Bathroom Plans: The Slightly More Difficult Choices

Tuesday I showed you some of the elements I've already chosen for our impending bathroom reno: walnut cabinetry, modern fixtures, a toilet with a skirted trap - easy decisions!  The tile and counter-top choices proved to be more difficult, mostly because I struggled with availability and affordability.

I fell in love with Fireclay Tile and was convinced that I was going to order some - until I priced it out.  A rough estimate for what we'd need saw our eyes bugging out over a lot of zeros (about $4,000+ just for the tub surround).  I don't have that kind of money for tile and, if I did, I don't even think I'd want to sink $4000 into something that will get covered by a shower curtain anyway.  (This is my poor loser pep talk.  Of course I would!  Their tile is gorgeous and mod and I want it.) 

Fireclay Tile

Fireclay Tile

Fireclay Tile

Although I'd happily take any style, I wanted to order the Diamond Contour (below), but in all-white.

Fireclay

Although I ultimately had to pass on Fireclay Tile, pining for the styles above altered my plan.  I originally had my eye on some beach-glass inspired tiles, but I realized that I was really gravitating toward organic shapes with more texture than colour.  Yes, although I drooled over beautiful, bold spaces like the bathroom below, ultimately I chickened out.

Apartment Therapy

After I vetoed Fireclay, I had a hard time finding something I liked locally.  (Nothing compares, to you...)  When I found a tile I sorta liked, it would compete with a counter I also sorta liked, and vice versa.  I finally decided to just find a starting point - stop worrying about matching and pairing and just find either a tile or counter that I absolutely loved, and then let that dictate the other choices.  I spent days shuffling from place to place, dejectedly flipping through tile samples and lugging home chunks of rock and porcelain.  Living in a small city can have it's drawbacks because the options are really limited (and some of what is available is kind of dated).  After all of my laborious effort, finally - I found it.  A beautiful piece of quartzite:

The sample called to me from across the room.  Actually a friend (Jazmyn, that's you!), had talked to me about this gorgeous stone awhile ago but I didn't think to search for it.  It's White Fantasy, just one variation of quartzite, which is supposedly as hardy as granite but with a similar look as marble (my nemesis).  If you read Yellow Brick Home, you might have spotted another variety of quartzite.  At a local stone yard, I found a huge piece for sale and I am thinking of already putting a down payment on it so no one else can nab it.  

It looks a bit flat (and cold) in my photos, but in real life there are these incredible veins and layers - it has a lot of depth to it with varying shades of warm and cool grey, balanced by some white.  Some of the veins have a really striking glint to them.  I managed to capture a hint of an elusive glint in this photo:

Hubby likes it because it reminds him of when the ice cracks and breaks on Lake Superior.  To me it looks like a map.  I actually would have loved to find the Aquias Blue quartzite below, but no luck (I think the grey will serve us well, anyway):

Design Manifest

Design Manifest

Because everything is going to be neutral, I am thinking about ordering a pair of soft aqua sinks:

Kohler

Below is a kitchen that, although a really different style, boasts quartzite counters with aqua Kohler sinks. (I really like seeing photos of something similar to what I like.  In my mind I cobble all of these images together and picture my bathroom, all renovated.)

Home Bunch

I like the look of a really tall stone backsplash, but because it really should be a thin piece to look right (I don't want the same thickness as my counters, glued to the wall), I've been told by local installers that it's not doable.  They can't get the quartzite thin enough.  Which is a big bummer. 

Clockewise: Cocolapinedesign; Decorpad; JacquelynClark; ApartmentTherapy

I am thinking of just going without a backsplash, because it can easily be added later and we didn't seem to need one in the townhouse.  Hubby is adamant we at least get a little stone backsplash.  Not sure what to do there because I don't know if I like that stubby little backsplash, but I think tile will be busy above the stone.

Once I settled on a counter, picking tile was easier.  A bit.  I originally envisioned grey tile, but with a stone counter that reads very grey, it seemed a little blah.  I considered a white porcelain, but it just didn't "click" for me, even though it bounced a lot of light around and made the room feel bigger and brighter.

In the end, while pondering various shades of grey tile, I found the perfect floor tile by accident.

The soft black on the right stood out.

It's a really nice black: not too dark or too blue, and it has a nice warmth and softness to it.  It has a subtle variation in colour, like slate.  It seems more matte in photos - in real life it has a perfect not-too-shiny, not-too-flat finish.  The contrast between it and the light grey counters elevates the plan from "everything is grey" land.  I'd love it with a matching grout - the picture below has a similar tile, but with lighter grout.

Plastolux

I actually considered a large black hex (which I would also do with black grout), but I just don't think I love hex enough to commit to it, plus it competes with the tub surround tile I love.

French Fancy

This one was a contender too, because I love the striations and the sutbtle sheen - it's like it was shot with silver - but ultimately I'd love a bigger tile for as few grout lines as possible.

For the tub surround tile, this white tile with a great sheen and a square pattern is my favorite.  When the little irregular squares catch the light, they almost look like square mosaic - which is such a classic tile option - but without the myriad of grout lines. 
     

I really like mosaic tile but I don't like grout, so the tile above will give me the best of both words.

Freshhome

Better Homes & Gardens

WHEW!  And that's how I mostly arrived at decisions about tile and counter.  I really thought I'd have a long short-list today, but yesterday I really focused and narrowed down the many samples I had brought home.  This post feels ginormous.  If you feel like this post was way too wordy, you'll get no sympathy from Hubs, for whom this is just a sampling of the endless chatter about tiles, counters, and cabinets to which he's been subjected.  These feel like huge (expensive) decisions, so I've been agonizing over each one.  In the end, I'm going with my gut: the gleaming small square tile just kept calling to me and I plucked it out of displays in four different tile stores.  I knew I wanted the quartzite the moment I saw it - the rock collector in me won't be happy with a man-made solid surface.  The soft black floor tile just looked so right and stood out to me from an impossibly deep sea of sample tiles. 

We're placing order for the cabinetry and likely the counter soon - but nothing is written in stone yet!  Feel free to chime in - especially if you've had any experience with quartzite or porcelain tile, which are both new to me!  If you're curious about the bevy of inspiring bathrooms I've been digitally hoarding, take a look at my Bathroom Reno Plans board on Pinterest.  You can also follow me on Instagram, where I recently shared a beautiful teal tile (that, sadly, didn't make the cut), and other sneak peeks.

Here's a look at the samples all together - you'll have to envision a pair of soft aqua sinks. 

Now, time to lug 100 pounds of tile samples back into town...

DIY Plywood Topped Ikea Hack Floating Credenza

When we couldn't find the perfect dining room credenza, we made one!  We turned three Ikea Besta units into a floating "fauzdenza".  Now I'm sharing how we finished off the look with a sleek, grey-stained plywood top.  (In these photos we still hadn't added the furniture grommets to hide the lamp cord holes, but already the faudenza looked so sharp!)

If you would like to build your own budget-friendly, Ikea fauxdenza, read below for our full tutorial, plus tips and tricks for applying edge tape to plywood and staining/varnishing wood.

For comparison, here is our floating credenza, back when it was topless.  We used the Ikea Besta "extension units," but Ikea changed up their links and some products since we made our purchase, but I think these are the same.  We used the Ikea Besta suspension rail kits to mount them to the wall.  It looked cute already, but the seams gave away that this is an Ikea hack!

The plywood top we built nicely disguises the fact that our "credenza" is really three wall-mounted Ikea Besta units.

I explained in an earlier post that this is in no way an idea original to me, but we did put our own spin on it.  I really waffled about the finish and short-listed a walnut stain, the grey stain I intended to use for the counters, and the white I did use for the counters.  I even considered a glossy solid aqua paint or stain.  Dark wood ultimately didn't thrill me because it competed with the walnut-stained birch flooring.  White was a little too matchy-matchy with the kitchen.  Turquoise would have solidified my status as "insane blogger who paints everything turquoise".   I settled on the grey stain because I really wanted to try it after deciding it looked too purple on our maple kitchen counters.  It's a great neutral and complements the grey painted fireplace, but doesn't compete with the bold turquoise kitchen right beside it.  It also has a subtle driftwood look, which is my nod to beachy decor. 

And yes, I spent way too much time over-thinking this decision.



The next tricky decision was determining what kind of top: solid wood, laminated solid wood, or veneered plywood?  Solid wood was ruled out because of cupping/warping concerns (the Besta units are fairly deep).  We didn't have the steam to make a laminated wood top after making our kitchen counters - too much labor!!  Veneered plywood won my heart because it was the easiest and cheapest solution. 

Once the big design decisions were made, we headed to the lumber yard and were faced with the final decision (oy vey): what kind of veneered ply?  And what thickness?  I had some criteria: I wanted something with a yellowness to warm up the purple tinge of the stain, and I wanted something with a lot of grain so it wouldn't look like a flat slab of concrete.  We had a clear winner: good-one-side Caribbean Pine.  It only came in 5/8" thick, so that answered that question about the depth.

With the decision-making settled, here's how we turned Ikea Besta units into a chic floating credenza!

Materials:

• 5/8" thick sheet of good one side veneered plywood
• Edge tape (pre-glued kind)
• Old iron
• Edge tape cutting tool (we used a double edge trimmer)
• Stain 
• Varnish
• Brush and lint-free rags
• PL Premium construction adhesive
• 220 grit sandpaper
• Screws
• Drill
• Clamps
• Hole saw

Despite being avid DIYers, we still don't own a table saw and we knew Hubby's method wouldn't cut it (pun intended), because we needed the cuts to be exact.  No problem!  We simply brought the measurements of the credenza to the local wood supplier where we sourced the plywood, and the resident carpenter cut everything in minutes!  It felt like cheating.

With our pieces cut, we applied edge tape using an old iron.  We applied edge tape to the front of the pieces that run along the side of the credenza, and across the front and both side edges of the top.

When it was adhered, we trimmed the sides using a double edge trimmer.  We splurged on the tool, after hacking away at edge tape with a knife for previous projects.

Finally, we gave the whole piece a very light sand with 220 grit sandpaper to smooth any lingering roughness, especially between the ply and the edge tape.

Next I applied the stain, using an old brush.  I applied it kind of messily (not wanting it to accidentally dry in really definitive brush lines), waited a few minutes and then wiped off the excess with a clean rag.  I used a gel stain and found it had great coverage so I got away with one coat. 

I let the pieces dry overnight and then applied a quick-dry clear varnish, using a clean brush.

As per the instructions, it dried within one hour but for sanding between coats it's recommended it dry overnight.  I patiently waited, and the next morning gave it a light sand with 220 grit sandpaper to smooth any raised grain.  Then I applied another thin coat and let it dry.

One tip: don't forget that the edges might show when the credenza is opened, so stain and clear coat those spots too!

Installation was simple, but we added a step: cutting holes for the lamp cords.  We've rigged it up so the cords disappear through the top and meet inside, at the back, where we cut out a hole to the outlet.

We first laid the top piece on the credenza and placed the lamps to position the cord holes, marking them in place.  Using a 1.5" hole saw Hubby cut the holes first through the plywood top, and then through the top of the credenza.  He sawed through half from one side, then flipped and finished the hole from the other direction.

Finally, we affixed the top to the credenza.  To do this Hubby pre-drilled some holes in the credenza to be able to drive some screws up from the inside into the bottom of the new top.  He did the same on the sides, drilling from the inside.  Drilling from the inside reduced tear-out visible inside the unit.

Starting with the top, we ran a bead of PL Premium construction adhesive all over the credenza surface, ensuring not to go too close to the edges so it didn't squish out.  We put the top in place and drove the screws (two per credenza section) up from the inside to tighten the wood in place.  Once the adhesive is dry the screws will probably not do much.  They are basically there clamp it tight during the drying process - although we did use an extra clamp on a place where the screw didn't grab perfectly.  A little scrap of wood kept the metal clamp from damaging the freshly finished surface.

With the top in place, we repeated the process with the two side panels.  The sides are not actually attached to the top panel, only the credenza itself.  We opted for a butt joint instead of a mitered corner because it's simple and our counters don't meet in a miter, so there's a subtle similarity only I will notice and enjoy.

Here's the one thing we still need to do: order some grommets to disguise the credenza holes we cut and make them look finished (the same way grommets hide a hole in fabric).  They are directly behind the lamps and difficult to spot anyway, but they will look really sharp when properly finished. 

Once the grommets arrive and we've snapped them in place, I'll show you in more detail what we did with the cords.  If I do say so myself, the cord situation (or lack there of) is nothing short of incredible.  It's long plagued me: "what to do with the darn cords???"  Home decor magazines rarely answer this burning question (and sometimes even monkey around with cords, hiding them of photoshopping them out for photos).  Now ours are permanently hidden!

 

UPDATE!  We did the same kind of Ikea hack to another Besta we re-purposed to hide the screw holes on the top:

See the Ikea Hack tutorial here!  And don't forget to check out the last step: making the cord holes look finished with grommets. 

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