Well, we did it again, worked til 9pm to get the house ready for Parade judging.   As usual, we seem to always end up stressed out and having 10 different people working in the house the eve of judging.  But we did it, we got the house finished and I was even able to take a few photos before the judges arrived.

If you have been following along, last week we started the Design & Selection process for our Parade Entry in the Kitchen.  If you are just tuning in this week, you definitely want to go back and see where it all started here.

I think it turned out pretty good!

This week we are going to focus on what I feel is the second most important space from a Design perspective- the Master Bath.   What I love most about this Bathroom is the overall layout and design of the Shower, Ceiling, and Vanity.  This plan originally had a Tub and Shower but we removed the tub and created an Extra Large Shower with Dual Showerheads and added a Linen closet.  I love the octagonal shaped tray ceiling in the center of the room.  It creates a nice focal point and gives me the opportunity to install a pretty chandelier and still meet code.

The other great feature of the Master Bath is the oversized vanity.  It has an unusual shape and has challenged me to come up with the best use of the space.  This is actually the third time we have built this particular plan.  The second time we built it was as a presale and the client added a beautiful and functional linen cabinet on the smaller end and kept the sinks tighter together.  It turned out beautiful.

But you have to remember, Neil keeps me on a budget.  Plus, Bryant told me his supplier now carries a new pullout organizer for hair tools like hair dryers and curling irons.  I LOVE IT!  Challenge solved—I will keep the sinks separated so the “women’s” side can have the bigger countertop, the sinks can be spaced out more so each user has more space and I get to add the pullout organizer.  Yeah!

As I started the selection process for the bathroom, I actually chose the tile as my starting point and worked out from there.  My goal was to stay in the taupe family again and was immediately drawn to the wood plank look for the floors.  Working from that, I went with the whiter calacatta looking tile for the shower walls.  I chose large 12×24 tiles because the shower is very large and can support the larger size tiles.

Finally, I wanted the shower floor tile to pull the two looks together.  I’m really loving the octagonal shape lately and found two great options.  I chose this one b/c I felt it tied the two looks together best and was within budget.  Once I had the tile selected I chose a coordinating cabinet paint color, added some brushed glaze for a little more dimension and to pull out the darker bronze accents in the room.

Next, I selected the light for this room.  I knew at this point I was going with Bronze fixtures throughout the house and I had seen a fixture in the showroom that I loved but that fixture was too large for my space.  Thankfully, we were able to find a smaller version of that fixture  that worked perfectly.  I added recessed cans over the vanities for a clean look that wouldn’t distract from the main focus of the center chandelier fixture.

During the trim stage of the home,  we had already added 1×6 tongue and groove (T&G) in the Nook ceiling and the Foyer ceiling so thought it would look good to add it to our already framed octagonal shaped tray.  In order to tie in the stained wood ceiling I had Bryant make mirror frames out of knotty pine and had them stained the same as the ceiling to tie it all together.

The countertop was actually the hardest decision in this room.  I didn’t want anything too busy because of all the textures and patterns already in the room.  My top preference was the Calacatta Gold marble.  Unfortunately, that is a level 3 and with such a big countertop it was over my budget.   So I held off on that decision until I ran out of time and had to place the order.  At that point, we were considering making this home our Parade entry, so I felt justified to go with the more expensive option to complete the look I was going for.  (Shhh, don’t tell Neil).  Now that I have seen it, it was definitely the right decision and worth extra expense.

To add the perfect finishing touch,  I added the plumbing fixtures and these beautiful elongated octagonal shaped cabinet knobs that mirror the shape of the tray ceiling.

One last area to consider was the transition from the Master Bedroom to the Bathroom.   I wanted the entrance into the Bathroom to be as grand as the room itself.  Last time we built this home we used a barn door to the entrance of the bathroom.   Normally, I love barn doors, but in this situation, I decided to play up the octagonal shape more than the rustic look.  So I switched to double entrance doors and and special ordered octagonal knobs for those doors, LOVE THEM!!

Of course the bathroom also boasts a spacious linen closet and master closet with wood shelving making the Master suite a great feature of this home.

Blooper reel:  One day as I’m walking through the house I notice an UGLY white vent that had been cut into my beautiful T&G tray ceiling- the Focal Point of the entire room now has an atrocious white vent right in the middle of it.

I realize we are bound by code requirements but it would have been nice to have had the opportunity to attempt to troubleshoot a possible alternative before the vent was installed.   It’s days like that I want to pull my hair out and display a little “diva” attitude but instead I called Neil.

And here it is. . .

Photos are great, but seeing it first hand is always better.  Hope you will be able to attend the Parade of Homes beginning April 14/15, 21/22, and 28/29 from 12-5pm.   You can find our Parade of Homes entry at 67 Stella Court, Clayton, in Portofino subdivision.  I will be manning the home myself on the weekend of 21/22^nd and would love for you to come visit.