Monday, January 10, 2022

It's Not All Bad

A picture of our cat. Not all pictures of our cats are cat pictures. Sometimes they are self-portraits, cloaking as cat pictures. This is actually me after reading another school email about COVID, about COVID testing, about racist and homophobic, or anti-Semetic vandalism spray-painted all over the school, again, or COVID cases, exposures to COVID, or parents that hid COVID and sent their children to school sick. Another possibility... it's a picture of me after another session at the computer designing our new upstairs bathroom.
Well not a new bathroom. Our old bathroom, with the disintegrating shower tiles. We are preparing to update things, which is great, and I feel thankful and fortunate. Do you hear a but coming? We have a skilled and welcome person arriving this week, and he can fix all of the problems, and all I have to do is choose tiles, and paint. How is this hard? Why is this hard? Everytime I feel certain of my taste, my style, I am thwarted by inventory issues, or delivery times. Everytime I find something pleasing, I find it's a pattern or color that after an hour staring at it, I am already having second thoughts. I keep making new layouts with an app on the phone, and I have found this very helpful. Oh, good grief: I was about to explain my intentions with this layout, but I can't actually remember what I was intending. I've made about thirty of these. I still love those stars. They remind me of Barcelona, the Barrí Gòtic.
The same tile in the shower extends to the floors, and a tub surround. The tub is going, so we will have a 6'x7' area that will need flooring. So, can we tear out all of the flooring in the bathroom? That would be a huge huge undertaking. And if we can leave the orginal tile just for the flooring, then we will have to find something new and contrasting or matching or complementary for the existing tile, to go in the former tub area. Please, do not try to follow along. You can nod politely, as though any of this makes sense, or matters. I just need to write it down, and try to process it. I could never ask drag anyone down this rabbit hole.
Okay, these, at least, I can explain. The small corner, in each sample, would be shower flooring, and the rest would be the three shower walls. But, maybe don't get too attached. I am still hemming and hawing. And also, we already bought a vanity, back in October. It seemed like a good idea at the time, and then I got anxious about it, because over-thinking is a special skillset of mine, and the latest is that I am just glad we have it, because I never never never want to shop for sinks/vanities/marble/quartz/granite ever again. Ever. I am happier that's done and settled than anything else. Another note: I am not shopping out in the world. I refuse. It's daunting enough from the office, but if I add driving, showrooms, and sales people, I will put the house on the market and move to Hawaii... (where I will eventually face similar dilemnas, but that's not the point.)
I have refrained from posting all thirty+ variations and iterations of this process. I am still undecided, and more confused than ever. This is my latest vision layout to contemplate. It includes the stone flooring that we are likely sticking with, but maybe might have to tear out. The mosaic greens would be the shower floor, and the distressed white for the shower walls. Distressed. lol. Oh! Our vanity area will need new flooring, too. Oh, glob. I fear we are going to make a flooring crazy quilt, and not in a good way. Geoff thinks we can salvage non-disintegrating tiles from the shower and lay them down for the new vanity. I think, after we administer the back-to-school COVID screening, I might go upsatirs and take a cat nap.

11 comments:

Sara at Come Away With Me said...

Lucky cats don't need to design new bathrooms, no wonder they nap so peacefully! So many choices is paralyzing . . . I've been there! If you were designing these for me, I'd choose photo #6 without hesitation and it looks really fabulous with that vanity in photo #7. Of course, choices like these are so personal; everyone has her own taste and likes and dislikes. But I think #6 is quite wonderful.

Sara at Come Away With Me said...

PS: Guess I should have also said I didn't include Cairo's photo in the count!

lilysgrannie said...

I feel your pain. That being said I suggest a blank canvas and limiting your choices. It's so overwhelming when you start looking at what's available or not depending on supply chain issues. When we moved out of your area and moved to the central coast we bought a house that had 3 bathrooms with white tile and little blue bouquets of flowers scattered here and there. It was awful! We were in a Hilton in Las Vegas and saw large linen tiles that we loved and added some glass tile accents. Each bathroom has the same linen tile but different accent tile. We still love it four years later. Good luck! I also tried to keep in mind that tile can be trendy and easily goes out of style. I didn't want to look at it a few years later and think to myself, what were we thing of when we selected it?

Janece said...

Over the years, seeing the choices you have made in your home... I have complete and utter trust in your final decisions. That said, I know it isn't easy. Thank you for sharing your swatch ideas -- it's fun to see your brain at work.

Natalie, the Chickenblogger said...

The swatches are such a help, and so are your supportive remarks. It irritates me that I feel like this is a hard process. Oh, and we had a semi-disaster with the vanity, which had been carefully wrapped and standing on a pallet in the driveway... it blew over! Actually, so did other stuff that Geoff has been storing out of the garage, because we are in the midst of planning for big plans! If you saw the mess, you would think we had a total disaster, but it seems there was very little damage to anything. I don't want to generalize or assign this new year a bad label, but I would so love to live through some quiet, uneventful months... for all of us.

Ruth said...

Too many choices makes it hard, for sure. Not to add to your dilemma, but may I suggest large tiles--easier to install, fewer grout lines, easier to clean, maybe not too trendy....? I'm not one to give advice on bathroom remodels, as I finally just gave up on my project due to delays and inability to find someone to do a partial remodel. (I like #6 too, by the way.)

I wish you quiet, uneventful months ahead, maybe 6 months from now?

Natalie, the Chickenblogger said...

You are so right, Ruth: Too many choices makes it hard. And you are right about the larger tiles, and I am starting to look at more of those. Happily some of the "small" tiles, are actually a single, large tile with a pattern that looks like it's made of smaller parts. And one more thing... you are a good one to give bathroom decorating advice, any decorating advice. I always pause and imagine your home(s) when I am trying to recenter my thoughts, and get some serenity into my vision.
Thank you for your uneventful wishes... and I had a giggle thinking of what you and I both know is ahead! Oh, just construction/remodeling/wedding/graduation and a second year of Geoff, with Max, in crunch mode hours... not to mention this everlasting alphabet pandemic!! But 6 months from now, by all means, let us commence with some uneventful months! Yes, please!

Natalie, the Chickenblogger said...

Thank you, Sara. I think number 6 is wonderful, too. Part of my trouble is having a very wide-open variety of tastes and moods. Well, it's maybe "trouble" and a blessing, since a lot of things make me happy! But nothing is happier than cats, who can go through life without ever having to match paint, pick tile, or shop online!

Natalie, the Chickenblogger said...

LillysGrannie, you give solid advice. I struggle to stick with a blank canvas, but I always appreciate the reminder, and I take it to heart, so that I think all of my plans and ideas get calmer, moderated, when I listen to suggestions like yours, and Ruth's. My untempered impulses are even wilder than the ones I settle on!

Sarah said...

I actually ordered the same floor tile for our basement bathroom - I am planning on installing it myself however so it's just been sitting there for months. I'm sure yours will be gorgeous! Actually all of the options you have laid out are beautiful, so I don't think you need to worry about picking the wrong one.

Natalie, the Chickenblogger said...

Sarah, is that the slate tile you ordered? We didn't install ours, originally, but I think I've figured out that it's natural stone, and possibly called "California Gold." I am trying to order more of it, but the local place that stocks it is out. Thank you for the encouraging words about the options I am thinking of. And good luck installing your tile! I've done some tile work myself... I think starting is the hardest part!