Shopping for Items for Your Bathroom: Go Local!

A word about buying things online…

When it comes to a home-building project of this size, we recommend you get your buns to the store. For a couple of reasons. So many Web sites sell toilets, bathroom fixtures and lighting “at a discount.” If you go to a specialty bathroom/plumbing supply store, the online prices will look like “steals.” But, if you’re smart and ask for the contractor/plumber prices (ask your family’s plumber or a friend with a contractor’s license to vouch for you), you’ll find that those prices are much lower than Web prices. In addition, you get to place an order with a reputable store, which will back quality, deliver it for free and even provide counsel on which fixtures and brands to actually go with. We went to a plumbing supply store, where a bathroom designer chose a number of high-end fixtures for us and advised us on our bathroom layout. I fell in love with their "advice" and felt they were all 100% essential for creating the vintage 1920s master bathroom we want to create. Check ‘em out:

First, the Symmons Carrington cross-handle faucets with porcelain - perfect complement to the Clawfoot tub!


Our plumber was adament that we get a Symmons shower valve. He says they are the most reliable but, unfortunately, they're the ugliest IMHO....


Except for the Symmons Carrington line - but the complete Carrington shower valve kit was much more expensive. So we got the most basic Symmons valve (pictured above - likely what you'd see in the showers at a YMCA), and then we got the Carrington valve trim, pictured below. Essentially, we will use the "guts" of the ugly shower valve and dress it up with the Carrington - valve trim only.

We'll also ditch the showerhead that came with the cheapo Symmons kit and sub it out for the multi-function Kohler Bancroft handheld showerhead (see below). The handheld piece gets attached to a 60" shower hose and hung on a Grohe handheld holder, which screws into the shower arm that came with the cheapo Symmons kit. Ya with me?

As for toilets, this was Chris' department. He really wanted comfort height elongated Toto Drake toilets.

We got one of them. We also got a rounded seat, comfort height Toto Drake because our guest bath doesn't have a ton of space between toilet and tub. And then we opted for the Kohler Bancroft toilet for the master bath because, well, it's prettier. And, yes, this falls into the category of things I didn't know or have an opinion about before this project began. But admit it, the toilet is pretty. I really like Kohler products, btw.

But, oh, the retail price of all these items when a sales person first recommended them to me!

Just when I was feeling discouraged, I asked the sales person if she would honor contractors’ prices. Score – they did! It brought the prices down by about 30%. Then I shopped around those discounted prices to three other plumbing supply stores that also honored contractors’ prices. And then I made a spreadsheet that had each store’s price for every item we wanted. I put a star next to the cheapest items, and chose the store that had the most stars. But, before placing the order, we asked that store – let’s call it F.W. Webb for argument’s sake – to honor the prices of the 2 items “in our cart” that were offered at other stores for cheaper. I can proudly say that we got all items (pictured above) for the cheapest possible price in the area, with free delivery.

Bottom line: Save the online shopping for golf clubs, Russian brides, and shoes. (And if you do need to shop online, make sure you never ever buy anything from Jackpot Plumbing, some sorry excuse for a plumbing supply company Chris went with on Google Shopping for our three bathroom fan/light combos. Wouldn’t you think if someone placed an order and it wouldn’t be available for 60 days, they’d inform you? I’d like the three hours back that I used chasing packages, re-buying bathroom fans that hadn’t arrived yet, and trying to return the duplicates. Terrible customer service to boot. I wouldn’t recommend them to my worst enemy... But I digress...)

All Decked Out!

Look at our gorgeous porch!


It wasn’t that long ago our house looked like this.


Porch, plumbing, and electric. That’s been the theme of this week. And thank God for the porch! It’s really what’s gotten us through the past few days. Watching it get built with such precision and care – and being able to admire our house as the exterior work comes to completion – eased the pain that came with all the plumbing and electric questions, decisions and indecisions of the past few days. Make no mistake, we’ve got great guys on the job. And Kel, our fearless GC, has done a great job overseeing the various contractors, calling the shots, shielding us from the issues that we really don’t need to be worrying about (like mixing valves for the clawfoot tub, building inspections, making sure everything is “to code”) and making recommendations on the items that we do need to worry about (like location of switches, sconces, toilets, vanities, fans, lights, etc.).

But it’s still been tiring. Lots of head scratching, late nights at Salt Wall with a flashlight and measuring tape, and Google searches on “what’s normal” for things like wall sconce height.

It’s almost over, though. Insulation and drywall and floors and cabinets are right around the corner. The fireplace gets installed tomorrow.

But, tonight, I'm taking a moment to toast to our wraparound porch. My husband cooked a wonderful Southern Chicken Pot Pie, we're sipping some New Zealand sauvignon blanc and watching the Red Sox claw their way back into the playoff race.

Did I mention I love our porch?!

(And I also love: the Martha Stewart white shaker-style double vanity we ordered from Janice at Home Depot on Sunday for our master bath...the dresser I scooped up on the side of the road in Danvers on my way home from my hair appointment that I plan to finish myself...Lucia Lighting and Design in Lynn, Mass. for the most gorgeous lighting fixtures...and my husband for just being so wonderful in so many ways throughout this entire project.)

Mom Was Right: It's Good to Save Receipts

I'll start this off with an audience participation question: Kohler or Toto toilets? Cimarron or Drake? Bancroft or Clayton? If you know the difference, I feel sorry for you...

Okay, so I have been getting a lot of heat about not blogging lately. Here’s the thing: This whole project was a lot more fun when we started it. I won’t belabor this point, but it is worth mentioning that the last few weeks have been, well, trying. It all started with the white vs. antique white cabinet debate. It's been downhill from there…but I think we’ve turned a corner. (Sidebar: A particularly low point was when the cabinet guy said, “I’ve never had someone care so much about the color white before.”)

Since the whole antique/white cabinet door saga, we’ve reneged on a number of decisions (faucets, tiles, vanities, shower valves, toilets, you name it); second guessed one another; made 6 trips to Lowes and 3 trips to Home Depot (in a matter of 4 days); and formed very strong opinions about toilet height and elongated vs. round toilet bowl. Most importantly, we had to give a “final answer” on placement of all pipes, light switches, light fixtures, faucets, etc. Sounds easier than it really was. Imagine going through an entire house that has no electric or plumbing and asking yourself questions like:
• If I got up in the middle of the night and had to go down stairs, where would I expect the light switch to be?
• Where do we think we will want the light fixture over the dining room table that we don’t yet own?
• What wall do we want the shower valve on?
• Do we care more about flush power or looks when it comes to toilets? (Okay, that’s an easy one)
• How much recessed vs. flush mount vs. wall sconces vs. lamp lighting do we want? (keep in mind that four months ago "flush mount" and "sconce" was not in my vernacular)

Perhaps the silver lining is that we are so much more educated than we ever were about all things house related.

So what’s been happening at Salt Wall besides my indecision? Well, a lot…even if it doesn’t look like a lot on the inside. We’re in the midst of the rough plumbing and electric, which is quite an important phase in the project but, for me, a very stressful phase (as indicated above).

The good news is that we’re making progress. We had our second bank inspection today, and Albert gave us good marks! So we have that going for us… And Kel, our fearless GC, has been a great guide throughout the entire process. He has been through this as a GC and as a homeowner, so it's really helpful that he can see things from both perspectives.

Back to me feeling sorry for myself... So truly this hasn’t been uber fun. If you're contemplating a project of this size, DON'T DO IT. Get a hobby! We’re over budget, over tired, and over the project. We miss the days when choosing what color or type of wine to drink was the most difficult decision du jour. And we miss being more social with family and friends. Where does the time go?! BUT… To end on a less negative note, as I mentioned at the beginning, we have turned a corner…and I only have Janice Desimone from Home Depot to thank (okay, I also have an amazingly supportive husband and parents who are letting me live with them and eat all their food). But Janice lifted my spirits tonight. She fixed our bathroom dilemma by helping us find a 72 inch vanity that didn’t require I get a second job (more on that later but basically we’re getting two 36-in base cabinets). Janice is kind, attentive and - the best part - she reads our blog, which clearly means she is cool. (Sidebar: Someone, please buy her house so she can move to Nahant where my mom grew up!!!) Janice even found me a vanity for our first floor half bath (the third one, in fact). The price was right, and it was exactly the look we were going for!


We're going to pair it with these vanity lights and this faucet (from Lowes - allen + roth and Delta, respectively).



Boy, do we have a lot to return to Lowes and Home Depot this weekend... Now that we got the new vanity for the half bath (pictured above), we plan to use the vanity originally intended for the half bath for the guest bath (pictured below) - and we will return the not-so-awesome white guest bath vanity I purchased so many moons ago. Btw, allen + roth is the only line worth paying attention to at Lowes. How great is this mission-style vanity, which will now be in our guest bath?

So that's all for now... Thanks for reading. I will try my best to keep the blogs more consistent. Feedback welcome!

P.S. For those of you who were anti the monochromatic kitchen, we’re contemplating adding some color to our kitchen in the area of backsplash. My husband likes blue...and returning 600 lbs of already purchased tile and grout. (Note: photo looks more earthy toned; it's actually a mix of carrara marble, blues, and greys.)

P.P.S. We went with antique white. I know – crazy move, but it just felt right for the colonial, warm, inviting, soft feel that we wanted. I can’t write much more than that on the topic because I’m still not totally sold but needed to put it to bed. That and the order had already been placed (no turning back!), and I pinky swore my husband I wouldn’t bring it up again...or else he gets to buy a weed wacker that we can't afford. A deal's a deal.

P.P.P.S. Gas fireplace getting installed next week in living room (if the fireplace guy ever calls me back - sigh); we're getting quotes for the finish work and floors (trim, staircase, etc.=fun part); and Jim Delaney, who sadly broke his knee recently, has his guys finishing our porch starting tomorrow. As a reminder, JD Builders built, sided and roofed our amazing home. Moral of the story is, even if we can't afford to finish the inside of the house, at least it will look nice from the outside. My husband does love camping....

Looking finished from the oustide

If only the interior looked as finished as the exterior. In due time...


Over the next week or so the rough plumbing and electric will be installed. More soon on revised interior plans and all that good stuff.

We're also pricing out materials for finishing the porch. Composite decking and rails/balusters are 3x as much money as pressure treated wood, but pressure treated wood needs to be treated/stained once a year. Oddly, I kind of like the way the wood looks but, similar to the siding (and to so much with this project), we don't want to be penny wise and pound foolish. Just another decision we'll need to make in the near future.

Polling the Audience: White or Antique White Cabinets?

It has been awhile since we've posted. Our lack of commentary is in no way indicative of lack of progress. Quite the contrary, in fact! It's more that we've been blown away by progress to the point that we don't know what to focus our posts on and, more accurately, we've been (read: I've been) paralyzed by indecision to the point where I can't decide if I even want to get others to weigh in or not. It's a sickness, really.

The decision that has caused me the most angst thus far has been cabinet color (master bathroom layout and lighting fixtures/placement are a close second). As you know we are getting our cabinets refaced by an awesome company called Affordable Refacing. (God love Shawn, the owner, for putting up with me.) We are to decide between white and antique white. First, we chose white because I love the look of the all-white cararra marble kitchens. Very clean, very chic, very en vogue. But then we chose antique white because I feared the white would be to stark/sterile. But is the antique white too creamy? I flip flop daily and thought that I'd use a lifeline and poll the audience.

Below is a photo of the two color options. We're going with the door style on the left no matter what.


As a reminder, here's our backsplash and granite.


Because I am a big loser, I took the liberty of creating a PowerPoint slide that puts all of the pieces together. Here's a screenshot of it. The two cabinets on the left are antique white and the two on the right are white white.


So which color?

Shawn is so awesome that he actually told me he could custom spray each of the cabinets ANY Sherwin Williams white that I liked, but, before I put him and his guys through that, I want to make sure I can't live with one of these choices. (Because if I go with that option, you do realize there are about 100 Sherwin William whites!)

I'm not cut out for this...

Suggestions welcome :)

Update from the Emerald Isle

We are enjoying our trip in Ireland but are anxiously checking emails for updates on the house. My brother emailed me this one today. WOW!