we salvaged was the toilet, which we took out and stored in the basement to reinstall on the finish up. 

Sandi and Mark had suspected that they had a shower leak.  Sure enough, this is what we found when Ronnie did the shower demolition.  You could step right through the floor decking, and some of the studs were rotten, but at this point, it was a pretty easy fix.

Here's an overview of the finished bathroom.  The stained cabinets were a concession to Mark, who likes the look of the dark rich wood.  We chose alder for these cabinets, that were custom made by Abercrombie Cabinets.  Sandi and Mark each have a vanity and an armoire.  Mark's side has shelves behind the doors and three deep drawers.  Sandi's side looks just the same, but instead of three drawers, she has one drawer and a tilt-out hamper.

The white vessel sinks are from Lowe's.  We went with the Delta Victorian collection in Venetian bronze for the sink faucets but decided on the channel style for a more modern touch.  Although the inspiration bathroom used marble on the countertops, Sandi liked the look and durability of granite and selected yellow nut from Architectural Stone Accents.  The mosaic tile on the backsplash  and the 20x20 floor tile came from Jenkins Brick and Tile.  The mirrors are by Delta and coordinate with all of their Venetian bronze faucets.

Each vanity is open below with a shelf for baskets.  Sandi chose these baskets from Pottery Barn to store towels, wash cloths and toiletries.

It's becoming more and more popular to pack showers with lots of "goodies."  This shower has several options—a traditional shower head, a handheld shower and two body sprays.  A special diverter lets you operate the body sprays and either of the two shower heads at the same time.  We used the same tile as the floor tile on the shower walls in a 13x13 size and accented the walls with a band of the mosaic.  A frameless shower door makes for a nice clean look.

The focal point of Mark's and Sandi's bathroom is this beautiful white cast iron pedestal tub by Cheviot.  The bronze faucet is also by Cheviot and comes with a handheld shower.  For those who prefer a tub bath to a shower, the handheld makes it easy to wash your hair and is also helpful for cleaning.  All of the plumbing fixtures were provided by Ferguson Enterprises.  Thanks to Amy Bond at the downtown Birmingham showroom for taking our inspiration photo and finding everything we wanted to complete our look.

Here's another look at the tub and the crystal chandelier from Home Depot that hangs in the middle of the bathroom, completing the look that started with an inspiration.

And if you're wondering about what's draped over the outside of the bathroom windows, come back in a few weeks, and I'll show you what we've done to the outside of Mark's and Sandi's home.  You won't believe the transformation.

Since my job is one of my "favorite things," I'm linking up with Laurie this week.  Go visit her and get inspired.

I also think this qualifies for Metamorphosis Monday.  Be sure to visit Susan at Between Naps on the Porch for more transformations.