Renovations

In the midst of running Shrimpton Couture we have undertaken to do a series of renovations in the house. For me to open a proper (albeit temporary) studio here till we build one next year we had to rethink the flow of the house and decided to make some changes. Its a big old house that rambles a bit, and the entire second floor requires a full gut to get it to the point where it is really something livable and fabulous.

I have one guest bedroom almost done - will post pictures of that in the near future - but the big project this month has been the bathroom on that floor. We gutted it to the bare walls (and I mean the wood frame) and ripped out the (pink) toilet and sinks and took the space that had been a closet in the hallway and incorporated into the new space to make this bathroom larger.

So now we are at the point where we have walls (hurrah) and lights that work. And plumbing which is important in a bathroom. The tub/shower is tucked in behind the wall you see in the first picture. The new (white) toilet will go in that nook - you can see where the drain is in the floor.

The walls are painted in Sesia, by Ralph Lauren paints - its a great sort of putty color and i was really impressed with the RL paint. It was my first time to use that brand and its a touch pricier then others but I had to have the color and I was impressed with it once it went on the walls so now I am a fan. I decided not to do tiling in this room, other then the floor, becasue I want the freedom to change the color down the road if I decide to do updates - plus this is a guest bathroom so I am going for a high-end hotel feel. The sconces, fixtures and cabinetry are all Restoration Hardware and I am very happy with how they look. I did but everything for this room while they gad their yearly bathroom sale though. I saved a lot and after sale price it really was not much more then going to Home Depot. They are very substantial looking and where worth the extra bit it cost. I threw a part of one cabinet in the space for this picture, just to see how the color would work with the tile I picked. All the cabinetry is dark, dark wood so plays off the lighter floor and walls.

My Guy and I went out last night with the intent to buy a porcelain tile that we had already scoped out a few weeks ago but while at the store we spotted this insane stone tile that comes in all these different sizes and shapes to give an almost cobblestone feel. It's real stone and normally would cost a fortune but we completely scooped it for an insanely low price - it was less then the porcelain tile we had originally chosen! Its hard to see with just a plank wood floor as a backdrop but its killer! Its exactly the texture the room needed to keep it from being to "perfect" know what I mean?

I went with a grout that is a shade lighter then the wall color.
Its all going in over the weekend so I will post another picture once its in!