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nash_stanton

Help refresh a "sandstone" type master bathroom

18 days ago
last modified: 18 days ago

Time to touch the master bathroom, as it's the last room in the house. The rest of the house has been converted over to a modern aesthetic, using simplified craftsman trim with a very light grey and black hardware.


This bathroom will have to be treated differently due to the sandstone type tile. We had bigger plans to completely gut and expand the bathroom, but we're trying to do a nice budget refresh which means keeping with the overall sandy color and just finding ways to refresh it so it can last us another several years.


First thing we did is to get rid of the medium brown color and to go with a lighter color that agrees with the tile in order to lighten up and expand the space. We also installed a new budget designer-type toilet since the old one was ugly. You can see the contrast difference here:





For the scope of this project, I'd like to replace all the sinks/faucets, mirors, reface cabs, and lighting, but I'm wanting to make sure I'm doing something that agrees and could use all your help!


Let's look at the biggest constraint first: The vanity and how it's really incorporated with the tile. Since we decided we do not want to disturb the tile as that would lead to serious scope creep, the idea of ripping out the vanity and going with a pre-built seems out of the question.


See pictures (ignore the clutter, we are doing deep cleaning right now):





My thought is to DIY Reface the cabinet w/ some cheap shakers and paint them. I'm thinking this sorta pastel medium brown that's on the tile would be a nice color for the cabinet?:



Mirrors and lighting:

The lighting that currently exists is more suited to ambient lighting due to the weak/warm overhead diffused lenses.




This is where we're hoping we can add a touch of modern and perhaps go with some oil-rubbed bronze colored-LED bar lights?



I'm definitely planning to get and wire in some lighted mirorrs like these for task lighting, so the overhead lights above the mirrors can still serve as ambient lighting:



A lighted mirror would also allow us to get rid of the pull out mirror that you see on the wall. .

Here's another light bar idea:



Sinks and faucets can come last, but I wanted to get this thread started to get some ideas.


1) Am I correct that oil-rubbed bronze would be the correct highlight color for the tile and color profile of the room?

2) Am I correct that it would be far easier to reface the cabinet vs ripping it out due to the custom nature of the tile?

Comments (108)

  • 11 days ago
    last modified: 11 days ago

    Another picture today:


    White Down on the Right





    White Down on the left.







  • 11 days ago
    last modified: 11 days ago

    When I picked White Down, I felt like like having the yellow undertones will help with the existing tile, and it being an offwhite help modernize/brighten up the space (as much as possible). I was essentially trying to match the "white" speckle in the tile.


    The paint we THOUGHT we would like in the background has red undertones, and I can't stand it. It comes across as "pink" to me and reminds me of a 1990s light toupe color.

    Thoughts?

  • 11 days ago

    The White Down has a high LRV so it should be nice and bright in the space. My relaxed khaki reads with a slight yellow undertone in my east/south facing bathroom and I like the way it feels.


    I agree about the red undertones in the other color. It almost reads purple/taupe on my monitor.

  • 11 days ago
    last modified: 11 days ago

    I agree. It's the best sample yet that we've put on the walls IMO.

    I'm not sure how to better match it. Either the taupe color that we originally did (which matches the majority of the of the tile) but comes off red/pink undertones, or to match the light speckles which White Down seems to very closely do.

    Not sure of how else to match it.

  • PRO
    11 days ago

    please for the love of light, get rid of those yellow bulbs and put in some LEDs in the 3500K range!!

  • 11 days ago

    Beth has a point. It may change your perspective on the paint color. But I think you may be on the right track with the White Down.

  • 11 days ago
    last modified: 11 days ago

    We found fixtures we liked today. Just need to find a deal.

    We’ve been looking at the colors against natural daylight, not with the light on.


    duringthr night time i removed the diffusers which probably puts them right at 3k.



  • PRO
    11 days ago

    that's nice. does not work w/your tile though

  • 11 days ago
    last modified: 11 days ago

    @Beth H. :

    Feels "right" to me? How so?

    This is a rendering, and it should not be deemed 100% accurate.

    1) 3500k lighting

    2) Those lights I shared

    3) White Down wall paint.


    The blinds are so god aweful out of place, but that's an easy fix. Some "fun" backsplash options other than quartz backsplash is a given, but this seems to be shaping up fine?



  • 11 days ago




    Not sure why y‘all hate these. Wifey loves it already. Dimmable, touch panel, color adjusting, etc


    Just no magnification feature

  • 11 days ago

    Second coat. Def needs a third.

    I’m using the current lights as working lights. Heh.

  • 10 days ago

    So much brighter. Do you need light fixtures on top of the lighted mirror? Is there a center light you can use for general lighting? I think I agree with Beth about the lights though. They read a bit modern for the tile. $13.50 each on Amazon Haul.

    https://www.amazon.com/GEPOW-Bathroom-Wall-Light-Fixtures/dp/B0DQY16JXJ/ref=sr_1_22_hul_wg?

  • 10 days ago
    last modified: 10 days ago

    Those look cool for traditional style.

    The problem with traditional lights is that they need additional space underneath them. Without relocating the original vanity light junction boxes, you have to leave a large gap between the lights and the mirror, which means it heavily cuts into your backsplash height and mirror size.

    Modern lights don't have that issue. The mirrors are only used for task lighting, not for ambient/general room lighting. They're not wired up to a switch, and will need to be turned on for usage while at the mirror. I didn't like the idea of hooking them up to the lightswitch as I really wanted them to be more of a "tool" and not something that came on everytime the lights are turned on. So yea, they really don't play into the vanity lighting options at all.

    Wife is unsure about the yellow. She definitely likes it the best so far, but I mentioned that there may be an opportunity to do an off-white w/ green undertones.





    https://www.benjaminmoore.com/en-us/paint-colors/color/1507/april-showers

  • 10 days ago

    Understood on the lights. You have to do what works best without worrying about scope creep. As far as paint, I just don't know how a gray green will work with your tiles. Obviously all we see is how it comes through on a monitor and we know how reliable they are for color. To me, it just feels like it would be dull and drab in the space. SW Natural Choice is a creamy but cool off-white. Might be worth looking at.

    Nash Stanton thanked katinparadise
  • 10 days ago
    last modified: 10 days ago

    I'll def give that a look!

    Closest Benjamin More would be AF-65 "Fossil" to SW Natural Choice.

    Fossil looks like it has less red undertones.





    The tile is pretty perplexing, because I feel like a cool color "may" work for it, something like an olive. Notice the edge color of the tile sort of gives off a slight olive feel (to my eyes). I may be incredibly wrong though. Here's a close up picture of the tile.





    The yellow I picked compliments the "specs" that you see in the tile, but wifey is curious if there's a non-yellow option.

    The taupe we picked compliments the majority of the tile, although we both don't like the strong red/pink undertones of Gravelstone and felt the room turned red on us all of a sudden.

    Am I the only one seeing hints of green?

  • 10 days ago
    last modified: 10 days ago

    Im digging it.

    White Down (Left) (which now looks too white)

    Tapestry Beige (Right). Feels like it's immediately agreeing with the tile.


    White Down (Right)

    Tapestry Beige (Left)


    For giggles, I wanted to see how it would work with the worst part of the bathroom, our corner fiberglass shower. Much improved.

    White Down (left)

    Tapestry Beige (Right)


    It's considered a "Greige" (Grey + Beige + Subtle Green) with an LRV of 66, so darker than the other off-whites we tried. This is actually also consiered an Off-white color, and I think the slightly darker LRV of 66 works better for our space.

    Thoughts?


    There's something fun, modern, refreshing with it.

  • 10 days ago

    I gathered it by having Ace scan the dark part of my tile, then used that dark color to find an OC that will work.




  • PRO
    10 days ago

    hey nash, I saw these lights on Lampsplus Openbox. (their outlet)

    you like these?


    Possini Euro Midtown 23 1/2"

    they only have one at this price. but you can get the other one at the normal price. (comes in gold too)




    3 of these ($200)







    Abra lighting



    Nash Stanton thanked Beth H. :
  • 10 days ago

    Thanks for sending those Beth! Those are really cool. I haven't not seen those before. You are a wizard when it comes to finding stuff!

  • 9 days ago

    The tapestry beige looks good on my monitor. Brighter and not too muddy. BTW, it took me 7 paint samples before I finally settled on the Relaxed Khaki in my bathroom. Beth provided some nice lighting options.

  • 9 days ago

    More mid-day tapestry beige. You can definitely sense the green undertone.









  • PRO
    9 days ago
    last modified: 9 days ago

    Prime first. then test the paint! ( the tones from the other paint can show through)

    Simply White is a nice go-to


    so is Feather Down


  • 9 days ago
    last modified: 9 days ago

    Always better to prime first, but I really think what is more going on is the low-lighting on tapestry beige will reveal the green undertone. Even with good lighting in that room, It's not a super bright space.

    I'm also thinking that mid 60s LRV is better than 70-80s LRV for this space. Feather Done is low 70s LRV. I've noticed that this room seems to like darker off-whites in the 60s range. Too white will cause the "old stuff" (like the shower and tile) to contrast or pop-out when you really want it to settle down and blend in.

    Essentially, having a dim room is a risk when green undertones are there, as much as I LOVE tapestry beige. It's still the best that we've got so far.

    I'll take a look at Feather down today but the LRV of 73.16 has me worried, but I'm curious on Natural Cream as well. Looks very similar to Tapestry Beige, but gone is the green undertone.



  • PRO
  • PRO
    Nash Stanton thanked Beth H. :
  • 9 days ago
    last modified: 9 days ago

    Haha, I had it playing while you posted.

    Yea, may be worth taking a look at natural cream., or neutral ground.

    Wife doesn't want yellow or red undertones.

    I don't want red undertones, a little yellow I don't mind.

    Green undertones can be risky due to low lighting.

    For AI funsies, remmeber this is not accurate, but here is a rendering w/ 3500 lamps in a non-bright environment showing:

    White Down (Yellow) - Ruled Out:


    Tapestry Beige (Green) - You can clearly see the green (this can serve of this as a worse case):


  • PRO
    9 days ago
    last modified: 9 days ago

    that green is horrid.

    please, no green in the bathrooms.

    I'd go for more of a neutral warm that leans on the taupe end since that's what color your tile is (and how the wood vanity leans)

    I think the first pic looks great.

  • 9 days ago

    Greiges are harrrrrd!


  • PRO
    9 days ago

    if you go to home depot and get the sample pots (cheaper than BM or SW) in the color match, you'll get pretty close. I prefer Behr paint to BM, believe or not. you can get 5 sample pots for $15 in a color match. maybe one will work. just use some primer to paint over the existing color (s) so you'll get a true reading.

  • 9 days ago

    Good to know their samples are cheaper. BM is $7 per sample.


    I haven't used Behr in 10 years, but last time I found the paints were overly thick. I've been having really good luck with the "Ben" line of BM paints. Ace is also way closer than Home Depot.


    My game plan is to get 3 more samples. All in the mid 60s RLV which I think works better for our space. They should all be more geared toward taupe, but still greige.


    Baby Fawn



    Natural Creme



    White Sand




  • 9 days ago

    You'll find one eventually! I definitely see the green now.

  • 9 days ago

    can tell there is defintely some solid picks here.


    overcast day, raining, not the time to look at colors. ill second coat it tonight (and probaly enlarge it) and make a pick.


    top are thr new ones. bottom is tapestry beige (green undertones)



  • 8 days ago
    last modified: 8 days ago

    We're not going to get a lot of sun today, but I don't think it's going to matter much for this bathroom.

    Here's the brightest wall:


    Here's the first thing you see:


    Here's the front wall:


    1) Natural Cream and Baby Fawn are definite greiges, and will get muted/grey in low light.

    2) Natural Cream is super balanced and doesn't give off red overtones. It seems extremely balanced to matter what wall it's on, but however, it gets muted. To my eyes, it's not really throwing off any undertones.

    3) Baby Fawn seems to give off some slight red overtone, which we have to avoid.

    4) White Sand is a really good color. It's a griege off-white and doesn't mute itself as much, and is more of an appropiate LRV for the room (mid 60s) compared to white down which is nearly 80.

    At this point, i'd prime over to "erase" what's there, and to really paint very large patches in a couple of these critical spots. My vote is going to be carry forward Natural Cream and White Sand.

    Colors I recommend leaving behind:

    1) White Down. Too white, creates too much contrast with everything in the room that's aged. Wifey wants to avoid yellow.

    2) Tapestry Beige. Green undertones are clearly visible due to low lighting.

    3) Baby Fawn . Mutes itself to a warm grey, but seems to give off subtle red/peach/pink undertones.

    4) Glacier White. Too white.

    5) Hushed Hue. Too White.

    There's a good chance that Natural Cream will be the winner to my wife because she's going to notice yellow in White Sand. However, I think white sand is a little more beige than yellow is a really nice pick for the bathroom and it's going to turn grey in many areas.

  • 8 days ago

    At this point, I think you have too many colors. I would take a couple of hours to prime over everything and only paint 12x12 or so swatches in several areas side by side to get a better comparison. On my monitor, the natural cream and baby fawn are both reading gray over the vanity lights. White sand is reading more neutral but again, I'm not in the room.

  • 8 days ago
    last modified: 8 days ago

    It's picture time!

    First set of pics is evening w/ 3k lighting. Things are going to be warmer and not as accurate.





    Second set of pics is morning sun.





    Third set of pics is going to be the brightest part of the day for that room, which is going to be around noonish.

    They're all pretty good colors, but our fav is #1 which is Natural Cream (top). Baby Fawn (bottom-also known as Edgecomb Gray) is VERY similar to Natural Cream, almost the same hue, but it's just a little darker/greyer once you stare at it for awhile (it needs more light for it to stay non-muted). As ancipated white sand (middle) wasn't my wife's favorite because it's more yellow toned. None of these are giving off red/peach/flesh undertones.

  • 7 days ago

    And here's as bright as it gets!





  • 7 days ago

    The one on the top is our pick. We like #3 as well (Edgecomb/Baby Fawn) but feel it's a bit more muted/grey that would probably do better in more natural light.


    All three colors work pretty good, but the one on the top is our pick.

  • 7 days ago

    From what I can see, I agree with the top. I can definitely see the yellow in the middle and the bottom reads too gray to me. Seems as though you found a winner!

  • 7 days ago

    Got the whole room primed, feathered/sanded the drywall work. Need to coat two corners, then ill texture it probably Sunday.


    Been doing lots of cabinet planning for transitions as well as planning out my starting direction tor cabinets. This is a tight space for full overlays, so im sweating a little bit. I already know my left vanity door will only opennhalf way, but thats to be expect. Trying my best to make sure the wife’s door will open at a 90 do that she can use thr pull out try accessory


    oh yeah, we got contacted about a remnant thats available at a cheap price.







  • 6 days ago
    last modified: 6 days ago

    I decided today to take a look at light alignment. Come to find out, the center of the faucet (represented by the black line) is directly over the studs. The right junction box is mounted to the stud, and the left junction box is mounted to the sheating.

    The right junctino box is 3" off from the center (cannot be moved any closer).

    The left junction box is 6.25" off from the center, and can be moved to be mounted on the stud, making it 3" off center.




    My guess is 3" off center will be visible and not a good thing.


    This tells me that I need to have rectangular base that allow for 3" of adjustability. It also tells me that I should probably still move the left junction box, UNLESS I find a lighting opton in which the whole 6" base is "adjustable".


    @Beth H. :, Looks like I may be back to the drawing bored with some black lighting (with gold accents a plus) that are somewhat modern, but now need to have a rectangular base!


    We did buy these on Amazon for $45 and I temporarily wired them for a few minutes last night. They are VERY awesome for the price and didn't feel cheap at all. The 3500 color was really nice and being able to rotate the light bars was really cool.

    Wife really really liked these and loved the gold accent, but I feel like we may not be able to do square-based fixtures due to being 3" off center on both sides.



  • 5 days ago
    last modified: 5 days ago

    We found a set of fixtures with a rectangular plate that will be large enough for me to drill some electrical holes for the wires.

    Best of all, we got 2x of them (lightly used for a few months) for $20...for the pair! They are adjustable to 3500.


    Waiting for some touch-up mud to dry around that right GFCI outlet, then I'm going to texture it today.


    Cabinets MAY arrive on Monday, so I'm trying to accelerate a little bit in case they do. Otherwise tomorrow will be finishing up painting, cleaning, and organizing to go into carpenter-mode.

    You can see the new paint in the background. Looks really good, and is going to force us to repaint the trim/doors. We have some SW White Flour which I think will be a nice pairing.

    Expenses so far:

    $70 Samples

    $55 Paint

    $20 Lights

    $150 various materials (mud, caulking, p-traps, cleaners, plumbing adaptors, electrical boxes, wire yadda yadda

    $1600 cabs and accessory

    $380 Toilet

    $210 Sinks

    $150 Faucets

    $820 Countertop

    $180 Mirrors

    $25 toilet paper holder

    $TBD Backsplash

    $TBD Shades

    $TBD Light Fixture over Spa

    $TBD Cabinet to Tub Transision (shouldn't be a lot)

    = $3660.

  • 4 days ago

    You're moving right along. What's going to stop the door on the left from fully opening?

  • PRO
    4 days ago
    last modified: 4 days ago

    nice job Nash.

    you do know they make shallow boxes for use over a stud?? we used it on our light install. they're always over the damn stud.

    look for one of those boxes.

  • 4 days ago
    last modified: 4 days ago

    Yeah, they're 1" deep if I recall correctly.

    Since this is an exterior load bearing wall, I opted to just get new fixtures rather than to weaken a couple of the studs. Going to pick them up soon, can't beat $20 for both!

    Need to pick up some more PVA sealer so I can seal the texture and finally show you guys the new paint in all its glory!



    @katinparadise The door is going to hit the decorative tile on the tub (which is expected). IIRC, the left old door was only able to be opened about 45-60 degrees. The old cabinets had a center stile between the doors. The new cabs won't have a center stile, so you're automatically going to get more room, even with being the left door opening up roughly the same degree.


    The move from partial overlays to full overlays does make this a tighter and more calculated fit.

  • 4 days ago

    Apparently I am dumb. They are 1/2" deep, so NO notcing of the stud is required. Hmmmmmmmm.

  • 3 days ago
    last modified: 3 days ago

    Got the saddle boxes.

    saddle boxes must be mounted center to the stud. same with pancake boxes. Saddles just give you more packing space, and one side requires a saddle per code.

    One side will be off by 1/2” and the otherside will be off by 1/4”

    i assume that would be impossible to notice.

    spent 3 hours diagnosing electrical issues. its now resolved with all outlets passing GFCI test and wiring complete. the existing GFCI was a rats nest that required making a diagram and studying.


    The below pics you will see an outline of the stud and a verticle line where the center of the sink/faucet is




  • 3 days ago

    I wont bore you all with photos of how to move light boxes over until the final one-and-done photo.


    tomorrow will be all about cabinets, which is my main stressor. My goal is to get the leftward most cab situated, check door travel, measure ahead, then enjoy a whiskey wednesday.





  • 2 days ago

    Good progress. I'm sure you won't notice 1/4 or 1/2 an inch difference unless you stand there looking for it. The cabinet install will really start bringing the whole thing together.

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