Beach House | Learning Experience

Last weekend we met our new neighbor at the beach, his home was built by the same builder as ours and we’ve patiently watched his home go up over the last year (even walked through it last fall before he moved in). We got to talking about things we would do different or change… he didn’t have too many things, but we did… well, I did.

I hate confrontation, and most of my gripes are due to the fact I didn’t speak up… and some are because we were 4 hours away and couldn’t have eyes on the house at all times to catch things. Nothing that I would change would make a difference in how our house functions, it’s all aesthetic (but lets face it, when you work your butt off to have what you want… you want what you want!)

1. The Master Bath. I kinda felt like the master bath was my little oasis to design, but it just didn’t come out as perfect as it did on paper. When we went to the plumber to pick out baths & faucets there was ONE option for a claw-foot tub… and it was in a catalog, not on the showroom floor. I felt backed into a corner, but I didn’t fight it. I approved it. I hate that tub. It’s tiny. It WILL get replaced at some point with a tub in which I can actually stretch my legs out straight.

My other issue with our bath… is the shower…. oh there are so many things wrong with that shower. The tile job sucks (I’ll leave it at that and no go into detail). The shower is actually supposed to have a 1/2 wall on the side facing the toilet, but that got overlooked. I saw this in the framing process, but assumed it just wasn’t done being framed… wrong. I thought the shower was going to have frame-less glass… nope. That stupid silver trim stares me in the face. The shower wall is supposed to have a built in shelf for shampoo, soap, etc. but that didn’t happen either. 2. The Kitchen Island. I love the layout of our kitchen, it functions really well and has tons of counter space…. however, I wish the island was a little wider (meaning the overhang where the bar-stools are would be deeper). I also wish there were built ends that spanned the width of the island (like this… see how the stools are tucked in ). I’m sure it doesn’t help that the stools are extra deep! I feel like when you sit mid-island in one of the 2 middle stools your plate is way too close to the cook-top and little ones might easily get burned.

***As an aside, I often see designer kitchens with the sink in the island… which I purposefully did not do… I’d much rather cook and chat with people sitting at the island, than have my back to them if the cook-top had been where the sink is!

ps: if you missed it on instagram… I painted the island navy!!

So… my advice if you are building or remodeling… do all you can to check in on progress, ask questions if something doesn’t look right and know exactly what you’re getting (and send it back if you don’t love it!)

Anyone want to buy a gently used claw-foot tub? Pick up only 😉