hardware for the girls bath (and a first look)

there are SO many areas in my new house where i want to focus my attention, but i am having a really hard time selecting one (or three) to focus on. (i have design ADD. there. i have admitted it.)

my budget is telling me to start with the spaces that need the least amount of $TUFF. that is why i will probably focus on the bathrooms first.
because bathrooms don't need sofas.
or built-ins. or a fireplace. (unless you are a sultan or an oil tycoon)

the "girls" bathroom is upstairs and has two sinks, and a separate shower/toilet area. when we first started construction, we were not planning on finishing the other bathroom upstairs. once we decided to  finish the second bathroom , we decided that this bathroom would be the "girls bathroom", and the smaller bathroom would be my son grady's bathroom.

i want this bathroom to have a slightly feminine feel, but still have clean lines and some interesting texture. i opted for a simple, shaker style vanity, which has been painted  benjamin moore's"gentlemans gray", a deep rich blue. (you can see more info on that here)
there are still a lot of things to do, but here is a look at it, as well as some notes on what needs to get done:

i want to install a mirror above the counter that goes all the way to the ceiling, and then layer two decorative mirrors on top of it.
i have two of the mirrors that are sitting on the counter, but i think i will be going in another direction...maybe something like this? i have ALWAYS loved venetian style mirrors...

maybe? if i can find some that aren't insanely out of my budget.


here is another shot of the room--looking towards the hall. it is kind of hard to see the blue-ness of the vanity right now, but once the mirror goes in and i change out the lightbulbs (i think they are 25watt bulbs right now), it will help a lot. the sconces are from restoration hardware (the evans sconces, now discontinued), and were purchased on ebay.

the granite was just something that my granite guy had on hand. i think it is called kasmir white.

a look at the floor, which i am THRILLED with!
it was a bit of a splurge, but totally worth it. it is so pretty and unique and really slip-resitant!
you can read more about my tile selections here.

the light fixture in the shower area is a vintage lantern that i had rewired:

i want to carry out the theme of the brushed/aged brass with the hardware. i knew that i wanted ONE large knob in the middle of each cabinet door, and pulls on the sink. something like this:

i knew that in order to find what i wanted, i would have to look on ebay.

after a few weeks of searching, (and losing an auction on some a-freaking-mazing brass flower pulls *which almost made me want to cry*) i managed to find a winner:

these babies are vintage and HEAVY. i swear they weigh 2 pounds each! according to the seller, they were originally used for an electrolux appliance in the 60's...they really don't make em like they used to, eh?
they have some type of lacquer coating on them, which i may or may not try to remove...right now, i am leaning towards NOT removing it. because i am lazy. and the finish doesn't bother me all that much.

onto the drawers:
after an exhaustive search, i narrowed down the search to two pulls for the drawer:

option 1:

Richelieu Hardware - Modern Expression - 4" Centers Rectangular Pull in Brass

(funny. since i ordered these, they are now almost impossible to find online...in fact, this is the best image i could find online.)

option 2:
Hexagonal Cut Crystal Handle With Solid Brass Bases

i actually ordered option 1--the richieu pulls (trying to cut costs), and when they arrived, i was really disappointed.
they looked cheap, felt cheap, and the finish was uneven and not at all like the pictures:

yuck. (not even CLOSE  to what the pictures showed!)

so, i went with option 2:
after 6 weeks of being backordered, they arrived late last week...and they are GORGEOUS!

they are heavy, well made and just plain yummy!

hopefully, we will get them installed this weekend!