The bathroom made a lot of progress last week and it all seemed to happen in one, big exciting day. Our countertop, backsplash, faucets, and mirrors all got installed the same day. And even though they were all the result of months of decisions and planning and some waiting, it felt like instant bathroom!
Months ago, we picked out our countertop from a local stone yard that had a great selection of quartz material (which is what we wanted). This particular supplier came highly recommended by our contractor, and after looking at a few other options we understood why. The quality is, of course, top notch; and the installation was perfect; but the best part was they only charged us for the square footage we needed, not for an entire slab of quartz like most stone yards do. If you live in Northern Utah or Southern Idaho, we used Valley View Granite.
While we were shopping for our countertop (that early in the process!) we had to pick a sink and even what we wanted the hole to look like. For our sinks, we wanted something almost square, with gradual sloping on the sides and a fairly shallow basin. From our experience, that's the sweet spot in terms of convenience and cleanability (not a word) in a bathroom. Of course, if the basin is too shallow then you get splatter from the faucet, but we found these beautiful Kohler sinks on Wayfair that are perfect. We sent the dimensions to the countertop people and on game day (install day) the cut outs were perfect.
Over and over we were told that the undermount sinks are just attached to the countertop with silicone, but I couldn't wrap my head around it because these sinks were so heavy. These particular sinks are metal, which means they're a bit heavier than normal. So to prevent damaging the countertops from the weight, the installers did end up adding some supports on either side of the sink to relieve some of the stress on the quartz.
Once the sinks were in place, a little bead of silicone was added around the edge and the countertops placed on top. I caught the guys carrying in the countertop in the video below that I shared on my InstaStories, live. It was such an intense moment that, spoiler: ends just fine. You can watch below.
The backsplash is another area we put a lot of thought into. How high we wanted it, were side splashes really necessary? We opted to extend the quartz up the wall 8 inches, putting it 2 inches above the faucets. The holes for the faucet were cut on site after verifying the final measurements, and the backsplash added. We nixed side splashes all together. They always look so fussy to me and the countertop company said they're great for kids' areas, but usually adults don't splash as much--ha! Also, it actually saved us money by not having them. Imagine that--it looks better and is cheaper! The valves for our wall-mount Kohler faucets were already in place, our contractor simply needed to add the handles and spout.
And of course once the faucets were in, we had to get the mirrors up immediately after.
Chris and I are both so excited about the ease of the wall-mounted faucets mixed with an undermount sink. Not only is it a look that I love, but the clean up--what a breeze!
It's amazing to see things planned so long ago come together even better than we imagined them. We're so close to the end, and every day there are more finishes being added that get us so excited. Not only at the progress, but at the thought of getting to live with this bathroom, every day. It's been a very long time coming and we can't wait to show you the rest of our progress and a finished bathroom, soon.
We've had a few questions about mixed metals in here (which are abundant around our entire home), and we'll definitely talk about that as soon as our shower faucets get installed.
Leave a Reply
WE'RE CHRIS + JULIA
Portfolio
Projects
I am doing the exact same configuration...wall mounted faucets and under mount sinks. My builder just called and asked if I had considered the depth of the sink -height of the spout- possible splash up issue. WHHHAAAATTT???
I have been searching to find anything on how high the spout should be and how deep the sink should be...ANYTHING. So far, lots of wonderful advice and reassurance on the “look” but nothing on a distance between spout and bottom of sink so as to not cause splashing....should it be a large distance or a small distance. And the builder wants an answer from me yesterday! Yikes.
Simone, Your spout should be 6" above your sink, give or take an inch. The spout should also come out far enough to be in the center of the sink/over the drain. You can control the splashing by closing the valve/adjusting the water flow - usually it just takes a quarter turn to eliminate the splashing. Hope this helps, Tara
Hi guys! Your write ups on vanity planning are invaluable. I just did a reno in my kids’ bathroom and we also designed our own vanity, as the prefab builder models are such an inefficient use of storage. My question - can you show an inside shot of your drawers? I’d love to see how the plumbing/sinks and drawer storage work together. And do the plumbing/sinks affect the top drawers only? Or the second drawer as well?
Love this, Just wanted to make sure for wall mount faucets, 6 “ above counter/sink?
hi. Great bathroom. What are the measurements for the sink? Cant find it anywhere? Also whats it made out of?
China? ceramic or steel? Thanks
Hi! This post has helped me so much with my bathroom reno. I am struggling at the moment on a decision of whether to install double sinks. I only have room for a 54" vanity and am torn on whether to sacrifice countertop space for double sinks or not. I have combed the post for the size of your vanity and haven't located it. Hope I am not asking you a question you have already answered, but what size is your vanity?
Do you have the name of the mirror that you chose? Planning a similar bathroom right now. Love your article!! Was looking to find out how high to mount the faucets in our design.
Check out this post for all the bathroom sources!
Hi! I love your design here and would like to use it in our bathroom. I've looked through the comments and don't see the question that we need answered- How thick is your backsplash? Worried 3cm will be too thick. Is that 2cm? Thanks for taking the time to answer!
yes! 2cm
Do you know how high your faucets were mounted? And how high the top of your quartz is? There doesn’t seem to be s standard but ours seems like they are mounted so high. I’m thinking of lowering the valve before we set the quartz.
Our faucet is 6" up and the quartz is 8" tall.
How deep is your counter? We're designing something almost identical to yours and ours is going to be 21". We had originally selected the 8 1/4" long spout, but it's on perpetual backorder. I'm concerned that if we go to the 6 1/4" length it won't extend far enough over the bowl. Looks great!
Our countertop is 21" deep as well. Works great!
What Kohler sink did you select
Was the hole for the faucet drilled at the 6" mark, or are there 2" from the top of the faucet to the top of the backsplash (making the actual faucet mounted slightly lower?).
Holes at the 6in mark.
How high was the wall mounted faucet mounted from the counter top?
6"
This bathroom looks awesome! Your well thought out choices came together beautifully.
I would like to know if the 6" faucet height placement resulted in any splash of water into the sink or if the placement was ideal/ Also, what is the projection of the faucet?
Am looking at doing similar and have read that the height placement is critical...
Thanks!
We love the height! Works perfect for our combination of fixtures.
Looks beautiful! What is the distance between the faucet spouts and countertop? I'm doing something similar, can't decide on the mounting height of our wall faucet and could use some perspective. Thank you!
6"
Can you tell me what is the faucet brand and model name? Thank you!
Everything is directly linked in the post above! They are Kohler brand.
Which brand and color of quartz was used for your countertop? It's exactly what we're looking for!
We went through a local company - Valley View Granite.
Awesome. Thank you so much for your response!
What is the distance from the sink to the wall/backsplash? I'm currently doing a bathroom renovation with undermount sinks and wall mounted faucets. I can't figure out how many inches away from the wall I should place the sink. Looking at your photos it looks like you placed your sink 2"-3" away from the wall/backsplash. Any help would be much appreciated! Such a beautiful bathroom! Love your blog and work!
It's about 3.5 inches, but we just centered it in the counter from front to back.
Rando question but if you had to pick a color that is the perfect match to your shower tile, what would it be (from Lowes)? I've been looking at soooo many green paint colors but I love the color of your tile and wondered if there's a color that would match it. Thank you!!
There's a lot of variation and shading in the tiles themselves, so I don't think it would transfer to a paint color well. But we've achieved similar vibes with our reading room in our house and the reading nook in the cabin. The nook used Valspar's Victorian Tapestry.
Keep the progress posts coming! I'm on board with the majority here - I love seeing parts as they progress - and it takes nothing away from the final full reveal! If anything, it gets me even more excited to see it all done and styled at the end :) I also follow along on IG and love the regular updates there too! Just keep doing what you do!
I'll add my two cents because...why not?
I love the seeing the progress. Although the progress does show the majority of the bathroom, to me it just builds up the anticipation to see the final reveal. Also I actually read the progress posts about how to do things whereas if I see a huge reveal of a room first, I usually skim over the progress posts that are posted afterwards because they seem boring after seeing the glamorous reveal post. Now that I read them beforehand I actually have been learning some good, useful information. Plus I think posting the progress as you go allows you to remember more and make the posts more useful. I also love the real time aspect of the progress because it shows that there is so much time and attention and decision making to do and it's not just wham bam here's a gorgeous bathroom instantly! It shows renovators more of what they can expect if they take on a huge project like this (no bathroom, clothes on racks in your bedroom).
Conclusion: I love the progress posts on the blog and I LOVE seeing the daily progress on Instagram! My husband and I are planning on building on house next year and I am learning so much seeing all the ins and outs of a renovation. Making notes and decisions about things I NEVER would have thought of before. Please continue with the progress type posts. I think it's much more realistic.
I LOVE seeing the progress. Please do not hold off and do a huge reveal. I love to see the steps taken, how you are living through the renovation, and hiccups along the way. Don't change a thing!!
My mom is a kitchen designer and in the summer she would take me to her job sites. As an adult, everyone I've met who has done reno complains about the mess, time, setbacks etc., because TV sets an unrealistic expectation of the process. EVERY project has an unexpected element to it. Nothing ever goes as fast as you imagine it will. My husband and I renovated our kitchen, we DIY'ed most of it and people were amazed at how long we went with no oven or stove (3 months in the summer). Guess what? We had a blast, and the end product looks great because neither of us had unrealistic expectations. Now that we are done, most of the process is a distant memory - like the time we spent trying to marry the new wood floor to the old existing wood. We agonized over whether it would all match and today you can't tell where the new meets original. All this to say: please keep sharing as you go. It is the more vulnerable way to go, but it will help so many people understand realities of projects. Anyone who wants to jump to the reveal can just skip the progress posts - you guys usually label your posts very clearly.
Love love love following along with the process. My favorite is when bloggers keep a couple surprises for us readers, but I definitely love seeing the process and it helps me keep things realistic for my own future renovations.
Oh my God, please don't switch to before and after! That's almost as worse as switching to vlogging.
And I've noticed that you feel self conscious about it. I've been reading and LOVE your type of blog for years. Back when Young House Love had 1 four year old kid. This is not a new thing. But when I first started reading your blog (around 4 years ago?) I was confused by your semi-regular need to explain during projects that this is a progress blog and not a before and after. Isn't showing the progress, mistakes, what you've learned, etc the whole POINT of a diy home renovation blog?
The reason I read your blog is to enjoy the journey with you. I love hearing your thinking on designing a room, setbacks you have to work around, how the whole thing impacts your life and family, how a new tool has helped so much, the best way you've figured out to layout the room, etc. It's the journey, NOT the destination.
When you skip to the end and then maybe create a couple perfectly laid out "progress" posts that gloss over the meat and only show the sizzle, that's boring. Please talk to your fellow home renovation blog friends to explore your concerns. I hope they will convince you this is nothing to be nervous/shy/ashamed of! You are creating a living with your blog. You both work at home and provide for your family. What you're doing WORKS!
The process is absolutely what I come for!! That's all the appeal for me. Before and Afters are a dime a dozen - your stuff is so much more helpful, and love it that way.
I love the process posts and stories! If I wanted glamourous before and afters, I would just watch HGTV all day. As someone who does home renovation projects, it’s nice to see the time that goes into (other people’s) projects and that it doesn’t happen overnight and without hiccups. I also think you do a good job and only showing pieces. It’s not like you are showing every angle of the the bathroom at each step.
Please keep with the ongoing updates. I think there are many things that would be missed or glossed over if you saved it all for the end. I want to hear about the minutiae of the renovation process.
I love love love the daily progress reports, your stories pop up first in my feed for a reason and when there’s a new share I get really excited to see what’s new. I feel that I learn so much more when we see the daily progress and your content is enriched.
We are going through a remodel and all this “during” helps us out so much! Love seeing the progress and knowing it’s not just done over- night and POOF, new bathroom!
I love watching the evolution of this space, but one thought when I see these progress shots: I am usually onboard with mixing metals, but I am really interested to see how it plays out in this particular instance, once everything is finished. In progress, I find that the nickel faucets are looking cold against the already cold stone of the backsplash. Rather than a more layered-in look (like the kitchen!) there is a “warm” strip up top (mirrors, sconces) and below (dark cabinets , brass hardware) with a strip in between that feels very cold.
Long story short, it’s currently looking a little tone on tone, and my eyes would like the faucets to pop more?
Can’t wait to see what your finishing touches do to convince me that you’ve made the totally right choice, as usual ????????
I really appreciate that you guys have been showing the progress on your blog and on Instagram stories! It's nice to see the reality of the process and to get to enjoy it in real time with you guys!
I think I finally figured out why I love the aesthetics of this bathroom so much. It reminds me of a modern, high-end hotel – and is there anything better than feeling like you're on vacation IN YOUR OWN HOME?! So excited to see the final reveal. And that peek of the shower tile reflected in the mirror.... ugh. So good!
I love the look of a taller backsplash and no side splashes - exactly what I did in my own bathrooms when I installed new countertops and have had no issues with splashing the walls at all.
I understand--but my point is you can still GET plenty of posts about the realities of planning, design decisions, construction, etc. You can satisfy BOTH camps but simply doing the big reveal and then immediately having two weeks' worth of posts (already written as the process went along, if needed) explaining and working through all of that. That's how you AND I would be satisfied as a reader, whereas now they only satisfy SOME readers, like you. I'm not looking for a pretty illusion. I just get bored with seeing the same pictures of a bathroom over the course of 8 weeks.
There are many ways to tell a story and many people sharing in these different ways. Clearly many ppl connect to the way Julia and Chris do. I'm sure there are other blogs you can read if you're not one of them. Or just don't follow on IG if you're very worried about suspense? I probably wouldn't read the blog if it were before/after with planned posts after the fact. I think the way this story is told is very engaging and way more empowering. Blogs that emphasize before/after differences make the process feel less attainable to me. Seeing the ways decisions are made and the reality of living through these projects makes the process of home DIY so much more relatable and I don't see how those can be communicated after completion.
Julia and Chris - I hope this conversation is giving you the opportunity to flesh out why you do what you do for yourselves, but not making you doubt your choices! The world needs process and your media channels are often a breath of fresh air in this Pinterest-perfect online world.
I can't stop staring at the the green tile in the reflection. It looks amazing!! Seriously. Heart eyes
Your bathroom is looking beautiful. If I may offer one reader perspective, though: I am not a big fan of the recent trend of creating a post for each step of a one-room remodel/renovation. It takes away much of the excitement surrounding the big, final reveal...by the time you truly "reveal" this bathroom, I will already know what it looks like. While I will still, of course, think it is a beautiful bathroom and want to pin it all over Pinterest, I will be way less enthused to actually see it (it's just no longer "new news" at that point). I understand stretching out a renovation if it's a really large-scale one, maybe a full home or something like that. But, for something like this, my preference would be to let us know the plans/design, check in once demo starts, but keep it under wraps until it's ready to be shown in its entirety. THEN you can do separate posts with how-tos (tile, etc.), what to consider, things you learned during a remodel, etc. You can still get the same amount of posts out of it, and indulge the readers who love the "process" posts, without ruining the big before-and-after readers/followers love. This issue is exacerbated by Insta-stories...from not only the blog but the day-by-day detailed Insta-stories, I already know what your bathroom looks like generally, I will know what Emily Henderson's mountain house will look like long before the "reveal," etc. I just miss seeing a great, surprising before-and-after with that huge WOW moment. We don't get the WOW moment anymore because we have seen it put together slowly, piece-by-piece over several months.
I have the opposite opinion. I like the progress updates and the realities of planning, design decisions, construction (the chaos, the hurdles, the "oh shoot moments"). The big-reveal-first concept feeds our minds a pretty illusion and keeps the readers in the dark of what is really going in the life of the blog and I like to be grounded in reality as much as possible:>
I agree. I thoroughly enjoy the step by step posts and don't think it takes away much, if anything, from the big reveal. Yes, I know what each component looks like and maybe even a couple together but there is still some element of construction still going on so it doesn't have the full effect that the full reveal will have.
I absolutely hate the blogs that are like HERE IS THE REVEAL! And then do process after. It feels so fake to me. Like “I’ve been sitting on this for a month until the previously agreed upon date for it to go live with the sponsors of 75% of the room. Oh and by the way, I’ve divided up the process into 10 subsequent posts that I’m going to share over the course of two weeks but the bathroom actually took 7 months to plan and execute.” That doesn’t really feel like “real life” to me.
I think maybe there’s some fatigue because the one room challenge just wrapped up? And while some of those rooms really changed from week 5 to reveal day, a bunch of others didn’t.
Also, I don’t think this is a new thing. Young House Love always did their rooms this way - and they stopped their daily blogging literally years ago now.
(The worst of the hybrids are the ones that plan out their posts in advance then show everything in instastories and then weeks later show the progress photos. Like. This doesn’t feel like new content. You showed this to me weeks ago...)
Long time reader here. I actually prefer the step by step process of a renovation. I like it in real time, so it’s not edited because of a last minute problem/change. That’s life. I do not like before/afters - except for inspiration photos when I’m gathering ideas for my own space. For blogs/insta, I want AUTHENTIC/real-time, good/bad/ugly. This might mean that I don’t read the whole post word for word, but if I’m gearing up for a bathroom remodel, I definitely would!!!
Agree with Elaine!
When I voted in Chris Loves Julia’s insta story, I voted opposite of this opinion. But after coming to read specifically what was written I see the point. Originally, I thought you were saying please don’t post at all until the reveal but I think we’d see the benefit in a healthy medium. BUT I feel like the blog accomplishes that! If you prefer just a few check ins then just skip the progress updates on instagram and if you prefer to see ALL the progress that’s where insta stories come in handy! Just my two cents. ????
While I understand your pinion Abby, I have to disagree. I actually don't follow Chris loves Julia on Instagram (or Emily Henderson for that matter) but am am avid blog reader. I don't want the daily updates so I don't subscribe to them. BUT, I love seeing how things come together in stages so I am actually always really excited for the full room reveals because I think Chris and Julia (and other bloggers) do a great job of showing snippets of rooms on their progress posts and I get to see how it all comes together in the end reveal post. Just my 2 cents on how you can choose how you receive their information
Julia and Chris ask readers for their opinions along the way AS they make design choices sometimes. I feel connected to the process in a way that I wouldn't with a before and after ta-da post.
Looks incredible! Do you mind sharing mirror measurements and how you decided on them! Im torn between sizes and spacing
The mirrors are 24x36. We really wanted to bring in some warmth with wood and the door into the bathroom is going to walnut, too so it was an easy winner!
Looks amazing! How deep is your vanity? I am going for a similar look but need a very narrow vanity.
21" with a 3/4" overhang.
What kind of drain plug or stopper do you have? I just noticed your sinks don't include the traditional pull-up stopper thing.
We'll use a push one.
I love the look of the undermount sinks! I greatly prefer that look over a basin sink. The black cabinets with those shiny pulls are absolutely amazing, as are the mirrors!
That quartz is really pretty and the mixed metal looks great. :) Can't wait to see more progress this week!
http://www.liveloveblu.com
Looks great. We have had two undermount sinks FALL OFF when they were installed without support. Others (I think it’s too late for your project) should look at using some type of sink harness as support.
We just had an undermount sink fall with this same support structure. Apparently, it's a very common problem. After consulting with granite fabricators, I learned that short of drilling anchors into the quartz (which can only be done if the surface is more than 1.5" thick) this is the standard installation process.
There are a few different harness sytems available as well as alternative installation methods that prevent the problem. Anyone having undermount sinks installed should INSIST one is used. Do not believe them when they say: this is what we always do, blah blah blah, don’t worry, it won’t fall. It’s a disaster trying to jerry-rig a solution “after the fall.”
We bought a lakehouse where the undermount sink had detached from the counter.... I can't recall exactly what they did to fix it, but I remember it being more involved than I was expecting. I'll have to look next time I'm up there.
TL;DR: Make sure your install guys know what they're doing. Then get a second opinion.