New bathroom build

So no sooner has one bathroom renovation ended, and we’re on to…. another bathroom renovation! Well, this one isn’t so much a renovation as a build – we’re adding a bathroom in the basement as part of our basement reno. It’s just going to be a small room with the basics – vanity, corner shower, toilet.

This was quite possibly the fastest and easiest decision making process ever. I love the backsplash tiles and countertop that I’m using in another bathroom project, so I decided why not use them in our bathroom too!

The backsplash tiles are Avenue Mosaic Ripple and will be installed vertically from the top of the vanity right up to the ceiling,

The countertop is this super-cool solid surface by Affinity. The colour is called Celestial Azure – it’s a beautiful turquoise with tiny silver shimmery flecks.

There are sooooooooooooo many funky floor tile options out there, but I decided to go with something subtle(ish) so as not to compete with the backsplash & countertop. Savoia Silk Silver porcelain tiles fit the bill perfectly.

This is how they look together in the sun on my back patio :-)

We’re going to design and build a floating vanity, similar to this vanity that I helped design for a friend’s bathroom makeover.

We’ll re-use the toilet and the faucet & sink from our pre-reno master bathroom to save money. Plus that means less stuff going to the landfill, which is always a good thing :-)

I haven’t decided on a wall colour yet, but I’m thinking PARA Paints Preque’Ile Point. It’s a soft greeny-grey that goes really well with the backsplash tiles.

And there it is, our soon-to-be new bathroom. Hubby has been hard at work jack hammering concrete and moving pipes and framing out walls and basically turning the house into a big dust fest ;-) I’ll post progress pics as soon as there’s progress to show you :-)

Master bathroom renovation reveal

Wow, was it really two years ago that I excitedly announced that we were FINALLY renovating our master bathroom? Yep, it really was! Looking back at my first blog post about the project, it’s interesting to see what we had envisioned for the room, and how it actually turned out. If you can remember that far back, this bathroom from Sarah 101 was my inspiration:

Things I love about this bathroom…. the tiles, the niche in the wall, the colour scheme, the overall watery look & feel.

So that was the starting point. We literally tore out everything right down to the studs, except the ceiling.

Hubby moved & added electrical for the two chandeliers and the vanity sconces and repositioned all the plumbing for the new layout.

Before the reveal, I must send a HUGE thank you once again to Brizo for providing the faucets. They gave me free rein to choose whatever faucets I wanted, and it was an easy choice: the beautiful Virage. The shape reminds me of a curling wave.

FYI, body jets are a must!

And another huge thank you to PARA Paints. I was on the PARA Paints Blog Crew when we started the makeover, so PARA provided all the paint. I chose P5207-34 Tribeca Square for the ceiling, P5206-24 Peaks & Valleys for the walls, and PF17 JoJo Whitewash for the trim. Thank you PARA!

I couldn't find quite the right grey for the vanity in my PARA deck, so I chose a grey from another company and had it colour-matched to PARA’s ULTRA Cabinet and Furniture paint. Hubby and I designed the vanity, and he built it (which added a few months to the timeline!) The countertop is Super White Quartzite, which turned out to be a much softer stone than we expected. If you’re considering using Super White Quartzite, reading this discussion is a must.

Blue candles, glass fishing floats, and beautiful pottery made by an artist in Cape Breton are the perfect coastal accents.

The chandeliers and sconces have crystals that look like water drops.

The white shower tiles have a wave-like motif, and the small blue glossy mosaic tiles look like glistening water.

I am so in love with the big gorgeous painting that Andrada Anghel created for me. You can read more about it here.

And how did the room turn out? Pretty fantabulous if I do say so myself! Here are the before & after shots of each corner of the room. The icky brass shower is gone…

…, replaced with a wall-hung toilet tucked into the corner that’s hardly noticeable when you walk into the room.

Bye-bye bidet…

…hello custom-made vanity!

We did update the original vanity about eight years ago – here’s how it looked originally…

…and now replaced with my dream shower, complete with body jets and NO sill to stub my toes on! :-)

The new tub is in the same spot as the old tub…

…but this one doesn’t take up 1/4 of the entire room. And the controls are right on the tub, not on the wall 10 feet away!

View from the doorway.

I even found a TP holder and a towel bar with crystals that match the chandeliers!I’m just waiting for the roman blind to be made and installed, and then we can call this room 100% finished!

In the end, our bathroom really doesn’t look anything at all like the inspiration bathroom. But isn’t that what inspiration is all about – taking something that you love and putting your own spin on it.

So now that the master bathroom reno is done, what’s next on the agenda? Why, another bathroom, of course! Actually, we’re renovating the entire basement, including the addition of a new bathroom. Fun times! ;-)

Sharing with Inspire Me Monday

If you’d like to read about the entire reno process, here are all the blog posts…

Woot! It’s master bathroom makeover time!
Rub-a-dub-dub, we bought a new tub!
Bathrooms on the brain
When is white not white?
Fit to be tiled
Bathroom tiles: The final verdict
A bump in the bathroom makeover road
My dream has a beautiful Brizo twist!
The final tile verdict
This or That: Shower bench
This or That: Bathroom vanity lighting
This or That x 6: Floor tile layout
This or That: Horizontal vs vertical
This or That: Mirror mirror on the wall
This or That: Vanity backsplash
The bathroom renovation roundup
Bump in the bathroom reno road
The shower tile dilemma solved!
Master bathroom reno progress
Kelly’s Seashore: Commissioned painting by Andrada Anghel

The WillPower Project

A few months ago, I started working on a very special decorating project with two friends and fellow decorators, Sarah Kidder of Sarah Kidder Design and Candace Plotz of Candace Plotz Design. Along with Daniel Smith, owner of Right Angle Renovations and Strokes of Genius Painting, we’ve formed The WillPower Team to do a charity makeover for a family here in the Ottawa area.

Sarah, Candace, and I wanted to do a makeover for a young child with cancer or another life threatening illness. We found out about six year old William Greer through a friend of mine who’s battling cancer herself. The three of us met with Dan for sushi one night in February, and The WillPower Project was born!

William suffers from an inoperable non-cancerous tumour on his brain stem. He’s had multiple surgeries to insert a shunt in his skull, and he’s now undergoing chemo treatments once a week in an effort to stop the tumour from growing. Needless to say, William’s health condition and ongoing medical care are tough on William and his family.

We originally planned to give William’s bedroom a makeover. But when we asked his mom Lindsay what room she’d like to have done, she asked if we could do the basement. We loved her idea, because the basement is a room the whole family can enjoy. And it’s actually in good shape – no demo required, the drywall is all done, and the Greers have already bought and started installing laminate flooring.

I don’t want to give too much away in case Lindsay or William’s grandma Bev read this blog post :-) But I can show you a few teasers…

These are some of our inspiration pictures.

Contemporary Kids by Brooklyn Architects & Designers CWB Architects

Image via Rabbit Runn Designs

Eclectic Basement by Frankfort Home Builders Gander Builders

Contemporary Kids by San Francisco Interior Designers & Decorators Lizette Marie Interior Design

We’ve had such an amazing response to our requests for donations – so far, we’ve raised over $6,400 and we have lots of great companies onboard providing products and services.

Sebo Woodwork is creating custom cabinetry for four areas of the basement.

PARA Paints is donating all the paint – have I mentioned lately that PARA Paints rocks?!

Tonic Living in Toronto has donated all the fabrics for our project. These are two of my favourites. I can’t tell you what this is because it’s a super-special secret project, but we’re thrilled with how it’s coming together :-)

Custom Home Interiors is donating two fun pieces of furniture that will be perfect in the play area.

Thanks to Euro Tile & Stone in Ottawa and AFC Surfaces Inc. in Stoney Creek, we’ve got two big surprises in store for the Greers!

Neo Vintage Furniture Inc. in Cornwall has donated some fun accessories that the kids will love :-)

Montreal artist Andrada Anghel is creating a  painting especially for the Greers :-)

And yes, another top-secret project being done by Rodrigues Upholstery here in Ottawa.

Randall’s has donated five throw cushions that match our colour scheme perfectly :-)

Lilipad Creative will be taking “after” photographs of the basement makeover and doing a special family photo session.
Thank you to Karma Creative Solutions, Our Homes, and Coyle Publishing for supporting us and helping us to spread the word about our project.

And thank you to The Ottawa Citizen, Metro & Metroland Media, and Daytime Ottawa on Rogers TV for sharing The WillPower Project with your readers & viewers.

We’re aiming for the big reveal on June 27th. There’s still a lot of work between now and then, but I’m sure we can do it! If you’d like to follow our progress, check out our blog and Facebook page.