Decor / Stella's Room Lighting

Oh, that ugly "boob" light. While the guys are waiting for the cement to dry in the master bath project, I had them update Stella's light in her room. A lot of things we did two years ago were last minute updates while the project was in motion. Stella's room had a torch lamp (her only source of lighting) but we wanted something that we could control via switch. I didn't have enough time to research and buy the light I wanted. Hence, the ugly "boob" light. It was always supposed to be temporary, I tell myself. Just as we decided to renovate the master bath, I immediately snatched up the west elm Globe Flushmount when they had their major 20% sale. Strangely, I got it for $69 (plus 20% off). Looking at the site now, it's priced at $99. I'm not sure if I got the price from a glitch.

Decor / Bath(tub) Remodel

We're finally fixing up our master bathtub and we're almost done! It was one of the areas from our remodel two years ago that we decided to forego because I just had a baby and the project was taking too long (three times to be exact). What started as a simple shower leak fix to "Screw it! Let's remodel it now that we have time." Well, it's been 5 days since we started the project. I was told it would be 3 days but with unexpected tenant piping issue from another property, we had to use our contractor to fix that problem first. But really, that's okay. Our master bathroom was an eyesore and as long as it's finished, I won't complain that much.

But, everything is coming together and I'm very excited. When we first started, I knew I wanted classic subway tiles with a sunken tub because they're a bit wider than a standard tub. And it's a regular tub, not a jacuzzi tub. Ours were installed with a jacuzzi tub so cleaning the jets were extremely annoying and difficult.

And no more shower doors. I don't know anyone who thinks keeping a shower door (spotless) clean is easy. I hate the look when it gets hard water stains and calcium build-ups. Some say use a squeegee after every shower use, but I don't have that time in the morning, especially when I have to be up by 4am to get ready for work. And depending on the size of your bathroom, shower doors can make the space look smaller. My tub is sectioned off in another room of the bathroom, so it always seemed a bit tight between the tub and the toilet. With a shower curtain, it's easier to clean and cheaper to replace.

Today, the plan is to finish tiling, complete the shower niche and fix the dry wall. (The dry wall was slightly damaged because the tub was a bit too long for the space.). Then grout, fix up the wall, and then maybe we'll get to use it by Wednesday (let the grout and cement dry).

Coffee / Endorffeine

Endorffeine
727 North Broadway #127
Los Angeles, CA 90012

DIY / Shampoo Bottles

One of my wishlist for the master bathtub remodel is a shower niche. I don't expect it to be too big but we do have have a lot bottles, razors, and loofahs between the both of us. I'm pretty sure the niche won't fit everything. So in preparation, I'm changing out all the bottles. (I usually buy the extra big size bottles so there would be less trips to Target. But they are 24/32 oz bottles, so they're big!) And I'm replacing them with 16 oz amber PET bottles because they look pretty. I took inspiration from Almost Make Perfect DIY Bottles. The tutorial was easy to follow and the cost was almost to none. Done.

Sources / Vinyl Letters / Amber Plastic Bottles

Roundup / Round Coffee Tables

Sources / 1 / 2 / 3 / 4 / 5 / 6 / 7 / 8

Remodel / Bathroom Tiles

Who knew there were so many variations of the same tile: size (2x5, 3x6, 4x12, 4x16, 8x12, 12x12 etc), finish (matte, gloss), color, etc. After seeing a few in person, we liked the idea of a larger and wider tile. Though Jason is still undecided with the pattern choice (stacked, staggered, or herringbone), I thought the wider tiles look better stacked. The smaller ones would do best with staggered and herringbone pattern.

Since the project starts next week, we had to get all the materials ready. We bought some samples at Home Depot and Lowes yesterday. Then today, I dropped by the Tile Depot since it was on my way home from work. Jason thought because the space was small and we weren't updating anything, we could splurge a bit. And he wanted to make sure I was happy with our pick. At the store, I got lost in the aisles and aisles of wall and floor tiles. And for a hot second, I thought about changing the design. But, I stuck with our choice and borrowed some samples to take home. I still like the idea of a herringbone pattern but I wonder if that's just a fad. Just be safe and go classic. Staggered or stacked. I think we'll decide up to the very minute they're mixing grout and ready to assemble.

Tile Depot
2129 Rosemead Blvd
South El Monte, CA 91733

Inspiration / Bathtub Redo

After finding a small leak in the shower head, we decided to just redo the bathtub/shower. It's one of the things we didn't do during the last remodel 2 years ago. We have one of those skirted jacuzzi tubs with the jetting system. It's extremely annoying and hard to clean those jet sprays because you just can't get to those every nooks and crannies. We hardly, EVER used it, too. And we have a glassdoor that overtime, it looks kinda filthy because, again, it's hard to clean every surface. We want a redo with new tiles and shower curtains. Keeping it simple.

Our wishlist would be simple white subway tiles with a shower niche to hold all our shampoos, conditioner, soap, loofahs, face wash (because there are his and her's). Thinking long-term, if we ever move, we want the bang-for-your-buck, so we still want a tub for the shower. Resale value is always better with a tub and allows us to use a shower curtain instead of a glass door. (We figured we can always install a glass door when we move.) For the shower head and hardware, we night go with traditional nickel brush. I would LOVE gold, brass, or rose gold, but replacement parts are hard to find. Again, we're thinking simplicity.

Sources / 1 / 2 / 3 / 4 / 5 / 6

Decor / Golden Mirror

On a roll with this gold trend. Read the reviews about this Target Threshold 28" Round Brass Mirror. I didn't think it was that hard to hang (and it wasn't). And I didn't notice any distortion on the mirror, so the $44 was totally worth it.

Decor / Semi Updated Guest Room

My friend just moved back to the bay area after spending the summer with us. So that means I have the room back to play home decorator again. First off, this west elm Pell Sconce Long Gooseneck. I originally had the Target rose gold marble lamp in an older post but it wasn't bright enough and it was taking too much space on the night stand. Oh, and my friend forgot his antique boat art so I'm safekeeping it for now, which conveniently goes with the new sconce.