bathroom renovation - part 1: vanity

A few months ago -feels like ages- I posted about my bathroom renovation called "bye bye blue tiles". Finally no more 1960's blue tiles... YAY! Husband & wife team DIY renovation is done, well sorta. I still have to decide about the glass bathtub screen. I am so done with shower curtains; They get moldy, rooms appear darker and smaller. I posted earlier about the products that I used for my bathroom here and for decorative accessories here .

Reusing some of the items in the room -the old Chinese mirror, cabinet and the screen- definitely helped the budget. If you notice -in the second picture on the right- the oil rubbed bronze finish already started creeping up in my old bathroom, the bronze shaving mirror and switch plates hinting what I wanted in my future bathroom. I still keep my own handmade Buddha tiles as souvenir, they were covering the empty spots of ugly soap dishes that I removed.

before 

Chinese screen and Turkish hammam bowls and ugly blue tiles...

Say bye bye to the blue tiles. Now you see it...

Now you don't...

I was debating to use a wood sink or a porcelain sink. 

And the decision is... 

after

Yes, I went with this white porcelain vessel sink from Lowe's. It is easy to maintain and looks clean.The Tuscan bronze Ashfield vessel faucet is also from Lowe's.

Here is the Indonesian teak wood sink from HomeGoods. Unfortunately, I did not use this sink that I loved so much, I feel the porcelain matched the decor better. I am sure this sink would be great for a powder room.

Here is my asian/zen/rustic/eclectic bathroom. I painted the walls and the ceiling same white color. It makes the room fresh, larger and unified. Repetition of forms, textures and colors also make a great unifying effect in a small bathroom. I wanted to achive it with adding natural elements such as travertine tiles, wood and accessories throughout the bathroom. Repeating round shapes around the vanity also add a certain softness to the bathroom. I feel using earthy neutral tones create a serene sense of calm. I can stay here forever :)

I mixed two vanity lamps to get this look. The original lampshades were old style bell shaped. I had to buy another vanity lamp for their shades. It cost more but looks much cleaner. I love expandable shaving mirrors. It was hard to find a decent one especially in oil rubbed bronze. I found mine at Van Dyke's Restorers. 

And my lovely fouta hammam towels from ebay.

I changed the flush handle to bronze, bought a toilet seat with bronze hardware from Amazon.com and saved some cash by spray painting the valve and water tube with Rust-Oleum Universal Metallic Paint & Primer in One.

Love white orchids they are so pure and look sophisticated in every decor. Hoping this one last for a while. I found this Chinese wood box at T.J.Maxx. It was blue before I stripped it to give this natural look.

Natural stone accessories from HomeGoods match the stone tiles. They last long and are easy to clean.

And finally hand soaps. Moroccan Argan oil hand wash from HomeGoods. Smells so good. Buddha hand soaps from ebay. They also smell good.

Next week, a look at the bathtub area. Stay tuned...

Have a great weekend, XOXO :)

wood sink or porcelain sink?

My bathroom renovation is still in progress; The floor needs to be finished, then toilet and sink needs installed...

Last weekend I found this gorgeous sink at Home Goods. It is reclaimed wood from an old Indonesian house. I love how the hammered metal insert becomes part of the wood. Now, I have been debating whether to use this unusual sink or go with my white round porcelain sink. My problem starts with this shiny metal piece. Does it go with the bronze accessories? On the other hand, I have a round white porcelain sink that matches the round light fixtures, mirror, shaving mirror and the cabinet hardware. The white also matches my cast iron tub and white walls. What do you think, which one should I use?

The wood sink also matches with some of the natural wood decor accessories that I am using in the bathroom; Chinese screen, buddha panel, reclaimed wood mirror, teak wood spa mat and a wood box for orchids.

 

So, here are the two sinks staged to compare. Which one should I pick; Wood or porcelain?