All of your decisions will be connected in one way, or another. You must stay aware of this in your design making process. There will also be compromises that will have to be made along the way, as well.
Compromises are part of the design process. We all have to make them at one time or another.
They are usually based on, availability, practicality and affordability. What one person will compromise on another would not even think of making that compromise.
First
I have to say that when I use the word compromise in referring to any
of my design choices, it really is not a complaint at all because, let’s
face it, it is unbelievable to me that I get to buy a brand new home at
our age.
When I speak of a compromise it is based on what I wished I could have had over what I chose due to the criteria of availability, practicality or affordability.
Today's post is all about making choices/decisions where compromises were made, and what I based my choices on.
In our newly built home we will have two full baths. One in the guest bedroom area, and one in our master bedroom.
This is an image of a standard guest bathroom. You can see the color of the standard countertop.
I
opted for a shower in the guest area because no one in our family takes
baths, and if my Mom gets to visit I did not want her to have to get
in, and out of a bathtub.
Of course that was an upgrade, but worth it to me for future safety purposes. That choice was based on practicality.
The
standard option for counter tops, and shower walls in both bathrooms
was a solid surface product called Piedrafina. It is ground up marble
with resin added to it to bind it together.
The
builder offered one standard option in a beige tone, which I am
referring to as sand, or linen in order to help me see it differently in
my brain since I am not much of a beige gal. (it is all in attitude)
It is very neutral, and light enough that I am going to make it work in my design pallet.
This
is a girl that wanted white, or Carrera marble, neither were offered,
without a horribly expensive upgrade, and marble was not even offered.
I personally could not justify the expense (affordability), so this will be on the counters and on the shower walls. I did upgrade the counters edge to a thicker profile.
This
one decision (the slab counter top), dictated the tile flooring
choices, and also the carpet that will butt up to the tile in the master
bedroom area. Sigh!
They
had standard choices that ranged in color from beige, to beiger, to
beigest. This is where I had to decide on standard, or upgrade.
If
I had chosen the standard choice in the tile, then I would have had to
choose a color of carpet that would not go with anything in my master
bedroom, or home.
Sooooooo I had to do an upgraded tile.
Now
you would think since I was upgrading there would be lots of choices,
and for some their would have been, but from the non-loving-beige girl I
was very, very limited.
This
is when I had to quickly put on my designers hat and think rapidly of
possible design choices in the future. Luckily my cabinetry was all
white so that was my starting point. I had …..
White cabinets
Neutral/Sand Colored counter top
and shower walls……
I can make this work if I keep my master bathroom sand ,and white because my bedroom furniture is linen and creams.
This won’t be so hard after all, until I took other elements into consideration.
Now
we have to choose the floor tile. This is where it became a bit harder
for me because I had to choose something that would work with the shower
walls that would butt right up next to the Piedrafina in the shower.
I
chose a 2X2 matte white tile for the shower flooring since I want to
keep the white, and cream color scheme going in both bathrooms.
I
kept in mind, light, soft and sand. The only tile that would work that
was offered that I remotely liked was a porcelain Travertine tile, but
it was CREAM!!
Okay,
I can make this work!!! To make it look a bit more up to date, and
current I chose a 12 X 24in. tile that will be installed in a brick
pattern .
The
grout I chose is very close to the overall background color so it will
be a soft look. Notice I keep using the same buzz words, light, soft,
cream, sand and white?
It
does have some colors in there that I am not that fond of, but I am
going to try, and neutralize those by keeping the surrounding elements
neutral, and soft.
This
tile will also be in the laundry room, and the guest bathroom which
will butt up to the hardwood flooring in the guest area hallway.
Something else to think about!!
So now I have to keep in mind not just the carpet in the master bedroom, but the hardwood flooring.
Remember
when choosing elements always, always, keep in mind how they will
relate to the elements that they will be in direct contact with, and
also how you can make them work into the look, and feel of your home.
All
of these thought processes were going on in my mind at one time, and
Oh! one more thing, the grout color also had to blend with the carpet
and the tile.
Counter top, tile flooring, grout, carpet, hardwood, all needed to look good with each other. Yikes!!
Next
was the carpet, AGAIN, I had to upgrade in order to get a soft sand
color that would blend with the travertine, and work with my existing
bedroom furniture.
Here
are the three elements lined up next to each other. I know everyone’s
monitor will read the colors differently, so you will have to trust me
that they all work well together.
I know that most people think it is always a slam dunk for designers, but you can see we have the same struggles as our clients.
We can not get whatever we want, and what we want is not always attainable.
However,
as long as you have an over all plan, and feel for your home you will
be able to adjust accordingly, and come up with a look, and feel for
your home that you will be comfortable with in the end.
The Important Take-Away:
- Make an overall design plan before ever making any purchases.
- Always make sure that all of your elements marry well together.
- Never choose one element without thinking of what other elements in the room it will be next too or seen with.
Remember these three take-aways whenever you make changes in your home.
It
is all in the details, and you need to think them through before
jumping in with both feet, and possibly make an expensive mistake.
I
don't have a complete decorating plan as far as accents for my
bathrooms, but we will be exploring some ideas together in some of my
upcoming post.
Stay tuned for my continued journey!
I plan on continuing to:
"Enjoy the Process!"
