Help Wanted

Oh, we got trouble. Right here in River City. That's trouble with a capital "T."  That rhymes with "C." That stands for Countertop.

Thought I might be able to lighten the mood around here by setting our latest remodeling problem to the tune of a Broadway musical.  I'm not entirely sure that it's working, but at least I'm humming songs from "Music Man," instead of mumbling some other choice words.

Now, I really don't want to complain.  Seriously, I don't.  I am beyond grateful to be able to remodel our master bathroom, and I know it will all be beautiful in the end.  But, I just wanted to share a little predicament with you.  Perhaps you can help me decide what to do.

We are sooooo close to the end of this remodel.  We're talking a cabinet door, a couple of mirrors, drawer pulls and a toilet paper holder, and we're DONE!!!!  But, a seemingly minor issue that we had a couple of weeks ago reared its ugly head yesterday, and I'm fearing a major setback could result.

Here's the deal...

When the trim guy was installing our upper cabinet (the one that didn't fit and had to be replaced that I wrote about here), he must have slid it across the marble and scratched the countertop.  I pointed it out to our contractors who assured me they would have it buffed out and it would be good as new.

Well, we had it buffed yesterday, and it's not good as new.  It's more like "good as a couple years old and several things dropped on it."  The reason for this, according to the countertop fabricator, is that marble has little pits under the surface.  When it is buffed, essentially the top layer of stone is removed, and the pits are brought to the surface.  They then appear to be little nicks like this.

Okay, I know it's really hard to see in this picture.  But, trust me, it's the pits!

We haven't even told our contractors about the buffing results.  You know, because they haven't bothered to call or stop by to see how it turned out, because they care so much... Oh, that sounded like complaining.  Sorry! 

So, we are left with a choice.  Live with the countertop and accept the imperfections OR have the countertop replaced.  If we go the replacement route, we would have to have all the upper cabinetry and trim removed, the plumbing disconnected, the sconces disconnected, the sinks replaced AND we would have to wait until another slab of marble was available.  Which means this bathroom ain't gettin' done anytime soon.

What would you do? 

(That's not a rhetorical question, people.  Please post a comment and help a girl out.) Thank you!

What's Behind Door #3?

My bathroom remodeling project has opened a lot of doors for me.  I mean, literally. There have been doors. Three different doors to be exact.

One of the biggest challenges in designing the new layout for the bathroom was the door between the master bedroom and bathroom.  The original door, which swung into the bathroom, would not work with the design that I wanted.  If it swung open to the left, it would block the closet door, and if it swung in the other direction, it would block the entrance to the water closet.

We thought about reversing it, and having it pull open into the bedroom.  But, that didn't work either.  A pocket door was the logical solution, and we were thrilled to learn that the existing wall could accommodate one.

Originally, I had envisioned a frosted glass pocket door, but the ones my contractor showed me were too expensive, and a bit too ornate for my taste.  We decided that they would just put in a 6 panel wood door to match the other doors in our home.

Now, I have to tell you that one of the things I love about my house is the fact that it is really well-built.  The builder used quality materials and paid attention to detail.  So, when the contractor said he'd match the door to the others in the house, I expected to see a door of the same quality.  Imagine my surprise, when I saw what was behind Door #1.

The door was hollow, had a lovely raised faux wood grain (you know, to make it look authentic), and was feather-light.  I'm fairly certain that there was no real wood involved at all in the making of Door #1.  Keep in mind that I'm going to be locking myself into the bathroom to escape little people, but that doesn't mean little people won't be knocking on the door.  I also know a certain 2-year-old who would have a lot of fun sliding the door open and closed.  One false move, and that bad boy (the door... not the kid) would be coming off its track.  

We expressed our concern to our contractor, and he had a solution.  He would take our original door, fill in the hole where the hardware had been, and turn it into a pocket door.  Thus, the original door became Door #2.

But, in true "game show" fashion, I was still nagged by the thought that another door could reveal something a bit more exciting.  I was perusing some design blogs one night when I stumbled upon this beautiful bedroom and bathroom remodel by Chania at Razmataz.  You can check it out here.  I saw her door, and my heart stopped. 

Not only was this door the one I had originally envisioned for my space, Chania had scored it for a mere $99 at Home Depot.  Cha-ching!  I couldn't get to HD fast enough.

I found a similar door, but not at the same amazing price.  Wah wah wah...  However, it was much less expensive than the original frosted glass door options, far superior quality to Door #1, and a lot more exciting than Door #2.

Well, shut the door!  I love it!

The door situation taught me a valuable lesson.  When you are working with a contractor, don't expect him/her to ask your approval on every detail.  You need to ask questions, be very specific about what you want, and stay on top of all the details.  If you don't, you may end up staring at an ugly composite door for the rest of your life.

So now you know the story behind the door.  Wait til you hear about the windows...