Many of you have been with me since I was
working on my PhD. After all that schooling, you would think I
might be a sparkling conversationalist, right?
Nope. For the last weeks (okay, months), anyone who talks to me gets about ten minutes
to blather on about whatever non-bathroom topic they favor before I
pounce on them with a dizzying array of questions.
Do you think I
should go with chrome or brushed nickel? Should I buy this sconce or this sconce? Sconce mirror sconce mirror sconce, or sconce mirror sconce sconce mirror sconce? Or no sconce? Who did your tile work? Is this too tall for a stone backsplash? What half of this quartzite slab do you like better? Do you know anything about towel warmers?
Don't tell my friends and family that you got to hear about
tweed,
my office,
agate coasters, and even
a funny Szuka story to break up the bathroom monotony - I haven't been so kind to them. There has been no reprieve.
The bathroom reno is coming along, slowly but surely. You'd think most of the decision-making would be done by now, but I have this sinking suspicion it will never end. I recently splurged on something fabulous and made a pretty big adjustment to the plan. Originally I wanted sconce, round mirror, sconce, round mirror, sconce. An extended version of the two bathrooms, below. Cute, right?
I picked out
the Purist Sconce by Kohler, so the finish would match the faucets perfectly (
matchy-match-match). But when I measured everything out, there wasn't room for that arrangement unless the mirrors were
very skinny rectangles, or we ditched one sconce and then mounted the remaining two very high,
like in this bathroom (although I think they still have more room to play with than us). We didn't have room
for any gaps between the tower and the first sink,
like in this bathroom, because we wanted to maximize the storage in
the walnut cabinetry I picked out.
I jettisoned the sconce idea and decided to go with lights
above the round mirrors, but then I saw
Kristin's bathroom makeover. She used the purist sconces and they look as good as I thought they would. I know that many people have grown weary of sponsored posts on blogs, but sometimes I like when brands partner with bloggers to review products. I appreciate the chance to get a better look at items I'm considering purchasing, especially because many stock photos of products don't have a context, or are heavily edited, so it's difficult to get a good feel for how something will look when it's installed/used. Seeing Kristin's photos definitely sold me.
Those
SCONCES! So good.
And there's a nightlight in the bums.
I decided that I
had to make them work. I didn't relish the idea of super skinny mirrors though and, truthfully, once we start dismantling the bathroom, I realized that I really didn't want to part with my large sheet mirror at all. I've grown accustomed to how much light it bounces around, which is nice in our bathroom which, although it has a window -
luxury! - isn't terribly bright. Without that big mirror, it felt a lot smaller and darker. So I decided to go with something a little nutty. We're going to keep a large frameless sheet mirror (we'll get a new one cut to fit the space) and mount the sconces directly on the mirror, like so:
I know that many folks don't love large, unframed mirrors; they are often dismissed as "builder's basic," but I happen to like the look - as long as it's a LARGE mirror. I think it suits the modern, mid-century mod space I'm crafting. But, more to the point, I want to push the sconces as far to the edges of the mirror as possible (with the third in the middle) so they don't
obstruct our view of our lovely mugs in the mirror. Plus, I don't want to pull attention from the
gorgeous grain of the walnut, the
busy quartzite counters, or the
aqua sinks (yay!). The vanity area will pack a punch, so a simple mirror situation - as opposed to a frame in yet another material - won't compete for attention.
If you're a little dubious about my frameless mirror choice, I promise - it can look really good. In fact, many of the inspiration photos I've been sharing throughout
the bathroom planning process boast this look. I'm excited but also a tad nervous. We're got a lot of the wiring changes done, but we still need to move the wiring for the new sconces, which means some very,
very, careful measuring.
I'll share reno progress photos soon, but right now it's just bare studs and wiring, so it's hardly riveting. Although I did
get an exciting delivery yesterday (aqua sinks, be still my heart)!
