Tile with Style

This morning was my appointment with the designer at the tile center. I had a clear vision of what I wanted and I needed help pulling the pieces together. I think I also needed validation that my intent was going to lead to a good-looking bathroom and not something that made people recoil or shake their head when they saw the finished work.

Chad was always the one with the clear vision, the bold color palette, the choices of what to put together that I would never in a million years have selected, but instantly loved when I saw them as a set piece. He always requested and encouraged my input but we both agreed after discussion that his ideas were generally just better than mine. Not always, but often enough that after he was gone I started to doubt my own choices.

To further muddle the picture for me, I am finding that my preferred palette has changed. A lot of things have changed in me since he passed, so this doesn’t surprise me, but I have to recognize it and see the value in my new choices. I used to gravitate toward earthtones – green, gray, brown, rust, ochre. If you could use it for military camouflage, it was on my list.

I have softened that view and now find myself drawn toward soft pastels, floral tones like brighter greens, lavender, cornflower blue, pale goldenrod, and dusty rose.

Which leads to my vision for the new bathroom… I want the shower walls to be a soft, cool gray and they will run floor to ceiling. The other walls will be painted a similar gray. I think the flooring will be an even lighter gray with a subtle texture as I want the floor to almost be overlooked. The vanity and storage cabinet will be natural wood. The vanity top will be a medium cool gray. I picture the mirror frames in a similar medium gray. And the fixtures will be dark bronze to stand out a little from the lighter grays but still blend with the overall look.

So what you see here are the gray-on-gray tiles for most of the shower (there is a subtle variation in the tile like poured concrete), with an accent stripe of the textured stone. The medium gray is for the vanity top along with a bronze fixture. And, of course, the natural wood will be for the vanity base and storage cabinet.

I had initially selected a cooler gray but once we found the accent stripe and laid the natural wood on it, I felt that the gray needed to warm up just a touch. The designer I worked with said I have a natural eye for the color balance, so that made me feel good. I did wonder briefly if she says that to a lot of people, but decided to just accept the compliment and retain my confidence.

I am sticking with sharp, clean lines, nothing frilly or fancy. My aesthetic (which Chad shared, thankfully) was what he described as “Japanese-Swedish”. I like the simplicity of a piece to be its focus.

With all of these fairly neutral tones, my intent is to add a splash of color with a plant or two and switch it up from time to time with different solid floral-colored towels.

So with all of that, all I have managed so far is to select the tile. I have yet to find the vanity, storage cabinet, mirrors, paint color, flooring, hardware, and light fixtures. My contractor, Bill, is working on finding the shower pan and glass surround options.

I am also thinking, since the shower pan will be very plain and simple, I want to get a wooden shower floor mat. I think that will fit the overall design and give me a good non-slip flooring option for the shower.

Oh, and metal corner racks for shampoo, soap, etc.

That should do it.

I think I’ve got this.