The wallpaper is long gone. Walls are painted, there’s light, and the vinyl tiles installed and grouted.
After a small battle, we even have a bright white new toilet.
Still missing from the picture: (black) Groland the bathroom vanity, white Toto, tap. Funny how brushing your teeth in the kitchen sink can become second nature.
We hadn’t screwed on the top of Groland quite yet – there was some hesitation about making it official. At 35 3/8″ (90 cm), would he be too tall? Standard vanity height ranges from 29-32″, depending on which site you deem master of internet lore. To that, we had the added height of our bowl sink. Hmmmm. Put in place, it seemed tall – and the alternative was taking Groland apart and v-e-r-y carefully amputating parts of his legs.
With other things going on, we were happy to leave him be for a few days. A big sign “DO NOT TOUCH! HEAVY THINGS WILL FALL ON YOU!” and Groland & Toto went ignored. Through the waiting phase, we invited friends & family into the fray. They were our public opinion gauge re. vanity height. We made them contort and mime all sorts – brushing teeth, washing faces.
“Is it too tall?”
Google "contortionist with toothbrush". You get this.
A whole range of heights – from proper giants down to possible midgets reassured us: it’s great! Even the shorties liked the idea of not having to bend down to the water. Well ok then! Groland, you get to keep your legs.
(And now you tell me how much you love your slightly too tall bathroom vanities…).
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Creepy magician photo found here, disturbing bendy body photo found here, all product photos c/o HomeDepot.ca & manufacturer websites.
Hey, you want a s'more? Some more of what?
I’m a big fan of kitchen counter-height bathroom vanities — but I’m 5’10″. Seems to be a recent trend in new home bathroom design, so you should be fine. Biggest problem I’ve had is that being nearsighted, it’s a little harder to get close enough to the mirror to apply mascara, etc. Keep thinking I should get one of those wall-mount, swing-out magnifying mirrors. Or maybe a step stool?
Haha – it might make short people mad to see a 5’10″ person climbing on a step stool. I far prefer things at kitchen counter height as well! Whoever decided they should be different?
I don’t think that I’ll get the image of that contortionist with a toothbrush in her toes out of my head for a long time.
Really? This will help. It’s a pig with 3 heads.
God damn it Lauren! You made me look at that link and now that poor pig shall haunt me forever more!!
I think he’s rather sweet. Or is it they?
With all possible respect, and height aside (for 36″ finished vanity top can work): Has the Groland been purchased already? Regardless, is it wet-environment tested, and then, do you believe the tests?
Recently, Kohler reps who loved their clients stopped offering them Persuade(R) vanities, because of “problems with quality” — read, issues with less than fully tested laminate/veneer wood products delaminating or otherwise falling apart much earlier than acceptable. And that was from Kohler (established quality/luxury brand), on a product designed for humid bathroom environments.
Having owned/managed my fair share of laminate and other processed wood product installations, including IKEA, I’m not at all sure I would put any such in a bathroom, unless it was a tried and true brand name built for wet-environment area.
Then, consider the return you hope to get on a flip, and how the type of buyer you hope to attract might factor in. All counsel we’ve received — from real estate agents through designers to builders/contractors — is that the rebound of the housing crisis will be slow, and so especially challenging for older sales, including remodels (since buyers will also be seeing inexpensive new built-to-orders, alongside your flip). People will have an eye out for detail and value. Even if your aim is recent graduates/marrieds, buying their first, your competition will be stiff.
As such, in our remodel, we are making key lower cost structural changes (things we can do without permits) to vastly improve lighting, increase storage, etc. And for things like bath and kitchen, we are putting in thoughtfully and carefully chosen items of decent quality — e.g., some less expensive but real natural materials for durability, from very carefully chosen vendors / installers; lower end “luxury” hardware with an occasional pop piece, for kitchen and bath; etc.
Motives are, (i) so there is adequate pop and curb-appeal when a possible buyer enters, having seen 13 other places in the past week, (ii) as practice in finding best quality price-point, in anticipation of our next remodel, and (iii) so we can appreciate solid workmanship while we are there.
[ By thoughtfully chosen, I mean with respect to vendor, model, and timing and manner of expenditure. One can often find a young builder / architect that will often consult on a low per-hour basis (bring carefully researched lists for decision), to make sure changes won't get you in long-term trouble with your local inspectors (and otherwise avoid disasters). Visiting places like a decent-sized all-in-one sales/fabrication shop -- e.g., for granite, or whole kitchens and baths -- will result in finding a few already-cut, rich-buyer-reject pieces that are taking up space, and so the vendor wants to part with them inexpensively. (We found a custom, 36" Merrilat hardwood maple vanity in that way, for $50.) Hard-work will allow you to match installation styles between manufacturers without paying top dollar buying expensive all-of-same, and Nextag.com will take you to the best prices for name-brand hardware items, many free-shipped and without immediate tax. Credit card and real-work bonuses/points such as Amex can convert at highest rate to gift cards for HomeDepot, a big-box that can special order many decent brands/items. ( As the King of Siam once said, "et cetera, et cetera, et cetera". ) ]
FInally, consider the Econ 101 aspect of remodel contracting and purchasing, as it relates to support for long-term quality — i.e., that every time you make a purchase, you send a signal to the contractor / manufacturer, and all middlemen, about what to keep producing. There’s never been a more affordable time to remodel, and so too to invest in decent quality as you go. It’s reasonable to ask, what kind of place, and world, do we want to pass on — one a bit greener, or one where, for sake of low cost, any vendor will do, regardless whether he dumps his metal refinishing waste into the nearest ” hé “.
Right now we’re choosing to keep good, often immigrant tradesman and craftsmen in business, pushing them toward green (and so helping them and everyone longterm) — and then buying and arranging installation carefully to save the money. Our deal with our finishers/painters has us doing trim cleanup and priming, so they can focus extra time repairing decayed or original poor quality finishes; they also cut hourly price in half in exchange for flexibility in scheduling. Our carpenter agreed to allow us to be the second set of hands for his work, cutting his price by 40% and training us up in areas where we hadn’t necessary experience.
I.e., we cut the corners with the repaired / used vs. new decisions, and via sweat equity, and not in terms of quality of manufacture (which is my final advice): buy good stuff, but install yourself; convert a used hardwood piece to a furniture-type vanity (re-topping, and giving it the necessary finish to make it wet-suitable), etc.
There is no better time than now to invest in, and support quality workmanship. You’ll learn and grow, and your buyers will notice.
Hi Med – lots of good points made, thank you! You’ve given me lots to keep in mind both for this place & planning for a future one.
Particularly like your suggestion about saving costs when using quality contractors – and definitely with you about green-wherever-possible.
Regarding wet tests – the island in question, Groland, is solid birch – a wood used in many purpose-built bathroom vanities. I definitely wouldn’t have used a laminate product — having seen how much I can ruin an Expedit or Lack elsewhere in the apartment, you’re right, it wouldn’t be pretty.
And thanks for the shopping tips – I’ll take someone’s high-end, handsome rejects any day.
Hope you’ll jump in with wisdom in the future – good to hear your perspective. Thanks again!