Guest Post: Jeannine's Sparkly yet Serene Bath!

Didn't you love Kathleen's kitchen transformation? I did! You would think this house porn thing would get old for me after so many years buried in it but it just doesn't quit! Hell, at least its one guilty pleasure that is completely free of calories!

I think you've had enough kitchens for now so its time to turn to the other wet room in the house, the bathroom. Jeannine (can you believe it, she doesn't have a blog? collective boos are heard around the blogsphere!) shared her bathroom remodel with me. Of course I love it but I'm sort of biased as she and I made some of the same choices.

Damn, I can certainly go on and on even when I'm not here! Take it away Jeannine...


My announcement was met with disingenuous enthusiasm. I was moving to Virginia and I was moving into new construction.

I, and all my friends, happened to live in pre-war buildings in Boston. New construction was for the suburbs; people who commuted to work on the Mass Pike. My new construction condo in Charlottesville, however, was smack in the middle of downtown, halfway between the University of Virginia and the pedestrian-only shopping district called the Downtown Mall.

I left my Boston apartment’s 14 food ceilings, picture frame moldings, and radiators for 900 square feet of beige. The only things in my new home that weren’t beige were the appliances (builder’s grade stainless steel) and the countertops (gray, solid surface). For the last two years, I’ve been trying to make my condo look less like the other 200+ in my complex.

I stumbled upon Mrs. Limestone’s blog when I was trying to find pictures of the paint I wanted to use in my bathroom, so that seems like a good room to share for a “before and after” post on her blog.

Here’s the dreary, sadly beige before:


Notice that the tile stops below the showerhead so the builder would save $4.72 on tile. In addition to that shortcut, the builder opted not to put anything waterproof behind those tiles. Had the grout or caulk failed, the plain drywall behind the tile would have been a mess! The flooring was linoleum sheeting and the fixtures were all builder grade.

I decided that I wanted a classic bathroom that was reminiscent of the old bathrooms I had back in New England, but also wanted some contemporary touches. Resale was a concern, as was over improvement. When I fell in love with some Thasos basket weave, I realized that using tile that cost $50 per square foot was the best use of my budget and was a bit over the top for a modest condo in a college town.

After seeing a kitchen with marble subway tile, I became fixated on having it. I wound up finding a great deal online and buying all the tile from a seller on ebay. I got carrera subway, basket weave, baseboard, and chair rail for the same cost that it would have cost me to get just the subway and basket weave from the local tile shop.

Being a self described lighting nerd, I was tempted to go over the top on a chandelier, but would up getting one that was appropriate for the small room on eBay. I splurged a little bit on the vanity light, which is from Bellacor. I conquered my fear of electrical work and installed both (okay, my boyfriend helped by holding them up).

Accessorizing this room began my love/hate relationship with Restoration Hardware. The mirror, towel ring, wastebasket, and countertop accessories are from RH’s Dillon line. Oddly, certain Dillon items are sold online only and other Dillon items are sold in stores only. So, the finishing touches had me going back and forth between the store and home to track everything down. Also, when I got the mirror hung, I realized that the finish was flaking off, so I called for a replacement. The operator told me that the entire line was discontinued and they had six mirrors left. Of course, the entire line is still in the catalog and on the website.
Behold the finished product:

The finishing touches required a couple DIY projects. I had seen some beautiful candle sleeves online, but between their cost ($20+ per pair) and the fact that the local store that carried them was only open from 9-5 (who has such limited hours these days?). I bought some pretty paper at the Caspari boutique (for some reason, Charlottesville has the only one), then cut it down to strips that could wrap around the cheap, plastic candle sleeves that were already on the chandelier in the bathroom. A quick swab with a glue stick and the candle sleeves were done! In less than five minutes at my craft table (my coffee table with a magazine on top for protection), I think I did a pretty good job!