I Refuse to Live in a Man Cave

I am drawing a line in the sand!  I refuse to live in a Man Cave!  Men without a good sense of design and decorating should never re-do a house.  I mean, come on.  We have all seen it.  You know you have.  Don't deny this one in the defense of those few guys you know who are decorating geniuses.  Don't get me wrong.  I know women who are equally challenged.  But in an abundance of caution, they usually don't make the devastating decisions that a Man Cave Guy will make when renovating a home.  Those mistakes are manly to the point of ugly.  Are they beating on their manly chests as they select finishes for a renovation?  I mean, a home isn't a college fraternity house....is it?  Okay okay....I can hear you all now calling me a man hater. It's not the men I hate, it's the bad design I hate.  So, if you are not feeling me right now,  great!  Someone has to live in a cave.  Rather it be you than me..... 

Oh, the money that is spent to no avail.   I have seen way too many of these mishaps.  They all have the same things in common, mismatched appliances, ugly counter tops and floors made from poorly planned materials.  They usually also look.....manly.  When I met my husband, he had just bought a neat little two bedroom home in a nice neighborhood.  But, I came on the scene too late.  He had already had a 'friend' put down a white tile floor throughout the entire house.  Sounds nice at first, until I tell you that it was the cheapest 10 x 10 inch white tile ever. It had huge grout marks like the image to the right.  The grout took on a dirty look almost immediately.  Well......within 18 months, there was a row of tiles lifting from the floor in the kitchen.  There were countless cracks throughout the house and the floor was impossible to keep clean looking.  Nothing that a nice rug won't cover. Right?!  NO!  Bad design is bad design. Cheap is cheap.  Man Cave inspired decisions are just so much more....uh.....shall be say.....'Man Cavy.'   Good thing I came around.  He is great at a lot of things, but he leaves the design work to me.  (It's a good arrangement.)

Enter......my current master bathroom completely re-done by Mr. Macho, Man Cave Dude. (The previous owner. Not my hubby.)   Yikes!  Mr. Macho Man Cave obviously spent some money because these are granite tiles.  But come on people. What was he thinking?!


This is only hours after cleaning. 
See those water spots?! Ugg.

Have you ever spent 6 years with shiny black granite flooring in a bathroom that is used everyday?  Every drip spot screams from below, "Hello!  Here I am right here making you look like a messy housekeeper!"  The rule of thumb for this bath has been:  First foot through the door after cleaning gets first dibs on leaving a print for the next one to join.   This might seem trivial to you, but I welcome you to come live here for a month.  I promise, YOU will be ripping this floor out with your bare hands!  Oh!  Did I mention that the counter tops AND sinks are black too??  They show everything too.  Oh, the joys.

Looking back, I anticipated a problem with this bath.  It had that 'Man Cavy' design sense.  There was no hiding it.  So, when we placed a bid to buy this home I said to my hubby, "If we get this house, the first project is that master bath.  It has to go!"  He agreed.  (He has agreed with most of my thoughts in this category since the white tile incident.)  So first thing.....we did nothing.  I painted the room in a set of colors that I took off a Martha Stewart color family swatch and did my best to make it work.  After almost 7 years.....it's still there!  (I am stopping now and calculating the amount of spots I have cleaned up in vain.)

But the time has come to address this issue.  I have spent months researching the possibilities.  I have combed magazines, books, and surfed idea pages online.  I have walked countless bath design and tile centers. Professionals have come out.  All of them want me to gut the bathroom completely.  But, the quotes that I have received would give most people a heart attack.  In this current real estate market, I cannot justify that cost.  So I have settled on a plan.  There are some things that must happen to make this hospitable.  It's me, or the bathroom!  I pick me.

The plan:

Keep big ticket items like the spa tub, white toilet and bidet, shower walls, faucets and cabinetry interiors in the current locations.

1.  Replace the floors, the counter tops and sinks.
2.  Resurface the cabinet doors.
3.  Add a bead board/wainscoting to the walls in the same style as the re-surfaced cabinets.
4.  Add a decorative element in the window over the spa that will allow in light, without sacrificing privacy.
5.  Re-paint the walls a neutral shade to tie the adjacent master bedroom and the bath together.

-BEFORE IMAGES-



Keep this spa in it's current place.



Re-surface the cabinet doors to fit my style.



Keep the shower as is.  It has a steamer inside
and suits us just fine.  Needs a few repairs.



I will be placing a decorative element
in this window that will allow the light in
but provide privacy from nosey neighbors.
I have an idea of what this will be,
but want to save that for a later post.

 I will be doing this project at the same time as a re-decorate our my master bedroom.  I will update you as things develop.  I am sure there will be stories. Until then, can I get a "Bye bye floors from the crowd?!"

-The End-