I’ve been silent on the bathroom front lately, I know. But I’ve actually been making some progress and (fingers crossed!) will start soon.

Here’s the scoop:

Still out in Colorado (um, almost a month ago), we went shopping. Here’s some of the fun we found:

And this mirror:

Still love the mirror. The vanity is 36 in. wide, and I think staying under 32 in. is going to be best for me. But the rest of the plan has really been coming together.

• There’s going to be a vanity, and it will measure between 30 – 36 in. wide
• The medicine cabinet will feature an oval mirror
• There will be 3 open shelves above the toilet
• The vanity will be dark with a light top, have an open shelf, and (hopefully!) two drawers and a cabinet
• The tiles are (mostly) chosen

So. The good stuff?

That’s the layout the contractor drew for me. Everything has to go on that one long wall, so that’s basically all I needed. The vanity and mirror will match my ideas above, and the shelves aren’t there, but we’ve got the rest of it.

I’m not positive I will go with him yet (but I do like him), but I love the To Do list he gave me.

1. Choose tile (Floor, shower wall, shower floor)
2. Choose vanity
3. Buy shower hardware
4. Buy other hardware (ceiling light with vent fan, vanity light)

I’ve pretty much decided on my tile (it was in the sneak peak that Lesley shared in her post!) and I’ve looked at bunches of vanities (unsuccessfully). I haven’t even thought about lights though.

So here are my big questions that I need to decide before I’m ready to start (in addition to choosing a darn vanity!):

Big Question #1: What to do with the left-most side of the room (right next to where the door opens)?

Minor Question #1: Do I want a ceiling light with a fan (not required, the bathroom has a window)?

Minor Question #2: What goes above the sink? Backsplash? Continue tile?

It also comes down to how much storage I can eke out. My place has only two (?!) real closets, and I would love to put some real storage into the bathroom. But how much does storage balance with other desires?

The rest is mostly aesthetics and minor decisions, so I just need to do some materials choosing and get on with it.

For BQ#1, it’s a space issue. Space is obviously finite and I want to have the biggest shower possible. But biggest measures in two dimensions, and that’s the problem. As in the diagram above, it can go from the door to the edge of the vanity. I made myself a table, but I’m still pretty stuck.

I could also have the shower angle in, so that near the door its 27″ wide and then a foot in it widens. But that might look awkward. And it still leaves me without a ton of storage.

Thoughts? Especially on my Big Question? What do you vote for? And know of any vanities that meet my requirements?

P.S. My birthday was Friday! Look for two fun birthday presents that I’m super excited for, and the birthday present I made my party guests make for me!

P.P.S. Thanks to everyone who expressed concern about the Worst Birthday Ever. My mentee (from school, a 15 year old boy) was shot on Thursday, and I found out the morning of my birthday. His friend was killed in front of him, but he was just shot in the leg. It really scared me and shook me up, but I went to see him in the hospital on Saturday and he will be ok. Hopefully this taught him a lesson.