The shower tile dilemma solved!

Thanks to everyone who commented on my shower accent tile dilemma – problem solved! Dawna Jones made the suggestion of combining this layout with two horizontal stripes to frame the white tiles:

Image via Decorpad

I love this idea, because I really like the look of vertical stripes, but wondered if there would be too much similar stripeage {I made that word up} with the floor tiles. Combining vertical & horizontal stripes is the perfect solution :-)

I did some mock-ups using Dawna’s suggestion and creating slightly different layouts. The narrower wall on the left is the end wall and will have two niches tiled in the blue accent tiles and the faucets in between the niches. The wider wall on the right will have the body jets which will probably be positioned to the right of the stripe. What I love about this idea is that the shorter tiles on each side of the end wall are repeated on the long wall, which balances things out.

LAYOUT 1 

LAYOUT 2 

LAYOUT 3

LAYOUT 4

 

LAYOUT 5

I love how putting design dilemmas out there to share with my blog friends can turn a dilemma into a solution :-) So feel free to let me know which of these five layouts you like best! Thanks again Dawna for the suggestion :-)

Happy weekend!

Bump in the bathroom reno road

Our bathroom reno is apparently stuck in limbo till I decide on the layout for the accent tiles in the shower. Although I think that’s just an excuse hubby made up so he can be lazy and stop doing all the grunge work for a while ;-) But in case he's telling the truth, HELP! I can’t decide what layout to go with. Now that the tub is being repositioned into a corner, we won’t be doing tiled niches behind it. So really, the only place where we’ll be using the beautiful blue accent tile is in the shower, and maybe on the backsplash above the vanity.

So my original plan to do this layout might have to be canned because it won’t really showcase the accent tiles:

Image via beautifulremodel.com

This is how the floor tiles will be laid out – porcelain 12” x 24” dark blue-grey tiles with strips of Bianco Carrara marble creating a sort of basketweave pattern.

TThe tile layout is Squirt-approved!

That would also be a lot of narrow band of accent tile, so I’m thinking I need to go with bigger bands of accent tiles in the shower. I’ve posted most of these inspiration pictures before, but here they all are in the same place – which one do you like best?

Vertical

Image via Decorpad

Image via DesignTies | Design by Victoria Lambert, Edin’s House

Image via Drab to Fab Design

Horizontal

Image via Young House Love 

 Image via Arte Styling, designed by Kelly Berg

 Image via Houzz, design by Divine Kitchens

Image via Houzz, design by Harrell Remodeling

No pressure or anything, but I need you to help me decide ASAP! Which layout do you like best? Or have you seen another layout that you love and think would be perfect?

This or That: Shower bench

I thought I’d start a weekly feature called “This or That” where you can help me choose between two different things that I’m contemplating for our bathroom makeover. This week it’s shower benches.

Images via Houzz | Designs by The Wood Shop of Avon and Andrea Schumacher

Images via Houzz | Designs by Rossington Architecture and Niki Popodololous

Do you prefer a free standing teak bench or a built-in tiled bench?

It’s the little things: Jewelry for your shower

You know how it is when you don’t know that you need something because you have no idea that it exists, but then you discover it and absolutely NEED to have it because it’s just, well, cool? Well, I now officially NEED a designer drain for our new shower. Seriously, how cool are these…

They’re from a company in the US called – wait for it – Designer Drains. Their motto is “Assisting the environment, one shower at a time”.

        

Their drains are made from reclaimed stainless steel and contain no plastic or PVC. They can also make drains from bronze, brass, aluminium, stainless steel, and stone.

 

As you can see, they come in all sorts of motifs – from intricate patterns to sea life to gadgets to nature. If there’s a particular design that you want but don’t see on their web site, never fear – customized and personalized requests are greatly encouraged.

 

Square drains are also available.

And seeing as you wouldn’t want your kitchen sink to feel left out, you can buy a designer drain for it too.

Check out Designer Drains to see all of the available designs – I’m pretty sure you’ll find at least one that’s the perfect piece of jewelry for your shower or kitchen sink :-)