New Year Resolution: decorate my home

Happy New Year everyone.  With the various conversations I've had with clients regarding their New Year resolutions, this is starting off to be a fun year. It seems like many of  you  are on the road to simplicity and to making your homes more comfortable.  Conversations such as this are always fun and upbeat.  The funny thing is that several of my clients have the same top New Year resolution and that is: "decorate my home."  I was asked for a few suggestions that may help them keep things organize so below are a few task that will help manage your remodeling endeavour:

 1) Make a list and prioritize the items. I'm sure you are tired of hearing this but it's surprising how many people don't put their thoughts down on paper first.  This task will insure that you tackle the most critical items first.  If you are thinking of updating multiple areas like your kitchen, bathrooms and the master suite than you need to zero in on what area will impact your life the most when you remodel it.  You only have so much money for the remodel so if the furniture in the bedroom will make you feel better than the new double oven, or the more spacious shower, then do the bedroom first.  But if you really can't live with those old oak cabinets anymore then do the kitchen first. 

2) Come up with a comfortable and feasible budget.  This may require some research.  The more projects you want to do this calendar year, the harder the task.

3) De-clutter, if necessary. This will become an issue if you want to update your space but you don't have any space for the new items. The good thing about de-cluttering is that it will not effect the budget but de-cluttering is often essential for re-decorating. As crazy as it seems, if you want to change your life, a good way to start is by cleaning out the closet. Getting rid of clutter will re-energize a space. This is a hard task.  You should never part with items that you love, but if you haven't used something in the last year then it may be time to toss it. 

4) Be patient. Don’t try to do it all at once. Consider how much you really want something before moving ahead.  On items that you really want do not settle for less. I have found when people settle for less they often regret it. My advise is that if you want an island in the kitchen but you don’t want the expense of knocking out that wall right now in order to have one then don't do the kitchen this year.  If, on the other hand, you decide that you will probably never want that type of remodel expense then do the kitchen so that you can enjoy the upgraded features that can make working in the kitchen easier and more enjoyable. Again, consider the impact and what will add the most to your lifestyle.

5) Congratulate yourself on making good decisions as you go through the process. As a designer I can tell you that whether you are designing a kitchen or decorating your living area, it is a process and it all takes time.

6) Last, but not least, call me if you need help.

Part Three - The Roman Tub Remodel - The Rest of the Story

The process of designing a bathroom can take weeks or months depending on the complexity of the remodel. It’s a very interactive process where the homeowner is required to make decisions regarding tile, cabinets, countertop and hardware selections as well as all the plumbing fixtures selection. It can be overwhelming for many clients and my task is to keep everything on track, make it as stress free as possible and keep everyone focused on the end result.

Before I begin the rest of the story lets recap the concerns expressed by the homeowner in this project. In the shower/tub area: remove the tile lip around the rim of the tub, replace the shower curtain with glass but still protects privacy, need a place for shampoo, need to upgrade the shower equipment. In the sink vanity area: need an updated look and need more storage. In Part 1 there are pictures of the old Roman tub layout if you need to see what it looked like before the remodel.

The major concern in this shower/tub combination area was the lip that outlined the rim of the tub thereby creating a safety issue for the homeowner. The picture on the left shows how we eliminated that risk by simply making the tile flush with the steps leading down into the new shower/tub area.

The shower curtain and white rod also just had to go.  Shower glass was used to replace the old shower curtain.  Privacy is often a request when it comes to the glass in the shower area  and an easy way to address that concern is with a frosted glass or with etched glass.  In this case the glass is frosted up to the 78” and then clear to allow for light to enter the area.  .  As you can also see in this photo we tiled up to the ceiling within the shower area.  If you have an 8' ceiling it is often best to tile to the top so you don’t have that tile line to clean. 

 A tile design can be as simple or as complicated as you want it to be.  I work with the homeowner to pick out the best tile for their space because the options are endless. If you decide to go with natural stone rather than a slab that adheres to the wall then you need to pick out a stone that comes with a variety of shapes and compatible colors.  On the floor of this shower are the 2x2 tiles that have the same color combination that we have on the walls and the 18”  tiles for the flooring.  These same 2” tiles are also used to add drama to the 12” wall tiles throughout the enclosure.  This is a simple yet very effective way to dress up your shower.  The old design did not include a space for things like hair shampoo, so in the redesign we placed the shampoo nook into the outside wall of the enclosed shower.  A nook is normally about 3 ½” deep and can be as high as you need it to be although I have not designed anything greater than 36” tall which gives you three shelves.  All design is based on the needs of the client so if you need more than one shelf we can incorporate that in the design process.

With a small bathroom maximizing space is also a critical endeavor.  In this remodel there were several aspects that we could improve upon to do just that.  Here are the details:
 

1.  Fulloverlay Door  -  a frameless door style which allows you a bit more room within the cabinet because there isn't a faceframe.  This is the Pacific Crest Crystal Arch door in a Brandy finish.
2.  Mirrors were built on-site by the installer using trim pieces that  I ordered from Pacific Crest to match the cabinetry.  This gives a more furniture look to the space.

3.  The center cabinet goes from countertop to ceiling and is actually recessed 3" into the wall.  This provides the much needed space for storage and still allows adequate space on the countertop.  Because it is recessed and because it is mostly glass it is less intrusive in the space and more appealing to the eye.

                                                      4. Vessel sinks provide greater access to the storage area within the cabinet below.

I just love it when the design that is on paper becomes reality. It's so much fun to see that look in the homeowner's eye - the look that said's "Yes, this is it. This is what I wanted." 

This concludes the saga of the roman bath remodel.  I hope you enjoyed it and I hope that you got a few tips that will prove helpful to you in the future.  If I can help you with your kitchen or bath remodel just email me via my contact page.

Comments are always welcomed.  Please feel free to do so if you want.   You can also sign up for emails or to follow the blog if you would like to.

KBIS - Premier Show for Kitchen and Bath Designers

The Kitchen & Bath Industry Show (KBIS) is the world’s largest international trade event .  It's a trade show that targets the knowledge needs of the various professions within the kitchen and bath industry - kitchen and bath designers, architects, remodelers, wholesalers and custom builders and the kitchen and bath showroom dealers. This is the place to go for the latest products, designs, trends and education that the industry has to offer. This year it was held in Las Vegas and, as a true addict for trade shows and designer showhouses, I attended. Here are just a few of the many interesting products presented at the show.

One of the highlights of the trip for me was to attend a design session given by Mick deGiulio, author of Kitchen Centric.  I have the book and enjoyed hearing his explanations of some of the kitchen layouts.  While he is known as a kitchen designer in the Chicago area,  it is not well known that he has designed a series of sinks that are just beautiful.  Pictured on the right is his 45" Multiere brushed 16-gauge stainless steel single basin sink. Notice  

 the drain in the top corner of the sink.  That is strategically placed to maximize the interior of the usable space for dishes, pots etc. and also to maximize the storage space within the cabinet.  This sink also comes with a teak cutting board which glides along the top rim of the basin.  For your comfort and convenience there is also a guiding rim below the top one.  Other task-oriented accessories such as a colander, a knife holder and a flatware tray are also available.  There were several of his sinks presented but this one is exceptional.

The Grothouse Lumber Company also had an extraordinary sink in their area.  Wooden sinks are still a novelty but are becoming more acceptable as more people are interested in having wood as their countertop material.  The real show stoppers presented by Grothouse Lumber  were the wood countertops.    If you would like to know more about the beautiful craftmanship and the finishes for their wood products please treat yourself to a visit of their website:

http://www.glumber.com/.  Below is an example of the beauty in their countertops.

I intend to visit this showroom on my next trip to Pennsylvania, so you will be hearing more about this company from me in the future.

 

Design by Artisan Kitchen and Bath; provided by Grothouse Lumber Company.  

Rather enticing as well was the Soapstone sink display.  There are two types of soapstone - Artistic and Architectural.  The Artistic one has a high talc content making it very soft and not suitable for the kitchen environment.  The Architectural Soapstone has a lower amount of talc making it appropriate for sinks, countertops, and other architectural applications.  As for color, there's basically only one - gray.  You can get some veining disbursed through it  as well as some flicks of other colors, but it is basically a charcoal gray which will darken over time.   If you want more information on the Soapstone sink please just checkout the Green Mountain Soapstone website: http://www.greenmountainsoapstone.com/.

As a bath designer I am constantly checking out new products for showers and bathroom materials.  I have designed several snail showers so that while they don't need doors on the shower they still like a sense of privacy.  There could be two issues here, one is privacy and often the other issue is light.  In this case it is advisable to devise the shower glass so that most of it is etched or frosted and then clear at the top so that light can enter the space. Take a look at this picture and you will see what I mean:  

One other aspect of shower design is often the drain.  If you are going through all the trouble and expense to update your bathroom than you need to consider the drain.  A nice drain gives the shower the finishing touch that it deserves.  In the TileRedi booth they showed an interesting way to dress the drain and insure that things other than water do not go down the drain.  In these two photos you can see the center square has a space around it when it is in place in the shower.   

My next what's-new-in-design endeavor will be touring the  Hampton Designer Showhouse in Bridgehampton, NY.  Undoubtedly it'll be a very exciting display of talent and artistic design that will be well worth a few post in this blog.  After that is the Las Vegas Market which is 4 buildings of design products and countless educational opportunies for us in the field so that we can better serve our clients.

Next year KBIS will be in Chicago.  I will be there as well. 

Part Two - The Roman Tub Bathroom Remodel- Repairing the wall

A good designer is a good problem solver. I love the challenges often presented by my work. At the onset of every project I try to anticipate all the known challenges but sometime you run into unknown ones and they are usually lurking within the walls.

An unexpected challenge to this project was the wood rot found in the outer wall of the shower once the old tile was removed. Clearly we needed to repair this wall before we could go on with the project.

How did the tile guys repair it? First, of course, they had to remove the entire existing framework because of the water damage. Then they had to pour a new concrete stem wall and frame up a new wall along the exterior block of the house for the shower. Once that was completed they installed denshield which is a ½” moisture and mold resistant tile board. . Denshield Tile Backer is listed by the Greenguard Environmental Institute as a microbial-resistant product and has the highest level of mold resistance under the ASTM nationally recognized test method. .

In order to level and square off the new wall, the next step was a mud float. I wish I would have taken a picture of this but I just didn’t think of it at the time. A mud float consists of chicken wire stapled to the walls to which they adhere a mortar mix called wall mud to float the walls. To float the wall means to take out any imperfections and make it smooth for the next step. Then you have to wait for this to dry. You can’t rush it and it must dry.

After the walls were completed, the tile guys then set the new roman tub drain and floated the floor to the required pitch for proper drainage. Once after everything has dried then they could start the waterproofing process. The material used for this was hydroguard 2000.

As a kitchen and bath independent designer one of the most important elements in my business is the strong team relationship that I have built with trade professionals over the years. The knowledge and creativity that I bring to the table needs the support of a variety of skilled professionals like my tile guys to give my clients the very best service they deserve.

Now that the new wall is in place and the waterproofing material has dried we are back on track.

Part One - The Roman Tub Bathroom Remodel

Bathroom remodels, once secondary to the kitchen remodels, have been in the forefront of design makeovers for the last few years. Homeowners are staying in their houses longer and want to remodel one space at a time and if deciding between the kitchen or bath they will go with the bath remodel. It’s been my experience that many homeowners believe that since the bathroom is one of the smallest rooms in the house it will be inexpensive and less complicated to remodel. Well, nothing can be further from reality. While the space may not be the size of your living room, it is a network of plumbing and electrical lines all pulling their weight to insure that all the fixtures in the bathroom are working as intended. What makes bathroom designing different from other rooms is the water element. For this reason every aspect of bathroom design needs to take water exposure into consideration. If during the remodel you discover damage within those walls that is from poor waterproofing then the cost of the project will increase. The unfortunate aspect of this is that you just never know what’s in the wall until you start to tear it down. My advice to homeowners is to hope for the best, but plan for the worst - just in case.


One of the latest projects that I’ve had the privilege of redesigning was the master bath of a 70’s style ranch home. Like many bathrooms of this time frame the toilet and shower are enclosed and apart from the sink lavatory areas. The pictures below show the bathroom before the shower and the lavatory area were remodeled. Let’s go over some of the concerns that the homeowner expressed during the interview process.

On the left is the shower/tub combination that has a rod with a white shower curtain attached. The homeowners main concern with this area was the lip around the rim of the tub before you stepped down into the roman tub. It was a safety hazard because you could easily trip. The next area of concern dealt with the tub and shower fixtures. The showerhead was too low, it sat above the wall tile and they needed additional fixtures such as a hand held showerhead. The third issue they wanted to change was the shower curtain. They wanted to replace it with some type of glass but didn’t want clear glass. The fourth concern was the lack of a place for things such as shampoo and soap.

On the right is the lavatory area with room for 2 sinks. Before this picture was taken there was a mirror that went from right to left along the back wall and as you can see there were 2 lights above the mirror. The homeowners main concerns in this area were to update the look of the bathroom and to increase storage capacity. Within the scope of the project we were also going to replace all the floor tile with the larger size tiles.

Before installation I sit down with my clients and prepare a schedule of events relating to what task will be done on what days. The object is to make sure the homeowners know who and when installers will be in their home. I verify the dates with them first to minimize the inconvenience in their lives. I let them know that I’ll be at the job site everyday to check on things so I’ll know in advance if any issues come up that will affect the schedule. In this project it happened when we removed the drywall in the roman tub area.

The roman tub area is along the outside block wall and when the original installers (20 years ago) built the tub area they did not waterproof the block wall sufficiently. The wall showed extensive damage and had to be rebuilt with new insulation installed and that meant additional cost to the project as well as 3 or 4 additional days added to the project. It’s one of those times when you shake your head and say, “It is what it is.” And go forward from there. No one was happy about this wall.

 

See  Part 2 - Repairing the Wall
See  Part 3 for The Rest of the Story