Bathroom

The report was that the bathrooms were done. When we got the pictures, we decided that we weren’t quite there yet in the upstairs bathroom.

Master Bathroom

Here, I think we are all done. All fixtures, cabinetry, tiling, and lighting have been installed.

Master Bath Vanity and Mirror
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Master Bath Shower
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Downstairs Bathroom

With the exception of the decorative vanity that Johnny is working on, we’re done here, too.

Downstairs Bath Vanity Location
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Downstairs Bath Shower Head
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Upstairs Bathroom

Anne took one look at the pictures below and said, “I don’t like it. The sink is too big and it sits up too high and sticks out to far forward.”

We decided that this was caused by the width of the room and the placement of the shower and door. We were left with space for only a shallow vanity, so the sink we chose is too big and the wrong shape. We had never seen a complete drawing of this unit from the side, where the problem is apparent. We’d only seen straight-on views.

Anne immediately wrote to Kevin and sent him some other sink ideas. Kevin and Angelo will make an adjustment.

Upstairs Bath Looking Into Hall
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Upstairs Bath Vanity and Sink
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UPDATE

Here’s the new sink for the upstairs bathroom… much better!

Source:
All images: Copyright © Our Big Italian Adventure

Ground Floor Bathroom Vanity We Decide to Go For Something a Little Unique

Ed Building a House, Designing a House February 20, 2018March 31, 2018Bathroom, Design details

For the ground floor bathroom, Anne wants to use an old piece of furniture as the vanity, rather than having something built in. We had tried looking for such a piece on our July trip, but found that older furniture is not that easy to buy in Italy. There isn’t the number of antiques stores or markets that there is here.

We could keep looking on future trips, or we might be able to have something built just for us. Anne sent along some ideas to Johnny, the carpenter who is building our shelving and some custom doors, so we could explore what we might be able to get.

Johnny sent us three ideas.

Beech Cabinet

This would be a very simple, mostly open, cabinet made of new wood that the sink would sit on top of. Neither Anne nor I liked this one.

Something Using Some Old Oak

old oak slabs — Very Old Oak Boards
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Johnny has found some very old oak planks. I say “something” because there are two ways to use them: build a cabinet like the one above, or have just “floating” wooden shelves attached to the wall, with the sink on the top one.

We both liked the wood, but neither of the executions.

Reworking an Old Walnut Piece

vintage walnut cabinet — Vintage Walnut Piece Found by Johnny

This is really what we’ve been looking for from the beginning. Johnny found this old cabinet, probably French, he thinks, and proposed a way to rework it into a base unit with a framed mirror above. The sink would be slightly sunken into the top to get it to the right height.

This all looked very good, except for the use of the top decorative piece as the top of the mirror. It seemed to be a bit too heavy.

Drawing of Existing Walnut Cabinet
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Drawing of Reworked Walnut Cabinet
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This one is our choice for the vanity.

However, we don’t want to walk away completely from either the decorative top or the old oak boards. We may find a place for the top, and we’re going to talk to Johnny about building a desk or a table out of the oak planks.

Update:

Here’s how it turned out. We think Johnny did a great job. What do you think?

Source:
All images: Copyright © Our Big Italian Adventure

Bathroom and Kitchen Installation Moving Along And Lots of Other Progress Inside

Ed Building a House February 10, 2018Bathroom, Interior, Kitchen

We have a bunch of pictures today showing progress inside the house.

Bathrooms

It looks like the bathrooms are nearly complete. Fixtures are installed and the windows complete.

Upstairs Bath Nearly Complete
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Master Bath Window with Shutters
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Kitchen

Kitchen installation has begun, with a number of cabinets in place. I’m impressed with the installers’ lab coats.

Lighting and Fans

Many of the lights have been put in place prior to final installation.

Working on Lighting and Electrical
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Fireplace

In the background of one picture showing work in the main room. you can see that the fireplace has yet to be built. All that is installed is the exhaust tube. But we did get a picture of the piece of old wood that will be used for the mantel.

Old Beam for Mantel
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Source:
All images: Copyright © Our Big Italian Adventure

Master Bathroom Countertop Trying to Choose a Stone Slab

Ed Designing a House November 21, 2017June 15, 2020Bathroom, Design details

Earlier this week, Kevin sent us a photo of the marble slab Angelo had picked for the master bedroom countertop.

Original Proposed Slab
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Anne was concerned about the diagonal vein running up toward the left, and we wondered just where the sink would placed and whether it would serve to interrupt the seam enough that it wouldn’t be too apparent.

Kevin came back with an alternative slab picked by Angelo. In his comments, he noted that this slab was VERY big.

Second Option for Slab
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Now, this picture shows even a bigger vein. But it also is a totally different color cast than the first. So can we rely on pictures to make this decision, Anne wondered. When we redid our kitchen here a few years ago, we went to a stone yard and looked at potential slabs. Even then, it was hard to make a choice.

I was unclear on just how either of these slabs would work. I needed to understand how the countertop would be cut out of the slab and where the sink would sit, so I sent Kevin a couple of drawings to indicate the impression I was getting.

Guess of Slab Cutout
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Second Option with Guess about Placement
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Kevin and Angelo responded with a third option, saying it was the best they could do. It shows where the sink will set and what veins will show.

Third Slab Option
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We’re going with this one.

Source:
Tile images: Copyright © Our Big Italian Adventure

Starting Another Round of Earthmoving Plus Some Interior and Roof Work

Ed Building a House, Designing a House September 9, 2017Bathroom, Exterior, Heating and cooling, Interior, Roof

I can’t say earthmoving is my favorite topic, but I’d bet it’s the one I’ve written most about, given that it’s caused a lot of headaches and expenses.

In the post Positioning the House from November 7, 2016, describing our decision on house placement within the property — in retrospect, the cause of all the rest.
In Excavation Begins from November 29, 2016, with pictures of some initial earthmoving.
In Lots of Earth to Move and Add from March 29, 2017, showing grading work around the house.
In Extending the Land Terraces from March 31, 2017, with pictures showing some of the grading behind the house down toward the pool.
In Working to Tame the Hillside from April 3, 2017, where Kevin lays out the situation and offers some ideas. Here’s when the problem became clear.
In A House in a Hole? from April 7, 2017, showing and describing the sense of the house disappearing behind the earth piled in front up the hill.
In Buying More Land? from May 12, 2017, talking about how additional land might help solve the problems.
In Oh, My! The Slope is Steep in Front! from May 28, 2017, showing pictures of the situation in front of the house.
In Oh, My! The Slope is Steep in Back! from May 29, 2017, describing the problem behind the house and possible solutions.
In A Proposal to Address the Slope in Front from June 18, 2017, showing Alessandra’s design for the uphill side and access down the driveway.
In Land Slope Redux from July 20, 2017, recapping our on site visit to discuss the method for earth stabilization and an alternative idea for car parking placement.

Again, we’ve started to move earth to work on reshaping the slope, for better access from up the hill, for appearance as you approach the house, and for functionality and pool access on the downhill side. I hope this time we’ll get to something workable. Whatever happens, it’s probably the best we can do without more land.