New countertops are set in stone

This is the third week of the Spring 2023 One Room Challenge. Time flies, I can’t believe we’re already this far into the project!

All the guest participant links can be found on the One Room Challenge blog! You can also visit the week 3 link up page directly. This is an awesome event where everyone supports each other and has a great time working towards their own goals in these 8 weeks, so I hope you check out lots of participants!

This bathroom was briefly out of commission this week, but it was so very worth it! We had the counters installed and I might keep going in there to look at how pretty the stone is. Our decision to change out the countertops is kind of what tipped the plans for the bathroom from “only touching the walls” to “pretty substantial”, so let’s talk a bit about them.

Here’s a throwback shot of the bathroom when we first moved in. Totally functional, so aside from adding color, there wasn’t a ton that was on our radar that needed to change in the short term.

We did add some more easy-access storage to the space in the form of a cabinet sitting on the countertop. It has been unfinished wood and not sitting super flush to the wall because of the curve from the counter to the backsplash since we got it, but we knew we eventually wanted it to have more of a permanent feel.

If we were going to do some trim work to get it to look flush to the wall, and attach it so it was permanently affixed to the counter, we were also going to do some serious thinking about if we should replace the counter before we did that.

So, we were off to one of my favorite design-related places to visit – the slab yard/stone showroom. Specifically, Rockin’teriors, who we have worked with before on a lot of really great projects. We wanted to see what they had in stock given that the One Room Challenge was coming up quickly!

These three slabs were the ones that really spoke to us while we were walking around and considering our design, but it was really hard to choose. Did we go with fairly subtle veining, more contrast but still in neutral colors, or take a leap of faith with a bold stone with lots of blue in it?

Hopefully if you’ve been following along with me for a while, you know that I’m not scared of color. Since we were planning to paint the dark cabinets more of a mid tone, I thought we could go with this bolder Ijen Blue quartzite with its blues and grays, and even some coppery brown. As a funny side note, I had already been thinking of doing some copper hardware and light fixtures to contrast the deep blue of the walls, and so when I saw the coppery veining in this stone, it felt really meant to be.

This is a picture of our template laid out on the stone – Rockin’teriors is great about really working alongside us every step of the way and making sure all the details are just how we want them.

After a couple of weeks to get the templating and then installation scheduled, we were at the night before!

We were having them remove the existing counters right before the installation, so we (and by we I mostly mean Matt) had to disconnect the plumbing from the sinks. I did haul out a ton of what was in the cabinets to protect it from the dust of removal and installation, and I feel like I’m going to need to do some organization before things go back into the cabinets. Day to day we are definitely not using all the products, etc. that are in there. But, that’s a post for another week, probably!

I mean – can you see why I keep going into the bathroom just to look at this gorgeous stone?

After 24 hours to make sure the seal on the sinks was totally secure, it was time (again for Matt) to hook up the new faucets.

To keep costs down, we had decided to keep the existing bathtub and shower fixtures as they function well and brushed nickel works with our design. Because we were going to be mixing metals, I did want to keep all the plumbing hardware consistent in finish, so the end result wasn’t too mismatched. I picked these Moen Dartmoor faucets in brushed nickel, and we didn’t use the optional deck plate when we installed them. Between these and the Kohler Archer undermount sinks we chose, I’m starting to feel that push towards a more vintage/Victorian direction we want in this space. Also, I love a good deep sink, and these really fit that bill.

We have some drywall repair to do before we tile, but otherwise, if you need me, I’m probably telling this bathroom counter how pretty it is. See you next week!