It has been many years since I attempted to write a blog post and much in my life has changed. I think it is time for me to get back to doing my research and writing about the two things I love most - interior design and how it has inspired my jewelry designs. With that being said - here goes!
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| Our Vision Board - Because My Hubby Cannot Visualize |
Back in the summer of 2016, my husband and I embarked on a total renovation of our master bath and freshening up our master bedroom and another bath near my husband’s office. I had done lots of research on what I felt I could live with, while simultaneously appealing to the local masses in the event we should want to sell our house and skip away to our retirement. Arizona is a place where the culture is foreign to me - rustic, masculine and repetitive. They are just beginning to snap out of a sea of brown and beige! I on the other hand, I have had Calcutta marble and soft grey with pale aqua in the kitchen and family room for over seven years.
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| Old Bath With Curved Glass Block Shower Wall, Boxed Soaking Tub and Ginormous Soffits! |
It was decided that the huge master bath should have the same white/gray Calcutta marble on the floors, shower and countertops. A boxed in soaking tub would be removed and a free-standing tub would replace it. The natural stained cabinets with enormous overhead soffits would be replaced with more classic white cabinets that included towers to accentuate the height of the ceiling and add storage. The curved glass block shower wall would be removed, straightened and replaced with a glass shower door, adding a bench and dual shower heads (one stationary and the other hand-held). The shower renovation would also remove the step-up/step-down portion of the floor so the generous shower could become wheelchair accessible, if ever needed.
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| Shower Mayhem With Curved Glass Block Wall Removed |
All of this planning was done with the idea that our community seems to have many retired residents with various needs. As we all know, aging in place has become the preferred option as we get older and studies have confirmed that the elderly do better when they can stay in their homes. However, the interior designer in me still wanted to have the bathroom look beautiful for the present time, with small alterations that could be easily added, if needed in the future for another resident.
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| Our Entire Living Room/Dining Room/Foyer Became A Storage Unit During This Renovation! |
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| Why Did I Think I Could Leave The Crew Unattended For Few Hours??? Pink"X" Tiles Were Removed |
With all that in mind, we embarked on what was supposed to be a 6 week project, which realistically, I never thought would be finished in that time frame! We encountered many bumps in the road because most trades people here just really do not understand quality and/or proportions (resulting in a partial rip out of mismatched marble and redo of the upper cabinet towers because they were just too deep).
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| Hours Were Spent With The Marble Installers In Order To Attempt To Match Up The Veining |
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| So Much Better Without Those Ginormous Soffits. Water Lines Were Moved To Add A Tub Filler Under The Window. NOT A Good Plan For Cold Weather Climates... But We Live In AZ! |
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| These Venetian Glass Mirrors Hung Over Plate Glass Require Detailed Planning. Many Nerve Wracking Hours Of Repairing These Delicate Mirrors As They Arrived Slightly Damaged |
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| The Antique Armoire Replaced The Built In Linen Cabinet. I Filled The Interior With Neatly Folded Linens And A Collection Of Blue Opaline Glass |
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| Hubby Really Put Up A Fuss When I Informed Him I Had Called In Classy Closets. Now He Thinks It Was A GREAT Idea! |
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| The Glass Closet Doors Were Added To Help Keep Out Dust - My Mortal Enemy Living In Arizona! |
All in all, this seven month project with all its delays and blips turned out more or less just as I had envisioned. It had been about seven years since my last design project (my kitchen/family room) and it made me very happy to be able to get back in the trenches. The last piece of the puzzle was put into place when the antique armoire was finally delivered (since the photo - painting completed) to replace the built in linen cabinet which was removed to enlarge the adjacent closet. Would I tackle this project again - you bet?! I am afraid I have been spoiled by the soft beauty of this bathroom and the enormous size.
Through all of this turmoil I was still making jewelry that seemed to repeat the delicate colors of the new bath. Many of those pieces have since sold, but the newest designs still have the gentle colors, which remain a favorite - white, dove gray, pale aqua blue and gold.
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