Miracles do happen...

The painter called at 8:00 AM to ask if he could come and touch up his not-so-handiwork. He surveyed, sighed and said "I didn't know you wanted the surface prepped, some people just want to paint over the drips and gashes - they don't care". My reply was of course to wonder if he only worked for patrons of the Helen Keller Institute and to suppose he had no pride in his work. He did sort of passive-aggressively suggest he might have to charge me extra but I guess he thought better of that... So we have smooth walls, fewer drips and the entrance to the bath is taped, spackled and painted to a smooth finish that looks a lot better than the gap he suggested we ask the tiler to FILL WITH GROUT!


The electrician came early and installed all the light trims, sconces, medicine cabinet and heated towel rack. Toasty towels on a timer will make a huge difference to our old morning shower and shiver routine. The new ventilation fan is whisper quiet - you can actually hear the sound of running water - or you will be able to once the plumber turns it on. But that's for another day.
Tomorrow the countertop guy will take measurements and we will be one stop closer to a final finish date.

We are experiencing operating scheduling problems*

So... Day 62 of the master bath renovation. Sixty-two days spanning 4 months and two decades. Seems like an awfully long time, doesn't it? What with sickness, snow days and Palm Springs, a 10 day renovation (Ha! When has a bathroom remodel ever taken such a short time period? Apart from in my dreams and the promises of many a contractor?) has turned into a marathon of delays, do-overs and despair. But this week we have a date that must be met: the master bedroom furniture arrives Thursday (unless they are held up by snow...). So, working backwards: paint touch-up Wednesday; plumber Tuesday; electrician Monday; the carpenter will be here everyday until it's done. It must be done; it will be done. It must be done; it will be done... slowly we are chugging our way to the finish.

*see: Notation for Theoretic Scheduling

Moody

The cabinets went in yesterday. They will come out again tomorrow and be slid down the wall so the filler can go on the right (left) side; this way the door can open, the sink will fit and we can hang the sliding door. It's always better to catch these things before the countertop goes on - better yet before the marble guy comes to measure. Of course, it would be best if common sense prevailed and we did things right the first time. I swear I am not leaving the room while anyone else works on the bathroom - it's gonna get cramped in there....

We interrupt your moment of optimism to bring you this message

Damn you again snow gods! We called a snow day - it's snowed at the rate of an inch an hour overnight and it's still going so there will be no work on the bathroom today. Next big push is Monday, unless there's another catastrophic weather event...

Long Shots

Tomorrow there will be a big push to get this project finished - cabinets, lights, mirrors, hardware, touch-ups and the hunt for the location of the HVAC vent (don't even ask, we have a guy with a stud-finder and if that fails I'm calling the local fire department to come practice using their heat imager on the bathroom ceiling!)


Till then here are a couple of views from the dressing room to the bath


and the closet - don't look too closely, those paint cans will be well employed for the final paint repairs. I'm finally beginning to envision my first soak since 2009!

Shelter for Haiti

It's 4:30 AM, pouring with rain and the dog (Polly) refuses to leave the shelter of the big conifer to come inside. I'm about to lose my patience when Laura reminds me that millions in Haiti are still homeless. I feel ashamed.
Go visit Laura who is actually doing something to help in the way of another fabulous bag-of-goodies auction while I try and entice the dog indoors with a snack...

Coming in Last

The painting is done except for some trim touch-ups, the painter wants to come in after everyone else has finished in case there are any nicks or dings made in the final fittings of the vanities. The plumber likes to be last so no-one drops or drips anything on the shiny shower fixtures (and those faucets can't go in until the counter top is installed). The carpenter likes to be last because of potential paint spots on his cabinetry. The electrician has to be last because his finish plates fit over everything else.
I'm thinking of scheduling them all on the same day, shutting the pocket door and letting them fight it out in the 8' x 8' x 8' box that is the bathroom.... Life was so much simpler with The Handyman!

Image of the Greek god Triton controlling the waves of contractors seas.

Quick reno update

Before I left for Palm Springs we had a few house issues - tree in pool, missing tile and snow up to my armpits but as of today we have resolved most of those. Steady rain is taking carre of the snow; a man with a chainsaw and a truck came, happily declared "Let's make a mess", chopped down the tree and hauled away the debris. Bonus: more light at the back of the pool so the hollies I'm planning should do well; potential problem - more weeds.


The tile came in, the floor is finished and grouting has begun. We used half a bag of anthracite grout on the shower and floor tiles and two bags of grey (gris) grout on the mosaic walls. Quick pic above of the grout drying before they washed it off the tiles. Got a big thumbs up design-wise from the plumber who came to check it out before he returns tomorrow to attach the faucets, shower fixtures and WC. He wanted to know how we made it bigger! Shower door ordered and should be here in less than "tweaks"*.


Painters already have one coat on master bedroom walls, ceiling and trim and the closet. Today the bath and dressing room get their turn. We also ordered the new bed/furniture and the Awesome Designer is waiting patiently to install the upholstered window valances.

Still to do: Fit vanities (scheduled for Thursday); measure and install counters and re-fit saddle (marble guy will be here asap after vanities go in - turnaround is one week); plumber to fit basins, faucets; electricians to finish lighting and carpenter to attach all the pretty hardware to the wall. I'm still hopeful we can make it so The Guy can take his first shower in there on his birthday but at this stage I'm just happy we're making progress.
*The official supplier/contractor delivery estimator - supposed to equate to two weeks, rarely meets that timeframe.

Little Phallicies

You know how it is when you are walking around an art gallery or a museum, something unexpected catches your eye;


you wonder if it's just you but it seems that everywhere you look


up


or down


inside


or out


there always a tiny piece of Classic art staring you right in the face


it's enough to make one swoon!

Racquet Club Estate Tour 2010

Palm Springs: Racquet club Estates Tour, part of Modernism Week 2010. Seven mid-century modern homes, five Palmer & Krisel designed Alexander homes - some with butterfly roofs, another with a flat roof; a Donald Wexler Steel House and a Meiselman post and beam. They have been restored, some keeping as faithful to the original as possible, others updated and expanded but all retaining the desert's mid-century tenets of clear lines, walls of glass, clerestory windows, airy rooflines and indoor/outdoor living.


The surrounding landscape is always part of the home - here mountains form a dramatic backdrop to the pool


Each of the homes is unique in its own fashion - here the breezeway wasn't part of the original Meiselman house but was added along with a master bath and guest suite during a year-long renovation. While other homeowners had updated with an eye to budget this home had it all- Bulthaup kitchen, LED color-changing lighting and infinite jacuzzi tub.


We signed up for the tour not only to get a closer look at Krisel's and Wexler's designs but to see if there were any renovations we could use in our own house. We brought back a couple. One was the ingenious hole cut through the frameless shower doors that enables you to turn the water on without hopping in and out of freezing spray. The other? To clear The Cool House of all clutter and tabletop "fluff"! We also confirmed how well-suited ikea is to mid-century kitchens and bathrooms - especially when paired with quartz counters. Catch the local news video of the tour here and spot The Guy chatting with designer Anne Breux about, what else, beds...

Inspiration after the fact

Shower walls: 8 x 13 porcelain tiles
I think the hiatus on the master bathroom renovation while I went to Palm Springs Modernism Week reinvigorated everyone. By late afternoon yesterday the shower was covered in anthracite Talis in a running bond pattern (the iphone camera makes it look brown) and half the bath walls were tiled in mosaic Eidos Grafito (both by Porcelanosa); perfectly positioned against the vertical Carrera marble slabs.

Master bath walls: 8 x 13 ceramic mosaic tiles
To tell the truth I was a little worried about the marble edge but it seemed the most creative way to solve the dilemma of joining two tiles with differing patterns and thicknesses. I'd never seen it done before - not in real life, not in a modern setting - and I wanted to ensure it looked neither obnoxious nor like the entrance to a mausoleum. After lots of research on the vanity top option I had decided marble would be the best way to keep within the grey/black palette; it also repeats the counter in the powder room and the credenzas in the great room and dining room, and I want to maintain continuity throughout the house. Once I'd settled on that for the horizontal planes it seemed fussy to add another element - wood - for the vertical.

Second floor Women's Restrooms, Gettty Villa: black marble mosaic tile
It's funny how you can worry about the details - even though the tiler, the contractor, the carpenter, the painter and most importantly The Guy assured me it was the simplest solution. I really seconded guessed myself for days and several sleepless night in Palm Springs until I found tranquility and validation in the restrooms of the Getty villa in Los Angeles. Mosaic and marble - classic but uniquely modern.

Bathroom inspiration

From the Albert Fry House II, Palm Springs

Elephants & Palms

Escape!

As nothing much is happening on the reno front - a 23" x 17" tile short of a finished floor snafu followed by snow days, sick tiler, and a wrong cabinet door setback - I'm tucking my head under my wing, embracing oblivion and swapping


this*


for this


and this*



for Palm Springs Modernism Week

Last year we stayed here for a conference; pretty pink flamingos, great sushi and Starbucks vouchers offered in exchange for hard sell to buy a timeshare - classy! Apparently these people had splashier time...

*
1. tree down!
2. floor tile, one piece short of perfection

Snow Day 2010

No work today - the wet saw is cold and wet - and will probably be buried by the end of the day


the cats are unimpressed


the dogs are feeling imprisoned.


Of course there are compensations for the humans - a roaring fire & a glass of wine


and the promise of dinner with friends - if we can only get out of here.... I spy rescue

Chocolate and Clouds...

...with a glint of metal... After all the selecting, culling and final editing and the twenty 12" x 12" squares in 7 different colors I painted on the master bedroom walls we have finally (maybe) come up with a paint palette* that pleases both The Guy and picky me.


Benjamin Moore Titanium to be precise. A warm pale gray with a greenish undertone for the master bedroom walls


Benjamin Moore Cloud White a cool creamy white, soft and billowy on the ceiling and inside the closets


Benjamin Moore Bittersweet Chocolate brownish black. Tasty on the trim to match the dark vanities.


By the way designers and decorators, Benjamin Moore has just launched a couple of exciting projects- new showrooms in New York and Chicago that have variable lighting to mimic those pesky north and east facing windows I'm currently dealing with and huge color blocks so you can truly imagine your finished design. The NYC showroom is painted in Cloud White, a shade I've used very successfully at The Cool House that provides a neutral background to the color chips.



Additionally, the "Designer's Colors" Virtual Fan Deck, a design-tool launched a couple of years ago with Kravet fabrics and furnishings is now available online making complimentary color choice a snap.


Benjamin Moore has also added an e-commerce section to the website so you can buy all the supplies BM offers, plus the sample pots in 600 colors, without stepping away from your computer. Shipping is free on orders over $75 and for 4 or more Color Sample pots. My local paint store is only offering pint samples these days - great for touch-ups or small areas, not so economical if you want to try out 3 or 4 colors on the wall. If you have any painting dilemmas there is a problem solving section too: Learn How that incorporates tips on faux-painting techniques and a calculator so you know exactly how many gallons of paint to order.
*For those keeping count - during the master bedroom project I have spent countless hours using BM's Personal Color Viewer, made innumerable trips to the paint store, bought 5 Color Sample pots, three pint size pots and 50 chips - all to find that what works best is a color scheme I used here, here and here. Ironic, no?

Design Inspiration

It looks like those umbrella stand pendant lamps in the great room are working their magic again.


Today they inspired the Awesome Designer to pull this fabric, Delineate in Malt from the Couture Collection by Michael Berman for Kravet. Also available in Foam (light blue) and Oyster (creamy beige). Not sure where we'll use it but I think we have to find a place - it was meant to be...

Maybe it was meant to be... the shower edition

After leaving the carpenter an amusing passive/aggressive note on the shower wall and mulling over the options to make the recessed shelf look sleek and chic and talking to The Guy who loves the Smedbo basket in the boys' shower I did a complete u-turn and started to think chrome shower shelves. After all two words that make me cringe are cubby (I always want to follow it by shouting Broccoli!) and niche especially when pronounced nitch! Soooo, should I run with my original idea or re-design on the fly?
There a couple of modern solutions that would fit with the hardware we are using in the rest of the bathroom


Ginger soap basket 36.60.20 from Homeclick.com $195.75


Smedo Sideline Chrome basket $86.40 from myknobs.com

What do you think interwebs? Do you prefer a cubby/niche/recessed area for your shampoo and shower gel or a basket or even a shelf?

I neglected to say which Sunday...

From a little more than three years ago "My prediction is that by Sunday evening there won't be any tiles, grubby or otherwise in the shower. "
The tiles did finally come off on January 1st 2010 and the cement board was screwed in place today. If all goes according to plan - for example, if the carpenter can unscrew the backerboard and cut out the hole for the shower niche that was carefully preserved during the demo (see above with pen on shelf), then re-attach the board - the tiler should be here Monday or Tuesday to start putting those babies back on the wall.