Bathroom Layout

Ever notice how when you're working on something fun, it doesn't seem like work? That's how HandyMan is with AutoCAD. Task him with drawing something up and he becomes as productive as a spider making its web. He can whip up plans, elevations, and drawings in no time. So when we found the tile for the bathroom walls, he got really excited and came up with myriad options. Which was great, because sometimes having a visual of the end product really helps with the planning.

At first, we thought of having the tile just on the tub walls and put a half wall of beadboard on the other walls. But with the carpet tiles in marble, we thought that would be mixing styles too much. So then we played with the idea of putting tile on two of the four walls... but where to stop? Put the tile only in the shower stall? Run the tile across the top of the door and behind the toilet? Here are some looks:

Okay, looking good so far. And what about the other two walls? It would be easy just to paint them and be done with it. Or we could tile them which would be a little more work. Maybe tile only half the wall to keep from overwhelming the small space...

So many choices! But now seeing it all on paper, we can clearly see the look we want. Here it is:

I love the vintage feel of the room. Using white tiles will help keep the room from feeling too tight and claustrophobic. The band of grey ceramic tiles beneath the cap rail will run around the perimeter of the room and will help tie everything together. As well, we're going to wrap the top and front of the half wall between the tub and toilet with marble, which ties in with the marble tiles on the floor. And the half frosted/half wood door will bring in natural light and brighten up the space.

There's a few things we're not loving (like the front skirt of the tub - would have looked better plain and simple), but at least we've managed to find fixtures to fit in the small space. I'll post pics of what we've picked out so far soon.