Grout it Out

Tomorrow is Josh's birthday, so we had a little pool party for him yesterday afternoon and invited a few friends over afterwards for a quick house tour. It was just starting to get dark, so we didn't stay long, but we got lots of positive feedback from our friends -- especially on the tile and paint colors -- so I was looking forward to going back today to get a better look in the daylight.

I got both an email and a phone call from Rob this morning asking me to come over and decide on a grout color for the main level bathroom, so instead of my usual early afternoon visit, I headed over there around 11 am. I absolutely LOVE the tile in this bathroom -- probably because I picked it out -- so it was wonderful to see it almost done.
Ian had done a couple sample patches in gray and white grout (sorry I didn't get a picture -- there were lots of people working in there!). While the gray grout looked kind of cool, I was concerned that the bathroom would look way too busy with contrasting grout, since the white tile is handmade and has to be spaced pretty far apart to accommodate the irregular edges. Final decision: white!

Then another issue arose. The plan was to have the 4x4" deco tile go all the way around the mirror, but the way the tiles ended up over the vanity, we couldn't find a way to have the tiles line up with each other AND have the mirror centered over the sink. Ian and I came up with one idea that sort of worked, but we would have ended up with a mirror that was 19 inches wide and 39 inches tall, which would have looked a little funny. In the end, we decided to just have the blue molding go up the sides of the mirror and have another row of deco tile along the top. This way we'll have a more nicely proportioned mirror that is centered over the sink. (Those wires sticking out are for the sconce that will eventually be installed above the mirror. The electrician will be back this week to work on that.) Rob said he'll measure the space inside the tile and order a mirror cut to size to affix to the wall.
The painters were still at work on the trim around the windows and doors. These little windows in the living room look much better now!
The front bedroom upstairs has been repainted with the correct color, which is called Airway. The painters had used an old version of our paint color list when they bought the paint. We had initially considered a color for this room that was a little darker and more purple (Riviera Azure), but after doing a test patch, had changed it to this one. They also stained the balcony doors to match the other doors and windows.
As I was leaving, Justin, Rob, and John were just sitting down to lunch in the family room, so I took a quick photo of them toasting one another with their colorful beverages.