Several years ago, we redid our kitchen (and what a painful experience that was!). Before we move on, let me remind you, I'm an accountant. I have no imagination. It's not required for what I do. Numbers either add up or they don't. I can reconcile your bank account to the penny but ask me to come up with a color scheme for your wedding, your bedroom, your...fill in the blank...and you're taking your chances. I'm the person that walks into 31 Flavors and asks for chocolate.
So the kitchen remodel...the guy was nice but he gave us no direction. Instruction? yes. Direction? no. So we were the blind leading the blind. We were picking things that may or may not have looked okay together. It was painful and expensive and when it was over, the kitchen looked nice but it wasn't "Wow!".
Fast forward a few years and now we're talking bathroom remodel and I just cringed. The pressure of picking something that you're going to have to live with for years and years? Crushing! Picture the cartoon where the kid's head explodes. But it's really time. Our master bathroom is original to the house and it SCREAMS '80's.
We found a guy. He said he loved designing bathrooms and would be happy to help us. Picture me doing the happy dance. Then he says it's going to be some exorbitant price...just for labor. And throw in the fact he's going to do it all himself so it will take months and the happy dance becomes the not so happy dance as we're back to square one.
Then our neighbor recommended this company...The Flooring Shop. Huh? No! We want our bathroom done, not the floors. But The Flooring Shop is like the "Total Wine" of contractors. You look at the name and think all they have is wine but really, there's so much more. These guys are the same. They do all kinds of remodel projects. Still, I'm leery (remember the kitchen).
Sami, the owner of the company, came out to give us a quote. "What do you want to do?" he asks. Fantastic. I have no idea. The poor man couldn't give us a quote unless he had something to base it on and I couldn't tell him what I wanted because I didn't know. Circular error. But then he said, "You know. You could..." The suggestions started flowing and the black clouds disappeared. I could feel a happy dance coming on, but I restrained myself because I didn't want to scare this guy away.
The next weekend we went to his shop so he could help us choose colors...and you know what? He did! He helped us make all kinds of decisions. Then as we're talking, he starts doodling. Well, it looks like doodling to me...(hello? accountant!)
With this little piece of paper, I'm thinking my work here is done. Then the construction starts.
Day 1 - Sergio, the painter, comes to ask me what color the bathroom is going to be. "Gray," I say and I show him the photo I took of our tile choice. "No, no," he says. "The walls. What color are you going to paint the walls?" Uh-oh. I don't recall discussing walls. So, I say, "uh...white?" Sergio give me a look that says, nice try, sister. "I need to know what shade of white." The blank look on my face tells him all he needs to know...which is that I have no idea. "Text me with the color," he says. "And I need the number of the color." I smile as he walks away and then I start to stress.
Luckily, I have internet...and a sister who has opinions. So I look up the paint store and start looking at various shades of white. Do you have any idea how many shades of white paint there are? After a bit of back and forth with my sister, I finally decide on a shade that has a hint of gray and proudly text the paint number to Sergio. Alrighty then.
Day 2 - the plumbers, Gerald and Ralph show up and they have questions. Now I start to panic for real. I'm not good at decisions. I thought all the decisions all been made. I stopped listening after Sami drew the picture. If I'd known there was going to be a test...
Gerald and Ralph calmed me down and walked me through what I needed to decide. After that, they would tease me. "You got a second?" Ralph would ask. "I'm going to warn you, you'll need to make a decision." These guys were like a Vaudeville team. They were so friendly and patient with me.
Meanwhile, I'd texted Sami about a hundred times and the poor guy was probably rolling his eyes wondering why he agreed to do this project. But, you know what? He answered every time with great patience.
But that's when it hit me. I was one of those clients that annoy the crap out of me! I have clients that can't make a move without calling me wanting to have a thirty minute discussion about whether to check a box and now I've devolved into that client. Not good. I took a deep breath, marched back into the bathroom and answered their questions. I felt pretty silly afterwards.
Day 3 - Tile. Miguel was our "tile guy". He was amazing. He did these designs for our floor and shower that were gorgeous. Plus, he had no decisions for me to make. (Happy dance!)
By the time Sami sent us to pick granite, I was all over it. We'll take that granite, those sinks and the corners should look like this. In and out of that place in thirty minutes. What else you wanna know?
You're probably wondering...Where was John? Right there with me. When I wasn't sure what the answer was, we'd Facetime.
Tom, the other owner of the company, was equally as helpful and patient. We'd text with a question and Tom was right there with a response. At the end of the project, there were a handful of things left to be done: Hang the towel bars, install the light fixtures, etc. Tom and Sami did that work themselves. The two of them had us laughing as we were planning where we wanted to hang things.
Between Sami, Tom and their crew of professionals, we had a bathroom. At the end of every day, Sami or Tom would text us and tell us who to expect the next day and what was going to happen. Then one or both of them would stop by to check out the progress and make sure everything was going according to the plan. ALL of the guys were wonderful.
This is what it looked before. Those clam shell sinks...good grief! And the carpet! Don't get me started on the wallpaper. That was only temporary...ten years ago!
This tub is pretty nasty and dated. I always thought it looked dingy. That wall mirror was pretty bad as well.
You can't see it too well behind the bathroom door but we now have a pocket door. That was my contribution to the design effort.
My "white paint with a hint of gray" turned out gray but it looks really good.
Sami and Tom were awesome. They and their crew showed up when they said they would (what a concept!), did a wonderful job and were all really great to work with. The only negative of the whole experience is that now, compared to our bathroom, the rest of our house looks...like it needs to be redone.
