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muscat_gw

please critique my plan

17 years ago

I'm doing a face-lift remodel in a 1950's ranch style house in CA. I'd LOVE any input you have on the direction(s) I'm going so far. I have pics of the room, a "sketch-up" of what I ROUGHLY imagine, and I think we have picked a cabinet style.

Here's the room now:

{{gwi:1399520}}

{{gwi:1399521}}


The toilet, tub and tub surround and closet will stay. There will be a new shower curtain and rod, the curved kind. Most of the changes will be the vanity, medicine cabs, lights, window, paint and floor. Here's a sketch-up of the room, with the closet left out so that the rest is easier to see. The lights, etc, were just stock images I imported.

{{gwi:1399522}}

Everything is pretty generic now, and I want the room to end up feeling casual, clean but rustic, and relaxing/garden-like.

The cabinets we *think* we have chosen are lightly stained hickory in a mission/shaker style.

http://www.kraftmaid.com/doorsfinishes/index.cfm?navigationid=313X0&doorstyleid=180

The double vanity top will be solid surface light color, likely bone or a lightly speckly greenish pattern. There will be two wall mounted medicine cabs, with lighting totally undetermined.

I'm thinking about adding a shower curtain with a faint leafy or bamboo pattern, a stained wood window ledge for my orchids, and painting the walls a light sagey green or gold color. I am not sure whether to tile the backsplash, or just leave a little 4" splash, and what to do with the walls around the toilet, if anything. Just paint? The closet will have a curtain rather than a door.

I'm flailing around a bit styling this room- any thoughts?

Yes, it is a budget project :)

Comments (19)

  • 17 years ago

    I don't think you'll be able to fit in two sinks with that base cabinet configuration. You'd be better off with the drawer stack in the middle and sink bases on either side.

  • 17 years ago

    We wanted drawer space more than shelf/cabinet space. To do this, we'll have to put 2 30" sink bases side by side. Is there a reason this wont work? They are standard bases.

  • 17 years ago

    Comments on using 2 30" cabinets side by side.
    1. Meets minimum clearance center to center, sink basin to sink basin, of 30". However, 36" is recommended.
    2. Meets minimum clearance of center of sink basin to wall of 15". However, 22" is recommended.
    4. Using 2 30" cabinets will be more expensive than using one 60" cabinet. However, in a 60" cabinet the center of sink basin to wall is only 12", not meeting the 15" requirement.
    5. You stated that drawers are important to you. Two 30" cabinets have one drawer each, a drawer at the bottom of each cabinet (not too useful). A double sink 60" cabinet has a stack of 3 12" drawers in the center. A 60" single sink cabinet has 6 18" drawers, 3 on each side.

    You should consider using a single basin 60" cabinet. This will give you a better look (not crowded) and more drawer space , save in water supply and drain plumbing costs, save in cabinet cost, save in medicine cabinet cost, save in faucet cost, save in basin cost save in light fixture cost,save in electrical cost.

    You might also consider a 48" high, 15" wide, 12" deep vanity cabinet on top of the counter in top right corner instead of the vanity wall boutique cabinet above the toilet.

  • 17 years ago

    dugiotok- thanks for the input. For our needs, a double basin is key. My fiance and I are often in each other's way in the bathroom, and each having our own space is one of the big reasons to do this remodel. (That, and the fact that the room is 30 years old and it shows.) Perhaps we need to reconsider a standard dual vanity with only one stack of drawers in the center. My understanding of the 30" units was that they had *2* drawers, and only the top one is fake.

    Funny you should mention a vanity off to the right. In another Sketch-up version, I considered a single large mirror rather than medicine cabs, and cabinet space as you suggested, and somehow it felt/looked more crowded, but here it was:

    {{gwi:1399523}}

    Any preferences? Part of my issue with the second one is that anyone using the right-hand sink would feel crowded by the cabinet. I could see it working with a single sink, but not double.

    Now I'm worried that we're not being realistic about what we can get out of this room. I really want my own sink, even if it is smaller!

  • 17 years ago

    You said that you've decided on Kraftmaid. There are two sink bases that would meet your needs, either the 60" single unit or two 30" units. The 30" unit has a blind top, so the sink can be installed anywhere along the 30", and two drawers. The 60" unit has a total of 3 drawers. Don't forget that if you choose the 60" vanity, you'll need a filler strip of at least 3/4" where the vanity meets the wall to allow for a handle on the door.

  • 17 years ago

    I agree that the wall cabinet on the right hand side will be in the way when using the sink...it will "crowd" your elbows or shoulders a bit.

  • 17 years ago

    These are all great observations. I know you said you need two sinks, but you might want to consider the amount of counter space you will have/not have with that configuration.

  • 17 years ago

    suero- those are exactly the models we're looking at. Thanks for pointing out the need for filler if the door is next to the wall. I had not thought of that.

    I appreciate all of your opinions. I do know that we're sacrificing counterspace for two sinks, but I'm ok with that, as long as the rest of the room makes sense.

    :)

  • 17 years ago


    I did not know of the 30" VCD cabinet. Since two sinks is a requirement I would choose using two 30" cabinets instead of a single 60" cabinet for the better drawer configuration. You will need a filler between the cabinet and the wall so that the bathroom door casing does not interfere with the opening of the cabinet drawer.

    The vanity linen cabinet that I previously recommended was for a 60" single sink cabinet. It is not a wall mount, but sits on the counter top against the back wall. The models are VLC or VLT.

    Are you using 18" or 21" deep cabinets? If using 18", you need to be careful on sink selection unless you want wall mount faucets.

  • 17 years ago

    The base cabinet will be 21" deep. A detail about the sinks- we'll probably be using sinks that are integrated in the solid surface material.

    Here's a new idea.....rather than 2 24" wide medicine cabinets centered about each sink, I'm starting to consider a single unit like this, 48" wide:

    http://www.medicinecabinetshop.com/medicine-cabinets/surface-mount/quantummedicinecabinet.cfm

    I like the lights being integrated, rather than having to find a way to "add" lights to the Kraftmaid cabinets, and the floating glass look might be better than wood framed mirrors anyway.....thoughts? I worry a bit about centering a 48" mirror over a 61" vanity top. Should I?

  • 17 years ago

    We had a similar med cabinet-54" wide, 3 mirror doors,lights all the way across the top. It might have been taller than the one you are looking at. As with everything there are pluses and minuses. My wife and I like it a lot. It held a huge amount of stuff, the mirrors were great. When my daughter inherited the bathroom she also liked the huge amount of stuff it held. But she didn't like 5-6"" it came out over the counter top. She was always bugging me to recess the cabinet a few inches but it was not practical. She didn't like having to reach under it to operate the faucet or use the electrical plugs/switches.I replaced it in a bathroom remodel.
    It may not look that good with those hickory cabinets and is not mission/shaker style. Centering was no problem.

  • 17 years ago

    The advantage to having two mirrored cabinets is that you can mount them so that the doors swing in opposite directions, giving you the ability to see the back of your head.
    I've had the single large mirror and the separate cabinets. I prefer the separate cabinets.
    For shaving, makeup, I think that you would prefer to have a mirror over the sink.

  • 17 years ago

    suero brings up good points. When we had the 54" mirror we had a single sink with the med cab/mirror centered.

  • 17 years ago

    Yeah, I'm starting to question the single medicine cabinet again. I like the continuity of it, but a small part of the outside edge of each sink would not be "covered" by the 48" mirror. Sigh.

  • 17 years ago

    Do a 60 inch mirror all the way across. A custom mirror isnt that expensive.

  • 17 years ago

    Yeah, but 60" medicine cabinets are!!!!! That seems to be the hang up. :( We really need that space.

  • 17 years ago

    Have you looked into extra deep medicine cabinets? If it is possible with your walls, the cabinets can be semi-recessed to the depth of the studs and the part that sticks out framed with either molding or trim pieces to match your base cabinets. That'll give you extra storage, which you say you need, and you can find relatively inexpensive aluminum cabinets, which won't rust, at Lowe's or Home Depot.
    Back to your original question about your paint, cabinet finish and counter top choices -- I think that they will give you the look you want. I think that the 4" splash is sufficient, and if you are doing a solid surface top, I'd vote for a cove base and also a cove base side splash where the counter top meets the side wall.

  • 17 years ago

    Thanks, Suero- I did consider recessing medicine cabinets, but without boring you with details, I need to keep that wall as intact as possible to sounds transmitting through, so nothing recessed.

    I appreciate your input on my design choices. I have found a cabinetmaker through a friend who is a contractor who may be able to build a semicustom vanity, but the style will still likely be the same. I'm hoping he can do wall cabs/mirror cabs too. And we may be reverting to granite countertops......

    You'd think after doing a kitchen remodel I would have learned how many times I'd change my mind before the end. But I'm still aiming for a rustic feel.

  • 17 years ago

    If you don't go too custom you could look in to the Murano Collection for granite vanity tops with undermount sinks. They are prefabricated with all the holes precut, polished, and sealed ready for you to attach the undermount sink and faucet and are a DIY installation mostly but they are granite and look beautiful.

    I just picked up one 61x22 single sink (backsplash included) for 190.00 and my choice of undermount sink for extra 29.00-side splashes are available for an extra 20.00 or so.

    The company has a website where you can look at prices, colors and sizes plus locations as to where they sell them. Sutherland's sells them at the manufacture price so it's a great deal.