Shop, Shop, Shop, Shop Around (to the tune of House of Pain)

It's Monday and there's nothing like a great '92 classic to remind you why Irish-Americans are bad rappers gangsta. Enjoy:

I've been shopping around these days for a dream bathroom. Of course, I hate spending money and I love expensive things so "shopping around" for a Markle-Harlan project typically requires more time and energy than most are willing to put into the actual project itself. Fortunately, Mark comes from a frugal family and patiently appreciates my fastidious commitment to getting everything I want, 75% off or more. In my mind, the best bathrooms are classic bathrooms.  They don't have modern lines or granite - they have marble and traditional chrome accents.  If you're going to invest in something like this, it aught to be a worthwhile investment meaning that it aught not to go out of style in 7 years. To avoid such mistakes, I choose to go back in time and opt for styles that are timeless like the one below.  It's kind of like Back to the Future, but in reverse, better, prettier and for bathrooms...so really not like that at all.

If it's been fashionable since 1920, I feel confident it's not going anywhere soon. So it's console sinks and basket-weave tile for us. Where's all of this going? Oh, in the worst '92 throwback of all: our upstairs bathroom. Sometime ago, there was an individual that believed a blue/hunter green fabricated counter would work well with lime green walls, an etched glass shower door, a stumpy "modern" toilet, rusty vanity lights and cheap 4x4 ceramic tiles. It's classy folks, I tell ya. I'll save the "before" shot for a later post, but many of you know first-hand the terror that awaits you at the top of the stairs. Thus far we've made the following decisions and purchases:

1. Replace the glass door with a curved shower rod with an extra tall shower curtain that's ceiling height.  We hope this will make the room feel taller and "grander" ... whatever that means. We've purchased the shower rod, the curtain liner and an extra-tall shower curtain. Total Cost: Free. We used Amazon credit from previous used-book sales to pay for these items.

 2. A console sink. These puppies are pricey! After two months of searching, I was able to purchase the American Standard Retrospect for $300 on Craigslist.  She came to us in a new box, never opened and retails (top plus stand) for about $680.

3. Of course, sinks need faucets and I am a sucker for Belle Foret faucets. They're perfectly vintage.  I fell in love with the one pictured below, but didn't have the $282 to shell out. Fortunately I found a seller on eBay carrying it for $75 and that included shipping.  Shipping was important because these faucets are known for being quite substantial and heavy, so our package weighed in at 18lbs.

4. Basket weave tile floors. The ceramic tiles have got to go. I originally was happy to settle on another porcelain floor option available at Overstock.com for $6.20/sq foot. Then I walked on a carrara marble basket weave tile floor.  There is simply no turning back.  Go big or go home. I'm already home, but you know what I mean. We stepped into Architectural Ceramics near McClean, VA this Saturday and received a quote of $24/sq foot. No thank you. Have no fear, I went home and so far I've been able to find online retailers with great reviews for only $9.99.  Yes please.  No purchases have been made yet, we want to be sure we're not putting the cart before the horse with this purchase since our bathroom isn't big, but it's not small either.

5. A new toilet.  Sexy, I know. Our current toilet looks a little truncated.  It's whatever Japan thought was the hippest in 1985 and it uses 3.5 gallons of water with every flush. Yikes. That's not very green of us. So after hitting up Architectural Ceramics, we walked in this fancy-schmansy hardware store nearby just to dream. Faucets in there started at $680 just to put things in perspective. We certainly weren't planning on purchasing anything.  Then we found a beautiful toilet that was "last season" according to the store owner. Heaven forbid! A season old toilet! As a result, it was marked down from $600 to $100 dollars.  And she's a beauty.  I never thought I could speak to the aesthetic quality of a nice toilet, but let me tell you...this one is nice. It's not the Porsche of toilets, but I love the flush fixture on the side.  This picture shows the fixture in solid chrome, but ours has a porcelain middle.

We still need to find a new light fixture (I believe I've convinced Mark to switch to classic sconces...they look traditional and are better for applying makeup) and a new mirror but we're making progress!