Making Spaces

Next to kitchens, master bathroom remodels are the most common choice in updates for today's homeowners.  When Kim and K. C. first approached me and Connie about redoing their master bathroom, their main goal was more closet space.

As you can see from this drawing of the original plan (which was actually built in reverse), their bathroom was dominated by a huge corner whirlpool tub.  Kim and K. C. had been sharing the one walk-in closet, and they had simply run out of room.

Remember how all of us thought we just had to have that whirlpool tub when we built or bought our houses in the late '80's through most of the '90's?  Many of us later discovered that either we never set foot in the tub or if we did we never turned on the jets because yucky stuff collected in the pipes.  Well, Kim was at the point that she was more than willing to give up a tub that she never used if she could use the space for another closet.

After first looking at the possibility of taking part of the master bedroom for another closet, we decided that the best solution was to move the toilet, relocate the shower door (which used to open off the toilet area), and convert the existing toilet/shower room to another closet.  Here's a look at the plan for the remodel.

Now Kim and K. C. each have a walk-in closet, and we more than doubled their storage space by adding an armoire between the his and her vanities.

One thing that Kim was worried about was losing the light from the one bathroom window which used to be over the tub, so the original plan was to simply put a cased opening between the vanity area and the toilet/shower area.  However, concerns about privacy led Connie to suggest using a French door instead.  Problem solved.  The door gives a feeling of privacy but still lets light into the vanity area.

The tall armoire and mirrors that run from the top of the backsplash to the bottom of the crown molding add height to a room with 8' ceilings.

We have found that a lot of our customers like the open look of a channel faucet.  This one is a fairly recent addition to Delta's Victorian Collection in Venetian bronze.  All plumbing fixtures came from Ferguson Supply.  Tropic brown granite for the countertops was fabricated and installed by Architectural Stone Accents.  The backsplash tile is tumbled marble from Jenkins Brick and Tile.  It was also used for the shower floor, ceiling and trim.

We continued the bronze look in our choice of door and cabinet hardware and other accessories, including Kim's lighted wall-mounted make up mirror from Mayer Lighting.  It has both a regular and a magnifying side.  With a little planning ahead, we added wiring in the wall for the mirror, so there is no unsightly cord to contend with.

The shower is tiled in 13x13 porcelain tile laid in a pattern using brick joint and diagonal.  The 2x2 accent tiles complement the bronze fixtures which feature a large rain head, a handheld shower on a slide bar and two body sprays, with a diverter valve that allows you to use any two of these features at the same time.  A frameless shower door gives the whole thing a clean look.

The Nolens have been so pleased with their new bathroom that they've let us move on to their kitchen.  As K. C. said, "Once you let them in, you can't get rid of them."

For other magical transformations, be sure to visit Susan who is hosting Metamorphosis Monday at Between Naps on the Porch.

It's About Time!

It's almost time.  I can feel it in the air.  The early mornings are a little cool and crisp, and the oppressive humidity that we had just a few weeks ago is gone for now.

Earlier this week I saw my first yellow sulfur butterflies of the season as I drove down the road.  My friend Joe once told me that the appearance of the yellow sulfur butterflies was another sign that it was almost time.

Time for what, you ask.  Why college football of course.

Go Hogs!!

 And since college football, especially Razorback football, is one of my favorite things, I'm linking up with Laurie for Favorite Things Saturday.  Stop by Laurie's place to see other favorites.

P.S.  Look what I found sitting on my doorstep when I went out to get the mail today, and from none other than that sweet Laurie.  She is so thoughtful.

First was this cute brass plate holder.  Laurie remembered how much I liked it when she showed pictures of hers a while back.  She recently found this one at an estate sale and thought of me.

It works so well with my pig plate that I think I'll have to use it as a serving piece for the Game Day Watch Party we're having at our house September 4th.

Also in the box were these beautiful eggs with the sweetest birds painted on them.  I think they look very French.  Laurie said that she has lots of these, and she remembered how much I liked them from one of her earlier posts.

I guess sometimes it just pays to covet your "neighbor's" things!

Catching Up

My friend Glenda issued an ultimatum yesterday—"Quit playing this game (Words With Friends) and update your blog."

I have to admit that I haven't done a very good job this summer, but I can give you lots of excuses.  I've been really busy with work (a good thing), we've spent lots of time with the kids and the grands (also a good thing), we had a great trip to Oregon and Washington (a wonderful way to beat the heat), and I've just plain been lazy (not so good).

So today's post will be an attempt to catch up, so to speak.  I won't bore you with the work details, but I will have a couple of more posts about particular projects at a later date.  Meanwhile, you can check out this post for one bathroom remodel that Connie and I worked on.

I could go on and on about the grandkids, but I'll try to hit the highlights.  Walker and Lauren were here for a few days in early July with Brent and Katie before flying out to Seattle to spend the month with their other grandparents.  We made a quick 4th of July weekend trip to Arkansas, stopping in Memphis to see Mema Martha.

Then on to Little Rock for a 4th of July barbeque with my family.  Too bad Hunter couldn't join us.  He had to stay in Denver where "barbeque" means throwing something (anything) on the grill while we were feasting on pulled pork with all the trimmings from Whole Hog.

This was the first time we had had all three grands in the same place, so it was fun to see Lauren and Lucy in their matching dresses.

Later in the month, we had more time with Lucy when she stopped by with Ben and Claire on their way to and from Destin.

In early August, Katie, Walker and Lauren spent several days in Birmingham on their return from Seattle.  We discovered the McWane Center.  What a great place to spend time with kids, especially when it's 100 degrees outside.  Lauren could have spent hours at the water trough.

And Walker found all kinds of fascinating things to do. 

Just last weekend, Ben, Claire and Lucy made a return visit to Birmingham for Ben's 10-year class reunion.  Lucy is growing and has started eating solid foods, and I learned that babies are branching out these days.  Back in the day it was pretty standard to introduce rice cereal as the first solid.  So what was Lucy's first taste of "real" food.  Well, let's just say that pretty soon she'll be asking for a side of chips with her guacamole.

So it's been a busy summer, and I've got lots of pictures to show for it.  Guess it's time to get back to scrapbooking.  Meanwhile, my September Pottery Barn catalog came, and I just loved the script font that they used.  It's called Liorah.  What do y'all think?  I think it's going to be perfect for my scrapbooking projects.