It Worked! I Have A Clear Plan Now!
On Friday, I shared with y’all about how I was driving myself crazy with indecision, but I thought if I just made myself get started on the master bathroom, a clear plan would probably make itself obvious to me.
Well, that exact thing happened. When I woke up on Saturday morning, I was determined not to let myself get overwhelmed and bogged down by the bathroom design decisions once again. But instead, I just set my sight on a couple of very clear tasks that didn’t require any decision making at all.
The drywall was all still unprimed and unpainted.
Obviously, that was a task that needed to be done, but didn’t require any decision making beyond what kind of primer I wanted to use. So I got busy, and after a few hours, I had the ceiling and walls primed, and the ceiling painted with two coats of paint.
Remember, the walls are just primer, so they’re still looking kind of rough. 😀
I used Behr flat white ceiling paint, which is my favorite paint to use on ceilings because it’s a slight warm white, and super flat so it does a great job at hiding imperfections. The only rooms in my house where I didn’t use that on the ceilings are the music room, which has a slatted wood ceiling and is painted Behr Polar Bear like the trim…
And then the hallway bathroom, which has the stained slatted wood ceiling…
Actually, the ceiling in the studio isn’t white, either, but that will probably change. Other than those three, every other ceiling is painted with the Behr bright white ceiling paint used straight out of the can.
So it definitely felt great to get in there and actually get some work done and see some progress.
But the best part is that just being in the room so long while kind of keeping my mind busy with painting, and also keeping my mind busy with listening to a podcast, I was also able to consider different options without obsessing over them, and things seemed to fall into place in my mind. I was hoping that would happen, and I’m so glad it did. Even this morning, after having the weekend to think about my decisions, and sleeping on them last night, I woke up this morning just as excited as I was yesterday.
So I’ve scrapped the idea of striped tile in the shower, and I’m just going to keep things very simple — the small 2″ gray tiles on the shower floor, and the white rectangle tiles on the walls. I want the part of the shower that is seen from the main part of the bathroom to be very calm, peaceful, and bright, with nothing too eye-catching, so it’ll just be a clean and classic running bond pattern.
The first little hint of anything different will be on the niche, and you have to be closer to the shower before that comes into view.
I didn’t want to totally give up my wish for an accent tile, so I went back to a tile that I saw the other day at a local design store. It’s a glass penny tile, and it comes in several neutral colors (if I remember correctly). But I was particularly interested in the white and light gray.
But after the guy at the store gave me the price, I put this tile out of my mind and started looking for other, cheaper options. The price he gave me was $37.99 a square foot. That’s when I was still considering stripes in the shower and toilet area (because I must have symmetry), and that tile would have cost thousands of dollars, which seemed like a ridiculous expense. So even though I loved the tile (particularly the white one) so much, I put it out of my mind because of the cost.
While I was priming and painting this weekend, I remembered that tile and decided to look online, and found it for $15 a square foot. That’s a 60% lower price! I don’t mind paying a bit more for a product to support a local store, but that’s not just a little price different. That’s a price gouge! I couldn’t believe the difference!
So that made me excited. I had already decided against the stripes, so instead, I’m going to use the glass inside the niche, and then as an accent on the shower head wall.
But I’ll keep the particulars to myself for now. You’ll have to wait and see exactly what I have in mind. I can tell you that it won’t be anything modern or edgy. I’m sticking with simple and classic.
And then that same glass penny tile will be used as an accent in the wainscoting that is going in the main part of the bathroom. It’ll be used in a similar way that I used the accent tile in the hallway bathroom wainscoting where it continues as a backsplash around the vanity.
Another decision that I found very easy to make once I spent time working in the bathroom was the floor. I’m keeping that simple as well. The only place where the 2″ tile will be used is inside the shower, and that’s just for added grip to protect against slips. The rest of the bathroom, including the toilet area, will have the large 12 x 24 tiles.
So not only have I made some progress this weekend, which has lit a fire under me, but I also have a clear plan in my head that I’m finally very excited about. I can just forge ahead now, and hopefully there won’t be too many hiccups along the way.
Addicted 2 Decorating is where I share my DIY and decorating journey as I remodel and decorate the 1948 fixer upper that my husband, Matt, and I bought in 2013. Matt has M.S. and is unable to do physical work, so I do the majority of the work on the house by myself. You can learn more about me here.
Sometimes just moving on something can break that analysis paralysis. Glad you have some direction and got some things accomplished! Can’t wait to see where it goes from here.
Hi. Long time listener, first time caller! I don’t think this has been mentioned before, and I’m not trying to throw a monkey wrench in your plans. Have you thought about using the large tiles against the walls of the shower as a border and infilling with the smaller tiles? If you did that in both the shower and toilet area, it would be symmetrical and the floor from the main room into the two side areas wouldn’t have an obvious transition right at the doorway. Since the larger tiles would only be right around the walls, the smaller tiles would be in the walking/standing area. Just my two cents! Also, I love the glass tile. I enjoy your blog, and have learned much.
Very good decisions! I don’t think you need anything that might distract from that beautiful mural wall.,
I’m a symmetry person too so wanted to bring this up so you can make sure and think it through before ordering and laying tile. I would personally want the same floor tile in the bath and shower just for the symmetry of where the floor transition is next to the tub. However, the walls being different wouldn’t bother me for some reason the same way. However if the walls would bother you maybe tile the bath area too. Sure would make it easy to keep clean in case of any accidents.
Proud of you Kristi – sometimes we can’t get out of our own way.
Love your plan!
Love your ideas, simply sophisticated and timeless over the long haul.
Stripes may come and go, but white tile has staying power, and the penny tiles will be just the right touch!!
Hi Kristi. You have an amazing eye for design and detail and I so love seeing what you come up with. Just remember when using glass tile…you will see what is behind the tile i.e. the wallboard and or mastik, when the tile is up. You have to be very careful to have a smooth finish on that stuff when you lay your tile strips down so you don’t see anything messy behind the glass coins. Your expert eye will always hone in on an imperfection after it is all said and done.
I agree with this comment. I did some round glass tiles and have not been super happy with them. They were a mix of clear and frosted. You can see the mortar under the clear ones as mentioned above. They also have very little pizzazz. They don’t sparkle or shimmer like I hoped. Maybe you will have better luck with yours!
Love your conclusions. I cannot wait to see it all together.
Smart! I think it will look lovely and timeless which is always a good thing when working with something as labor intensive as tile! The glass penny tile is beautiful!
It’s a good plan. Sometimes when you focus on just one element of a room you want it to have all sorts of features but when you think of how it works with the rest of the room it may be better to go for plain so that other things can stand out and become the feature. I think that tile is one of those things. By the time you have a mural and vanities and bathtub and plants and art you will be grateful that the tile gives your eye a rest and isn’t trying to compete. As for different tiles on the floors of the shower and water closet, that’s fine. You will rarely be standing on the far side of the room focusing on looking at those two areas (and the lights will be out in them, right?), so why worry too much about what is going on in there too much? The tiles are similar enough that it will look very similar anyway.
This issue of the internet vs local supplier came up when I wanted an expensive faucet. I told my local store I preferred to give my business to them if they could match the price. Without blinking an eye, they did! Just a thought.
So happy for you that the plan is in place, soon to be executed !!! Now on a totally different subject, I have a friend that recently moved to Turkey and her latest post on Facebook was her trip to the market for rug shopping. OMG, Turkey has the most beautiful rugs I have ever seen! The colors are magnificent!! I immediately thought of you, and thought no wonder you love vibrant colors so much!!
Yes! They are so amazing! There are some places (kind of out-of-the-way places, not in the city) where you can go and tour the places where the rugs are being handmade, and then they will serve lunch, and you can make a whole day of it. Or you can find tons of options at the Grand Bazaar in Istanbul. And there are rug shops on just about every street. It’s such an amazing place, and definitely VERY colorful! I miss it!
YES! I had the feeling that if you got working on the walls & ceiling,, it would get you excited and really analyzing the tile choices. It sounds perfect – You decorate everything so beautifully, and the mural is a good example. You need less in tile – the most permanent of things, and enjoy the calm background to all your decor items. It is going to be spectacular! Looking forward to the next installment!
PS) I think I will do the same…keep the tile neutral and simple, and use the removable decor for contrast and color…easier to change when I need a new color! 🤣 And, that WILL happen!
I like any of your decorating ideas! I am a newbie to remodeling and I have a question about your painting the drywall – directly on the drywall without any other kind of finish?
I have Googled and don’t quite understand what you need to do if you want a flat surface – mud the entire drywall? Thanks!
If your walls are already textured, getting them perfectly flat is quite a feat, and mudding over the walls completely might be one of the easiest ways to accomplish that. As I’ve had each room re-drywalled in this house, I’ve requested that they leave the walls smooth instead of texturing. They still tape and mud the drywall joints just like usual, but it takes a bit more effort to get them perfectly smooth. Texture covers small imperfections, so without texture, those imperfections have to be taken care of.
When it comes to painting, I always prime new drywall first. An oil-based, all-purpose primer will work. And I just do one coat, and then it’s ready for paint.
I’m so excited to see your progress! My goodness—just the primer seemed to take it from a construction site to a real room.
I know you’re going to be so pleased with the calm that the classic scheme will bring.
Yippee! Sounds great! I’m glad you got busy, I knew you needed to start or you would talk yourself into something that would cause you strife. There is enough for you to get going on while you think through the rest. Vanity needs building, wallpaper hung, etc. Keep pushing!
I think this is your best plan yet!
Good for you. I also find that if I just start, things fall into place.