What I Buy Wednesdays

We're getting ready to finish up with our "inside the house" remodeling. We're going to do the pool bath and the entry floor. Then we'll be done (well, except for the garage---but that's another story). The carpet in a couple of the bedrooms upstairs needs replacing, but we'll hold off on that until "the boy" is gone.

Here's what the pool bath looks like now. I tried to get a photo without me in it---impossible when your are shooting in to a mirror!

 We're "gutting" the whole thing except the shower. The floor tile is nothing special.

The toilet is going too. We've already replaced all the other toilets in our house, so this is the last---finally. The towel rack goes too. I am not a lover of towel racks--especially in the middle of walls you see when you first look in the room. Behind a door is fine. The "handle" of the shower door is good enough for me if I want to hang a towel. Or I might add a hook on the opposite wall.

I do plan to keep this window treatment. It's a Roman shade that stays down most of the time. I still really like the flip flops and colorful striped "awning." That stripe was actually made from a tablecloth. Christy, my friend and designer makes magic! Even though it's about 20 years old, I still like it. Christy is happy I'm keeping it because she still likes it too! She has no problem giving me her honest opinion!

Anyway, Butch and I have been shopping for vanities, faucets, floor tile and a new mirror. We made some decisions and purchases.

This is the vanity. It is white, even though it looks grey. It has a marble top and sink. It's a little smaller---about 10 inches---so should make the small room seem slightly bigger.

This is the faucet we picked out. The mirror I ordered came in, but is still in the box. It's round with a beveled mirrored frame.

We looked all over for tile. Here are a few we liked, but ultimately rejected because I don't want grey  this time.

And then winner is:

We both loved this plain white arabesque. Butch referred to it as Christmas ornaments. I like it because it's shiny! I love shiny things---especially floors. Now the only thing left to pick is paint. I'm not sure what I want yet. It will be something light.

Now for the entry--this has been harder to choose. Here's what it looks like now:

It's a classic marble tile. I'm just tired of it. I want something new and fresh.

Here are a few contenders.

This was high up so ignore the bottom of the photo. I guess I'm sort of drawn to the arabesque style. I'm not sure I want those little black pieces in it. Before this house, I've never gotten to pick out floors.

I loved this one, but would want to actually see a picture of it on a floor. All those mosaic, viny swirls would have to match up or I wouldn't like it. It has a little more gray than I want, but overall, I think it's really pretty. Don't know how much it costs.

This was by far our favorite. Butch loved it too---until he saw the cost. My first response was, "Come on! It's the entry to our house!" He's quicker at math than I am. I had to use the calculator. We need 120 squares of it at $130 (Okay, $129.99, but who are they kidding?) comes out to $15,600 just for the tile.  Actually, before I did the math, I sent a picture of it to Christy and asked if she could get us a discount---she usually does get us her designer discounts. She came back with $85.00. That's still $10,200. Sadly, I have to say goodbye!

Christy came up with this:

This came from a place that only designers can go. She's getting me a sample to see in person. It looks like it has possibilities, but I don't really like brown or tan either. Christy says it's more white than it looks in the pictures. Plus, it needs to be shiny. Still, it comes in at a much more reasonable $25 a square foot. I'm keeping my fingers crossed. I really want white.

I just love white for many reasons. It looks so clean and crisp. It goes with anything. And, it never goes out of style!! Plus, if you have white, then your furniture and accessories can carry the color.

Which leads me back to Butch's question when I said I wanted to "redo" the entry. "What's wrong with what we have now?" Nothing. Not a darn thing. I just want a change. And because I can! Ya' know what I mean?