Bidding the Bathroom Blahs Bye-Bye

As with every large purchase decision in life, there are many factors that should be considered. Take for instance the purchase of a new home build, with so many available options and upgrades, the decisions can be overwhelming. We all want the model home look without the model home price. The good news is, there are several ways that you can do this, but you have to be well prepared and patient.

As we embark upon this next DesignerDIY series, I am going to share the transformation of my main bath with you. Even though I have been living in my new home for 9 months now, the planning for this project started before the builder even broke ground. As much as I would have loved to include every possible upgrade imaginable at the time of the build, there are 2 reasons I refrained from doing so. Obviously cost was one of them, however, more important than the price ticket was the fact that I’ve yet to even see this space let alone experience it.

Since there were certain items that had to be selected at the time of the build, I sat down with the builder options catalogue and made a list comprised of must haves and nice to haves, summed the total and pruned the list accordingly. When I was finished, I was left with a series of DIY post build projects…and that was exciting.

One of my main goals with this purchase was to achieve a model home finish with level one selections on the main floor and incorporate the remaining upgrades over time. A combination of timing, negotiation tactics and builder promotions made this goal very attainable. We will talk more about that though on August 29th, 2014 on Daytime Ottawa (Channel 22), so be sure to tune in then. Following which will be the much anticipated September/October issue of Ottawa Life Magazine which will further elaborate on these key concepts in my article, The Devil is in the Details.

So here we are almost 9 months to the day following my new home occupancy, a few of the DIY projects scratched of the list and just as the stars align, Emerald Tile and Marble launches their 3 day warehouse sale. It was a sign, it is time for my next DesignerDIY project – Bidding the Bathroom Blahs Bye-Bye. Upon arrival, we were greeted by quite possibly the friendliest, most sincere and willing to help individual one could ever ask for. Lisa is one of Emerald Tile and Marble’s managers that often works behind the scenes but loves participating in these sales so that she can interact with all of the customers – and boy could you ever tell. She was extremely knowledgable and a pleasure to deal with, and not to mention had a great sense of humour!

Lisa explained everything in great detail, made several suggestions and was even patient enough to wait while I snapped pictures of my favourites. Lisa also had no idea who I was until we were wrapping up the sale and I asked for her picture and permission to post my experience on my blog. At which point my feverish documentation and plethora of questions throughout the selection process now all made perfect sense to her! 😉

Now, I simply cannot wait to install my Cafe Imperial granite counter in the main bath, best get going and find the perfect vanity and vessel sink to complete my new look.

Creatively yours,

Brandelyn

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