Bathroom vanity options

With our  bathroom reno, we are crossing our fingers and hoping that we can get a double vanity. Seriously, after a pedestal sink for 3 years in a tight space, any vanity would be great...a double vanity would be complete luxury. As you can tell from my last post, I'm thinking a black and white (and in between) colour scheme for the new bathroom.

I've started looking for vanities, mainly from big box stores. I know that we could get custom, but I figured we might as well see what we can find pre-made and then decide what to do.

Hutton Double Vanity via Restoration Hardware

Really nice right? Also really expensive (would go custom instead)

Pretty much an exact copy (with hardwood construction and soft close drawers and cabinets):

What about this one? looks pretty much exactly the same...and is litterally half the price.

Studio Bathe Kalize via costco.ca

Mirrors and shipping included, hardwood solid construction, $1599.99. I pretty much fell off my chair when I saw this was from Costco. And costco.CA at that! Unfortunately it measures 62.5" wide so it is sadly too big for our space...but if you're in the market it's a great option (worth the $50 Costco membership, that's for sure!)

Chesapeake via costco.ca

I am liking the idea of a black vanity...it could be solid in the space, and we'll likely be going with white tile for the bath so it could be a nice contrast. I am not crazy about the granite on this piece, but for the price it might be worth it to buy it and put a different slab on it.

 

Naples 60" vanity via Home Depot Canada

This one comes top-less, but I like the style of it. I think however I prefer the vanities with open space at the bottom (always important in a tiny space).

A small issue with all of these is that they are online...free returns, but would have to rent a truck to bring it back if we didn't like it. Most of the stores do not carry them in stock so it's hard to know what the quality will be until you see it. We stopped in at Lowes and Home Depot and both seem to offer fairly good quality. Rona on the other hand was a no - all the display models were chipping and/or not made well.

What do you think of these options? Any suggestions for where else we should check for vanities? What about other bathroom fixtures, like tubs, faucets, etc?

Flooring vs. Bathroom

Remember my 2013 goals? I said that we wanted to do flooring and a bathroom reno. BIG projects. Our plan was to do flooring first...we went and got samples, negotiated pricing, met with an installer. And then, one day at the gym, the Mr. had the ah-ha moment. He said...What renos do you get your money back on in a house sale? Kitchens and Bathrooms...so why don't we do the bathroom first?
Brilliant.

Since we will be moving a wall, we are going to have to cut into flooring anyways. And our flooring right now is liveable...whereas our little bathroom with a pedestal sink and no vanity is not the most enjoyable space.

So...that means...bathroom reno!! Woo hoo! We have another full bath in our basement (it's scary, but useable) so we won't be totally out of commission.

To give you a sense of our current bathroom space, here's a shot from one of our pre-posession house visits:

Obviously we got rid of the mint green, doily curtain, and put up a shower curtain...but we still have the same ugly floor tile and the same SMALL size. 

To pique your interest here's some of the bathroom pretty I've been collecting:

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Enter...reno. :) It will be messy, and long, but soooo worth it when we can stop bonking heads as we're brushing our teeth at night. Now the decision is - do we hire someone to do the general oversight, or do we do that part ourselves? We have an electrician (to re-wire the switches once the wall is moved), HVAC guy (to move/replace the rad), and the only plumbing change is moving the sink back. We could hire someone to do the tile and the drywalling. What do you think?

Family day french toast

Hi friends! I feel like it has been so long since I wrote a real blog post...I'm getting sucked into the winter blahs, and work is busier than ever (beyond busy) so when I get home the last thing I want to do is look at a computer screen.  But, give me a long weekend and some reno ideas and maybe, just maybe, I'll get inspired :) Today's all about food, but check back this week for some fun posts that relate to my 2013 goals.

It's family day here in Ontario (read: a holiday - woo hoo!) Who doesn't need a long weekend in February? We didn't do anything exciting, but the extra day and extra sleep was much appreciated. We celebrated with yummy food all weekend, including french toast for breaky this morning. Yumm.

And a few other photos from around here...

My lovely tulips from Valentine's Day

Guest post and Happy Valentine's Day!

Happy Valentine's Day everyone!

Before we get into the lovey dovey stuff, make sure to pop over to Living Savvy today to see my post about closet organization - there's nothing more romatic than a happy closet :)

I hope you all have a happy heart day with your loved ones...the Mr. and I are planning a nice dinner in, and I'm in charge of dessert..which may look a little something like this:

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Happy heart day, friends.

Phhotography lessons so far

I just finished my 5th photography class (how is this going by so quickly?) and so far I find it really good. It's definitely teaching me the basics, and I'm learning how to use my camera in different scenarios.

One of my ah-hah moments so far is using aperature for depth of field. I know this is "easy" for people who know what they are doing, but for me it was an exciting discovery (and something that completely highlights how much I can manipulate my DSLR vs. my point and shoot).

Next challenge is to be more conscious of composition and "filling the frame" rather than relying on touch ups and cropping after the fact. I'm looking forward to more and more practice!

Feeling disorganized? {A whole month of tips}

Happy February! 

Holy crap, it's February. Moving on...

My bloggy pal Tiffany over at Living Savvy is doing everyone a huge favour this month by hosting a whole MONTH of organizing tips!

If you've been feeling the spring-cleaning-bug, or just need a kick in the butt to get organized, THIS is where you will find all the tips! Mine will be up on February 14th, but Tiffany has people posting tips every day of the month. 

Head over and check it out....and get organized!