First look at finishes

In other renovations we've done, many of the other finishes are already in place, so it naturally limited the choices; like picking a wall color or granite counter top that goes with the existing finishes.  


But now everything is on the table. I realized this weekend that choosing finishes and fixtures for the entire house sounds fun, but is an overwhelming task. (In the bigger picture, this isn't as overwhelming as, say, making Afghanistan a more stable country from which US forces can soon exit, so we'll manage on the house front, it's not that daunting.)


With a relatively modest sized ranch house, everything is connected on a single level, so there needs to be some overall consistent scheme for finishes, aesthetics and colors. 


At the tile store this weekend, I came across an interesting design scheme for the guest bathroom. I don't know why I started with that room, but it seemed to make sense after putting some of the pieces together. Over the past couple of months, I've been collecting pictures on the Houzz.com iPad app. The photo below gave me the idea to choose an accent wall in the tub surround, and coordinating tiles for the rest of the walls and floor. (I also like the half glass wall instead of a shower curtain, a cleaner look that leaves more light into the shower, I think we'll steal that idea too.)

modern bathroom design by san francisco architect John Lum Architecture, Inc. AIA


I came across this tile for a possible accent wall in the tub surround: matte finish, ivory toned, in stacked bond pattern. I thought it was a modern-leaning style, but not too much. It turned out to be on sale, the final several boxes were on the sales floor. So I bought 25 square feet yesterday. I hope we can use them!

This tile seemed to coordinate nicely with the others that I could envision in the guest bathroom, which includes this for a surround/wall tile below. It has light and dark brown straw-like stripes: 

This could be paired with a darker gray slate-like floor tile. Putting it all together, here is the view (note, the white wouldn't be a tile, but represents the white tub/toilet): 

With several dozen other finishes and decisions ahead, I don't know why I focused first on the guest bath. Perhaps because it's in the center of the floor plan, everything would need to feel connected and coordinated to that room? Or it feels more manageable because it's the smallest room? Whatever the reason, it feels good to start narrowing the options so when the time comes to make final decisions we'll be ready.