Bath Remodel: Fixtures and Vendors
If you missed the bathroom reveal, it’s here!
I don’t know how anyone designed their dream bathroom, prior to the advent of online-shopping. I mean, I understand it if you are a hedge-fund manager. Or a time-share magnate… But if you are not? And you actually want to have money left over to buy shampoo? The internet is a magical place full of treasure and discount bathroom fixtures.
The only price of admission is your commitment.
Your commitment to looking. And looking and looking. And comparing. And having seventy-two browser-windows, full of 18,956 tabs, all of which are on different design sites… that you CANNOT FORGET TO GO BACK TO.
Your commitment, to spending all your brainpower scrolling, scrolling, scrolling… through inspiration photos and chat boards, and Pinterest, and the abyss of Google image searches.
And? Since I am nothing, if not committed? I spent a truly outrageous amount of time on the internet… I bought everything except our tile online.
The DIY large medicine cabinet is my favorite element… and it cost next to nothing!
If you’re new to our bath remodel, you should read this post first. It’s ALL about how much I LOVED the whole DIY aspect. And how EASY it was to design. And how much FUN I had trying to cram all my ideas in a small and narrow bathroom..
Here are my sources and vendors and reviews for the bathroom fixtures I chose.
I am unable to be brief about any topic… so this will no doubt be far longer than necessary.
If the price is listed as something crazy, I assure you I did not pay that.
If it’s only moderately crazy, I may have paid that.
Tub Faucet
I CANNOT tell you how much I love this fixture. If I could afford to buy another one to wear as a necklace, I totally would.
KOHLER Antique Rite-Temp Pressure-Balancing Bath and Shower Faucet Trim
When I was shopping, the best price I could find was about $900 for the whole set.
Which? Um? What? No.
So initially, I tried to figure out how to buy/use JUST the fancy, porcelain dial part. I don’t actually care about the internal, thermostatic hi-tech stuff. The actual function is irrelevant to me. The inside could be made of paper plates and tinfoil, and I’d be fine with it.
Be warned, with Kohler products to read the fine print… I was sucked in, a couple of times, thinking I’d found a bargain, only to realize that the description said things like: requires kit #470. And when you look up kit #470, it’s $900.
I ended up buying an open box on eBay… from a guy who’d bought it at an estate auction, and could not guarantee that all the pieces were there.
I also bought it outside of eBay, in my one and only illegal bathroom transaction… You can imagine I was pretty sure I’d just bought a box of unusable crap; but it was FINE.
My final cost for the whole dial/shower head/tub faucet/ internal stuff was $300. Part of me thinks that’s a good price. Especially for something you really love and use everyday.
Another part of me thinks it’s way too much. You can get a perfectly nice shower dial for far less than that.
At the time, I told myself it was fine, since we were DIY-ing so much other stuff, including the medicine cabinet— which if we bought anything retail that was similarly large and fancy, would have been incredibly expensive.
But now? I think it was just design madness… where you spend too much time looking at other people’s luxury bathrooms… and you start to think you cannot live without some particular element.
Also? I saw a $5,000 faucet. And in comparison? Anything else looks like a bargain.
Sink Faucet
For all the bathroom fixtures, I chose polished chrome.
Allow me to be the dominant voice on the divisive issue of Polished Nickel vs. Polished Chrome… According to research conducted only in my own house, and only according to my own taste: Polished Chrome is better.
It is shinier.
I did an entire other bath in Polished Nickel, and am happier with the chrome.
I bought our Rohl faucet at HomePerfect.com Their online reviews are not encouraging, and they don’t include photos of their items… but my personal review is that they were fantastic. I got the faucet literally overnight. I paid $256.00.
Their website does not have pictures or descriptions, just the model number… and giving them my credit card was leap of faith that goes against all common sense and everything everyone tells you about not trusting people on the internet.
Surprisingly, in every case where I could not actually see a picture of what I was buying, I received it quickly, and in perfect condition. I imagine this isn’t always the case, but I guess by that point, the bath gods felt they had tortured me enough.
Water Shutoffs
I originally ordered less expensive shutoffs from Vintage Tub and Bath. But when they came, I really didn’t like them…I ended up exchanging them for the Restoration Hardware Universal Traditional Water Supply Kit.
I didn’t want to. Even at the time, I was aware it was sheer idiocy. I wanted to be practical and less insane. And to stop having opinions on every last tiny detail.
But? That is who I am: someone with strong opinions about faucet handles that go under your sink where you cannot see them.
And? The whole bathroom was just a tide of insanity… once it started coming in, there was no avoiding it. Exemption after exemption just piled up, until it was just like, oh whatever—I am the Imelda Marcos of water shutoffs.
SINK
Paul campaigned for a vanity with a base cabinet—from both a practical standpoint, and price consideration. But I really love the clean, spare look of a white porcelain sink against subway tile. Plus, it keeps the aesthetic of a vintage bath.
And since this is not a large bathroom, I think a base cabinet would have been overwhelming.
We considered a pedestal sink, since the footprint would be even smaller. But I like the larger counter space on a console sink.
I cannot recommend the website for the sink…they sent me three different sets of defective legs. And then told me they didn’t have any more.
And that I would have to pay to send back one-hundred pounds of unusable porcelain.
And I was all like– Oh? Hi? Clearly you don’t know me at all or you would not be suggesting ANYTHING so ridiculous.
When I went to look up the sink for you, they don’t even carry it anymore.
I found one that is kind of similar, and only kind of obnoxiously expensive:
Porcelain console sink
Intermission:
Can you believe anyone could have THIS much to say about their bathroom fixtures?
My apologies.
End Intermission.
TOILET
We got the toilet on Amazon: American Standard, Tropic. Concealed trapway, skirted, elongated, ADA.
Here is my original post about getting the toilet, and how much I love the concealed trapway, skirted style.
SCONCES
My search for the perfect bathroom lighting required:
- A vintage look.
- Polished chrome.
- Fairly tall—this is not a shy mirror.
- Something that would look good mounted through the mirror.
- Depth of only about 5”
Which? Does not exist. Finding shallow, low-profile bath lighting? Forget it. Everything that really appealed to me was way too bulky. And the sleeker, streamlined options all fall on the side of decidedly not vintage.
So I expanded my options to more modern designs. I also upped the original budget. Because? If you cannot find something IN your price range… you can almost certainly find something outside your price range.
Notice the size of the window in our shower, reflected in the mirror…
Ginger 4581-1/PC Columnar Single Ada Hall Light, Polished Chrome
… we bought one sconce on eBay for $92, (they only had one,) so we bought the other from Amazon.
Floor Tile:
Peronda Museum, 18×18, polished, porcelain, bianca carrara:
I have covered our floor tile in exhaustive detail. I cannot even muster a summary for you. I wrote a thousand posts about my epic quest for the perfect marble-lookalike porcelain tile… here is the one where I finally pick a tile.
Restoration Hardware- reproduction vintage glass towel bars.
Subway Tile:
Apparently there is no standard shade of white porcelain… The tub, the toilet, the sink, and all the subway tile samples I looked at… were all varying shades of white.
For us, Lowes American Olean was the best match when compared with everything… and they had the curved cove molding for the base tile, which I like… And which used to be standard in vintage baths… And which Paul says is unnecessary unless you’re doing a commercial installation. (What does he know?)
Lowes doesn’t have a lot of fancy trim or molding options, but I wanted to keep the subway tile very simple, so that was fine for us… the one thing I didn’t get hung up on was the wall tile.
If you’re doing an authentic reproduction of an old bathroom– you will be horrified at my choice. I can live with that.
We also built a storage tower at the end of the tub, added a transom window.
But now I am exhausted. Surely you are too. I had thought I could cram in the DIY aspects in a brief and informative detour… but that will have to be another post.
What’s that? You’re NOT exhausted? You want to see more of the bathroom?
It’s broken down into categories on my PROJECT PAGE.
Or, check out my About the House page. I just updated it with 50 “before” photos.
I’ll love you EVEN MORE… If you share me with your friends!
July 2, 2013 @ 7:17 pm
I love that toilet. I love that bathroom…and I am obsessed with you.
I just lost 2 hours on this site.
You may want to file a restraining order.
August 8, 2013 @ 11:41 am
V Dear, Please tell us which brand and color you used on the bathroom walls, ceiling and trim? Thank you, DB
August 9, 2013 @ 9:17 am
Eggnog, Behr- walls. Just regular enamel for trim.
My thoughts on the paint shade/more detail:
http://victoriaelizabethbarnes.com/red-front-door-paint-and-faq/
October 8, 2013 @ 11:40 pm
I love how your bathroom looks as if you found it waiting for you. Perfect for your house and pretty besides.
My house is a 1978 “Victorian Colonial Farmhouse” sort of style. Our bathrooms all came with the Kohler Antique faucets at the sinks and shower/tubs. My wife wanted to replace the dark brown counter in the half bath and replace the polished brass Kohler faucet. I vetoed that due to the fact it is $1600 new, old one does not leak and a cheaper one just won’t due. She thinks I’m nuts.
Rick
February 23, 2014 @ 3:30 am
Hi Victoria,
When did you purchase the Rohl faucet? We’re shopping for them now and haven’t been able to find it for what you paid. Did you use those for all of your bathrooms?
February 23, 2014 @ 8:37 am
I used a Restoration Hardware faucet in the other bathroom… But if I could do it over, I would choose the Rohl. Style-wise I just like it better.
It looks like the site I used– Home Perfect is selling the faucet for $304. I guess the price has gone up.
I just checked Amazon too, because I buy EVERYTHING on there. Their price is higher, but it looks like you could get a returned one for $270. Who knows if you would be satisfied with the condition, but I have always been super happy with Amazon’s customer service… so I’m sure you could return it.
http://amzn.to/MldT90
March 18, 2014 @ 2:26 pm
Quick question regarding the console sink: How tall is it? All the ones I’m looking at seem to be 32.5 inches tall, which seems too short to me. Just wondering what it’s like living with one? Thanks!
March 20, 2014 @ 12:02 pm
I had that concern too… there seems to be a lot of variation in what is “standard” for the height of a bathroom sink? Ours is 34.5″ which seemed low to me (I am 6′ tall, Paul taller) but I got used to it immediately.
Could it be taller? I guess, but I am not trying to wash my hair in the sink… So not really sure WHY I had the consideration that it needed to be taller.
Hope that helps, good luck!!
April 24, 2014 @ 2:01 am
I am thinking of reproducing your medicine cab/mirror combo when I remodel my bath next month (well…I mean I will be asking my husband and contractor/friend to do it. :)!) It is exactly what I wanted, but didn’t know it until I saw it! Thanks!!
I can’t seem to find your source for the mirror anywhere. Am I missing it?
April 24, 2014 @ 12:15 pm
Hey, it is just a piece of mirror from a local place that sells custom glass. Figure out how big your cabinet is, then take them the measurements…
Send me a photo of your finished cabinet!
Good luck!
May 21, 2014 @ 10:41 am
Just stumbled upon your website while perusing HOUZZ, and feel very fortunate to have found it!
We are renovating our main bathroom (not DIY-thank goodness) and I love the sconce in your bathroom, but found a negative review of it on the company’s website…that mentions a’ harsh glare’ —
What is your honest opinion of the light that it gives?? I am looking for a functional/soft light form a fixture!
Thanks so much!
May 21, 2014 @ 10:55 am
I think the light is great… Not harsh (I actually really like BRIGHT, BLINDING light, and this is NOT that at all.) Probably it has more to do with the light bulb you use than the actual fixture, don’t you think?
It comes with a high-efficiency lightbulb (that has a different connection then I have seen before) Whether they have changed light bulbs or something, I do not know?
August 3, 2014 @ 9:13 pm
Help please! I love your blog (and your sense of humor) so keep it up!!! I hope you get all the recognition you deserve and make a ton of money too. Yea, that was obvious….
OK, so your bathroom is the inspiration for our bath. Thanks to you sharing all the vendor information, it will be very easy to design/build ourselves. But, I cannot find any mention of the tub. I will be forever grateful if you can give me the model you used so I can stop looking and get to demo.
-Maria
August 7, 2014 @ 9:33 am
sorry for my delayed response! We were on vacation, then giant pile of work waiting for me, email overflowing…
tub info is here:
http://victoriaelizabethbarnes.com/window-in-shower/
If you do not want the luxury ledge, I think the standard version is less expensive.
Good luck !!
August 22, 2014 @ 5:29 pm
I confess I am responsible for the last 4,000 hits on your blog. We are redoing a 1920’s cottage, and I keep asking, “What did VEB do about ____?” From the color of grout to the choice of faucets to making a medicine cabinet — you are our inspiration. When it’s done maybe I’ll actually have time to blog about it! (There has been a partial post sitting in my draft file for about 6 weeks.) But my question for you today is “how did you get such a beautiful finish on your doors?” I have stripped 3 of the doors, but each time, I get to the point of thinking that some alligator texture is a good thing and move on to painting. And I’ve got 4 doors and a mantel to go. And the fear of lead poisoning hanging over my head.
November 9, 2014 @ 2:35 pm
Hi Victoria,
Love the bathroom! I’m trying to pick chrome fixtures right now and am having problems matching chromes. My understanding is that Restoration Hardware’s chrome fixtures are made by Newport Brass, which has a much greyer chrome than most. Do your Rohl chrome faucets match the Restoration Hardware towel bar chrome and under the sink hardware chrome?
Thanks!
April 8, 2015 @ 1:32 pm
Victoria,
Love this bathroom… You did a great job ! Just wondering … Did you cut the cove molding down to a 3 x 6 size, or did you keep it at the original 6 x 6 ?
April 10, 2015 @ 10:36 am
We kept the larger size. Good luck… If you are tile shopping, that was the worst!
May 6, 2015 @ 2:57 pm
I have to know about that vent cover! What about the vent cover????
May 7, 2015 @ 9:13 am
It’s original to the house… all the vent covers are that pattern. You can find similar on eBay or at architectural salvage places, if you find you can no longer live with plain old registers!
December 28, 2015 @ 10:53 am
Hi Victoria, Your bathroom looks awesome! I too have serious OCD and over think things! So as much as I LOVE marble, I do not want to deal with the maintenance or the chance of rust or staining appearing in the future, especially on the shower floor… I did find a porcelain that mimics carrara which I think will look beautiful once all is said and done, however, the one detail that I am struggling with is what color grout to use… From my research I think white is used mostly with marble but not sure if that is a good decision if I want easy maintenance. I can’t tell from your pictures and I don’t see it listed anywhere, but what color grout did you use and did you add a sealer to it?
February 8, 2016 @ 3:00 pm
Hey there! I see this is an American Standard tub but do you remember the model and color?! White or Arctic white?! Thanks for your time!
August 23, 2016 @ 1:56 pm
Hi! What a beautiful bathroom! You know, those door knobs really caught my eye – they are gorgeous. Were they original, or did you buy them new? And if new, do you mind sharing the source? So dreamy!
August 24, 2016 @ 10:08 am
They are original to the house, but if you shop/google for glass door knob reproductions, you’ll find similar… OR check craigslist. I see old sets on there fairly frequently!
October 23, 2016 @ 4:06 pm
Hi Victoria, I keep coming back to all your bathroom posts because not only is your bathroom beautiful, but I totally relate to your struggle to decide on flooring, fittings etc. At this point, I think I might have spent about as much time contemplating floor tiles as you did, and still second guess myself constantly, even as demo day rapidly approaches. Looking at your final result gives me hope that it might all be worth it. 🙂 Speaking of which, I think your Rohl faucet might be a perfect fit for my bathroom but I was a little put off by a couple of reviews I saw online where people mentioned that the polished nickel version was a devil to clean and showed water spots constantly. I know you have chrome, which is what I would get, and just wondered if you had any such issues and if it’s at all hard to clean?
January 26, 2017 @ 1:19 pm
Um yeah. I just looked up that shower handle. Yo got an awesome deal. Guess I will be going a different direction LOL
KOHLER
Antique 1-Handle Rite-Temp Pressure-Balancing Valve Trim Kit in Vibrant Brushed Bronze (Valve Not Included)
Write a review Write the first Review
Questions & Answers (2)
$1,170.34 /each
April 30, 2017 @ 1:44 pm
I too love the whole bathroom, especially the original door and transom window over the door that tilts. It sounds like it was not original to the house/bathroom. Can you please go into more detail. Where did it come from? Did Paul just trim it out? I absolutely love it.
P.s. I am a fellow tall girl 6′, lover of GFT, and old homes, and jealous of your salvage options in Philly (I live in MI)
June 8, 2017 @ 9:40 am
Hi Victoria, beautiful bathroom! I’m looking to buy a sink just like yours and wondering if it’s sturdy? Did you adhere the legs to the sink or the legs to the floor? Thank you 🙂
September 27, 2017 @ 10:41 am
Hi! I love your bathroom. I moved in to a 1930s cottage style house last year, and am slowly doing projects and renovations. Our only bathroom currently has cultured marble that was put in at some point. I really want to go back with tile around the tub and walls (white, with white grout)…but I wanted to see how easy you found it to keep up with white tile and white grout? I feel like I am setting myself up for a cleaning nightmare. It’s a bathroom shared by me, my husband and our 5 month old.