be our guest, be our guest

To me, there is nothing better than going to stay at a friend or family member's home and feeling welcome. Not like an imposition or an inconvenience, but like a treasured visitor. That is what I want guests in our new home to experience. Living away from family and friends has made me realize that I am passionate about making those who travel all the way to Texas feel welcome, loved and a little pampered.

Working with the Design Center on our bathrooms proved to be one of the most challenging projects I faced. First, they didn't have any tile options smaller than 12 x12 inches. Second, they did not carry a single tile in white. I am just as confused as you are. To me a bathroom should be clean and bright and that was going to be impossible to achieve given the builder's design options....so I had to think outside the box.

I did a little research and found out that tile can actually be laid on top of vinyl flooring. This was the default option at the design center so I went with it, since the last thing I wanted to do was pay twice for flooring. I then spoke with my contractor and he graciously agreed to give me the name and number of his tile man. He will already be on site working in other areas of our house so he was able to reduce his travel and labor costs and had experience laying tile over vinyl. Jackpot.

A few other elements that we have added to the guest bath to make it extra lux include:

Mirrors: Straight from the home improvement mecca, these Diviana Mirrors from Home Depot run only $60 and will replace the sheet mirror that is initially installed. A huge design bang for our buck.

Towels: There are so many "luxury" towels on the market today, it's very difficult to know which ones are worth the extra money. To make my selection I asked a few of my Mom's interior design friends for recommendations and was shocked their vote was unanimous: Macy's Hotel Collection. I immediately scooped up two sets in Platinum during the Friends and Family event and the moment they arrived at my doorstep I was in love. Talk about plush. They aren't cheap but to me it's worth spending a bit more on something you plan to use everyday.

Tile: Once again, Home Depot pulls through with a very reasonable price on Hexagon Merola floor tile. In my dreams this bathroom is covered head to toe in Carrera Marble but that just wasn't realistic for our budget so I had to come up with a feasible alternative.

Accessories: I don't like a bathroom to be too cluttered with "stuff." A few accessories like a perfume tray, Jo Malone Candle and Perfume, Mint Julep Cups and some fresh flowers are as far as I'll go. I am also crazy about organization so I will use this Pottery Barn basket to store extra towels.

Faucets: This is the one area we chose to upgrade through the builder. Having chrome faucets will simply make the space look clean and classic.

Hardware: Since our home doesn't come with any kind of cabinet hardware I was on the hunt for an affordable, classic knob that would match our chrome accents. Home Depot was the winner yet again and for under $5 I found these rope-edged winners.

Now, who wants to be our first guest?