San Fran: Cutest One Bedroom Apt Ever

Remember our recent trip to San Francisco?  It was our first experience using an online website to rent someone's apartment.  We really lucked out and found a one bedroom apartment that was in the basement of an amazing house in the city.  I couldn't help but love it's Anthropologie-esque vibe and how it was all put together using Target, IKEA, and vintage finds.

This view is from the front entrance.  The main living space is painted a cool gray.  I love the glass and metal coffee table, exposed brick, and splashes of red.

This little dinette is behind the sofa in the picture above.  Even the placemats and salt & pepper shakers were cute!

The bed was flanked with hanging pendants and antique school chairs.  What a cool alternative to your typical nightstands and table lamps!

This looked like it was found at a cool vintage shop or something, but is a total DIY project.  Bang up and old board, throw on some stain and laquer, garnish with knobs and voila!  You have a cool coat rack!

This bathroom was so simple but I loved it for some reason.  I think it was the chocolate brown subway tile.  And I actually liked how the tile looked without being arranged staggered.  

Have you stayed anyplace cool recently?

Charleston Chic Master Bath

House by the water?  Yes, please!  This fab beach chic home belongs to my little brother who lives in Charleston, SC.  I don't really know that I can call him my little brother anymore since he flies planes larger than our house, but he asked for help with his master bath and hopefully I delivered.

I loved visiting Charleston last summer and am hoping to make it back soon!  Do you have a favorite beach you visit during the summer?  Ever dedicated any decor in honor of it?    

What's In a Spray?

I'm referring to body sprays.  Body sprays, shower heads, hand showers, and any source outlet for water you can think of for your shower is all the rage.  The eighties were spent focusing on whirlpool tubs for your master bath, but this era is all about the shower.  Some tubs take over 90 gallons to fill and depending how often you use it, that is A LOT of water.  Body sprays come in different variations ranging from 1.6 to 2.5 gallons of water per minute.  I usually recommend going with the low flow if you are on a well or worried about your water pressure.  The 2.5 gpm sprays are more common and have more designs to choose from, such as the flush square mounted design in the Kohler shower below.  

Kohler's DTV System

You can really design a custom shower system to be as small or grand as you can imagine.  It can be as basic as a shower head, hand shower, and a few body sprays.  Or you design something much more fab, like the Kohler DTV system above.  This system features more than you will ever need, but isn't it so cool?  I am attending a designer even tomorrow and will get to test this bad boy out!

So many homeowners say that they would still like to put a tub in their master bath for "resale value."  If everyone is saying that it is just for the resale, but no one truly wants or uses a tub, what is the perceived value?  I highly encourage clients to splurge inside of the shower.  In our fast-paced society, most people do not have time to sit in a tub and love the idea of tricking out their shower even if they only take quick showers.  At least they will be enjoyable, right?

Brizo's Siderna System

The only tubs I truly love that, in my opinion, will never go out of style are the ultra classic soaking tubs.  There are all different variations in style and different materials available for a freestanding tub.  They can seriously make a bathroom.  

Native Trails: Copper soaking tub

The copper bath is hand hammered and in an antiqued finish.  Perfect for any farmhouse or rustic vibe.

Victoria & Albert: Volcanic limestone soaking tub

Volcanic limestone is solid surface all the way through and a great alternative to cast iron because of it's light weight.  Cast iron is a great classic material, but can often need extra structural support.

Kallista: Michael Smith for Loft Freestanding Soaking tub

This acrylic tub is also another alternative to cast iron.  The clean and classic lines in this tub scream timeless perfection to me!

Kohler: Cast Iron Birthday Bath soaking tub

Kohler's most classic design and probably the most popular style: claw foot.

Do you have a shower you love or wish you had invested in a shower system rather than a tub?  What about your favorite style of bath?  Do tell!

Common Bath & Kitchen Remodeling Myths

So, you want to remodel your bath or kitchen and save a little dough with a weekend DIY project?  You may want to consider these suggestions below before purchasing everything and trying a hand at remodeling.  These are definitely some of the most common misperceptions, misunderstandings, and myths that we are asked everyday by homeowners.  

MYTH:  You should purchase everything you can at Lowe's, Home Depot, or on the internet because it will save you money.


WHY THIS IS FALSE:  Products carried in the big box stores are NOT usually the same quality or product as what you will find at your local plumbing wholesaler.  Common brands like Kohler, Delta and Moen produce a retail model (found at your big box store) and a wholesale model (found in a plumbing wholesaler's showroom).  The retail models are able to be sold at lower prices because they are not always the same quality and a lot of times even contain plastic parts or drains in order to sell them at cheaper prices.  These products are not as durable and will oftentimes cause homeowners to have to replace them sooner and pay for a plumber more than once because of it's shorter life.  Most showrooms will discount the pricing to you automatically.  If they don't, ask for a discount.


Secondly, if you are purchasing things on the internet, you do not really know who you are buying them from.  You did not have a professional in a showroom sell it to you and have no one to answer to when it is defective, missing parts, or shows up after you have scheduled your contractor.  Who honestly wants to deal with the headache to save twenty bucks?  Some plumbers actually refuse to install material from the big box because they know it will usually require a service call or two.


Don't get me wrong; we love Lowe's for a good bag of mulch, tools, and some household products.  But plumbing and lighting - forget it.

Delta Addison

MYTH:  Pull down style kitchen faucets will "hang" from the neck of the faucet and break more easily than a faucet with a sidespray.

WHY THIS IS FALSE:  Gooseneck faucets and pulldown sprays have come a long way since entering the market over 15 years ago.  I am not aware of any faucets that will automatically retract themselves without having to lift a finger, so yes, you do have to manually put it back into place.  However, most faucets have a locking mechanism or groove for the spray head.  If you find your hose getting stuck, you probably have too much clutter under your kitchen sink.  

If you are super paranoid about the faucet not locking into place and want some extra reassurance it will stay put, check out Delta's MagnaTite Docking.  There is a small magnet in the spray head that you will feel "snap" shut.

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MYTH:  It is less expensive to use a drop in sink with granite than an under mount.

WHY THIS IS FALSE:  Most standard under mount sinks actually cost the same or less than the drop in because less material is used to create the product.  You will pay about 50.00 more to have the granite cut and polished for this type of installation, which in the end may even out with the cost of an under mount sink.  If you are forking out the money for granite, it is well worth the investment for the look of an under mount.  

Some granite companies are even tacking on a cheap imported sink for free as a selling point.  Be sure to ask who made the sink and it's gauge (18 gauge is the industry standard) before accepting the free sink.  It may end up costing you more in the end if you have a cheap sink that will not last in your permanently cut granite.

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MYTH:  You can purchase a light fixture and easily replace the glass if you don't like what is included with the fixture.

WHY THIS IS FALSE:  It is a lot more difficult than most people realize to swap out globes.  The easiest way to avoid the situation is to select a fixture that you like both the globes and the light itself.  Fixtures have all different sized fitters (where the globe fits onto the fixture) and globes come in all shapes in sizes.  Although a standard builder grade type fixture is normally a 2 1/4" size fitter, it may be a different shape or require a special globe to fit just right.  Be prepared to go on a wild goose chase if you go this route.

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MYTH:  You can give your old school shower or tub/shower faucet a "facelift" by just replacing the trim (handles you see pictured).

WHY THIS IS FALSE:  Trim is made to be compatible with the valve it is designed for.  If your faucet is old and the brand and model is unidentifiable, you most likely will not be able to solely replace the trim.

This valve is located in your wall behind the tile or unit you have installed in your bathroom.  If you would like to avoid replacing tile and have access to the valve behind the wall through another room or closet, you are in luck.  The options below are probably the most easy and economical.  I would HIGHLY recommend having a professional plumber take care of this.  Water damage and poor installation of products can cause serious damage to your house and wallet.

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1. Pull the valve out from behind the wall and replace with a more updated version of the same thing.  Your choices will be few and far between in style, but this is probably the cheapest option.
2. Pull the valve out and replace it with a more up to date pressure balance control.  This may require a little bit of tile work (making the center hole larger) and will definitely require a remodel plate (an oval shaped plated that will go underneath of the control and cover the left and right holes (see below).  This type of valve is more safe and will prevent you from being scalded when cold water is being used at other sources while showering.

Have any of you run into a similar problem or discovered something you didn't realize while in the middle of renovating?  I'd love to hear your findings!

Rain, rain, go away...

Many people have the misperception that a rain head has zero pressure.  These days, the term "rain head" is more commonly used in reference to the diameter of a larger shower head and actually has little or nothing to do with the pressure.  Most shower heads larger in diameter are actually FULL of pressure, assuming you have good water pressure coming into your house.


A true rain can has a "cavity" inside that just fills with water and literally lets it fall out of the head like rain.  This is what most people think of when picturing a rain head.  However, what you should be picturing is a larger head spraying water at a rate of 2.5 gallons or more per minute!  The more is referring to those of you rule-breakers who take the flow restrictors out and are not concerned about being eco-friendly.


Having worked in a bath showroom the past seven years, I have been able to test many shower heads in our own home and figure out what I do and don't like.  Here are a few I like to switch up every now and then.

via Moen

The Moen Isabel is a dual function shower head measuring 8" in diameter.  You use the lever on the side to change from a wide all-encompassing spray to a smaller concentrated spray coming out of the center.  Moen's Immersion Technology is superior in pressure and allows even the wide spray to feel just as powerful as the smaller diameter spray.

via Delta

Delta's H2O Kinetic Technology saves over 36% water than other shower heads and feels no different.  We currently have this shower head on one of our master shower heads and Jeremy will not let me change it.  He is in love!  Although it uses less water, because they are larger droplets, you do not sacrifice in pressure or coverage!

via Kohler

Kohler has a wide offering of shower heads, but this flush to the ceiling four spray head at 10 gallons of water per minute is King.  Kohler leads the way with their flush body sprays (think individual versions of what is seen above mounted to the wall) and has now transferred it to the ceiling.  If you want to be drenched, this is the way to go.  You can even choose to go with chromatherapy installed in the ceiling and have it hooked up to your DTV shower system and iPOD.  But that is for the big leagues...and will require another entire post to explain.

via Grohe America

This Grohe shower head cannot be surpassed!  At 16" in diameter, I don't even want to know how much water will come out of it once you remove the flow restrictor (not suggesting to waste water and do this, but why else would you buy this shower head?).  I have not personally used this head, but it really is ENORMOUS.  No complaints from anyone that purchased this in their bathroom - I'm assuming they are too busy enjoying it to let me know.

via Hansgrohe

Hansgrohe really knows what they are doing when infusing air through their shower head to create the feeling of greater water pressure.  It's genius.  They call it Air Injection Technology and offer it on a variety of options.  Their quiclean system allows you to clean the grime or build up left from your water in the shower head by simply wiping a damp wash cloth over the face of the head.  Thanks for the technology, Germany!

via Kohler

No, this is not a rain head.  But it is an awesome shower head that retails for 75 bucks in chrome.  And it has four different spray patterns you can alternate between by flipping the shower head around in a circle.  Hello, Flipside!  Kohler describes the four spray patterns as:

Koverage™-a full-face spray for a superb performance for everyday use

Kotton™- releases a uniquely dense, soft, enveloping downpour of luxury spa spray

Komotion™- a full-face spray that delivers a drenching spray in an exhilarating, circular pattern that both relaxes and refreshes the senses for a deep sense of well being

Kurrent™- delivers a targeted massage spray to ease away aches and pains and revitalize your body

This is what is currently on the second shower head in our master bath.  Now, run over to your local wholesale distributor and splurge on a new shower head!  You deserve it!