Amber discussed going to our builder’s plumbing supplier and looking at fixtures.
Here’s the scenario: our budget for plumbing was squeezed along with the whole house budget. The cheapest options available were still over budget which is completely depressing to think about. Since we were going to go over budget, we thought it was time to get creative.
We decided to hit the internet hard. At the old house I had bought some plumbing fixtures for our wet bar from Overstock. I was blown away by the quality. They were actually Kingston Brass though not marketed on the site as such (they’re much more expensive to buy directly from them).
So I went to look at their selection. We wanted brass, but the only ones we could find were way out of budget. The oil rubbed fixture we bought previously read more black than bronze, so we decided to go with them in a sort of “black & brass” scheme (Side Note: I’ve been walking around singing “Black & Brass” to the tune of AC/DC “Back in Black” Lately. Yes, I’m pretty awesome). Above is an inspiration image for color tones we were using. It’s too expensive for us, but definitely gives the feel. White walls, dark metals, brass tones, mixed in with marble, wood tones, maybe cement tones, etc. We’ve got a couple of tricks up our sleeves yet.
Here are the fixtures we went with for the bathrooms:
1 – Faucet for the Master Bath (2 x $179.99) 2 – Shower heads for walk-in shower in master (2 x $167.99) 3 – Shower handles and valves for walk-in shower in master (2 x $189.99) 4 – Shower and Bath combination for kids’ bath (1 x $229.99) 5 – Faucet for kids jack and jill and half bath (3 x $89.99)
We paid for all of this out of pocket which means the remainder of our plumbing budget from the building bid can be moved towards other overages (not like we’re short on those). It was definitely over the allocated plumbing budget from the bid but cheaper than using our builders’ supplier. Plus the total amount is already paid for, and the quality is much better than anything else at this price point.
When we handed over the fixtures to our plumber, he told us that he knew they were “the good stuff” by the weight of them. They’re solid brass, so very heavy. He was pretty blown away by the price…”what was that website again?” he asked as we were leaving. Score.
Stylistically speaking, the faucets are a lot more traditional than we would like, but not necessarily overboard. At this point, if we keep the rest of the room pretty modern with some industrial touches, I think it will keep it from being too boring. The shower heads for the master shower are amazing though. I couldn’t love them more. Style-wise they’re on the money. The kids shower head is pretty neutral. Amber doesn’t care for the size of the shower head or the bath spout, but I think it will be a good fit for the space.
So there it is, faucet crisis solved. We got some great stuff at reasonable prices, now we just have to come up with a design for the rest of the space that achieves the look we’re going for. But hey that’s the fun part, right?
PS. While we’re talking about Bathrooms, Go check out the bathroom reveal our friend Michelle at Decor and the Dog just did. It’s crazy good!
A small typo in the title, pumbing choices haha!
Ah! Apparently we need to start proofreading our titles too! 😉 Thanks for the heads up!
I’m digging the black and brass. A lot. You all make good life decisions.
And you’re making me wish I knew anything about home decor and the interwebs when we built. Oh, the things I’d do differently. So, good news. If you don’t like something you pick out now, you can always rip it out 5 years later like me.
Thanks for the link love!
We will probably be doing the same thing in 5 years. You get tired of stuff and want to change it! Nick is just really good at the internet. His research skillz are a force to be reckoned with. Also pinterest has really helped us nail down what we want. If we are every on the fence about something, we search for the closest image to our vision as possible. Our builder and cabinet guy are probably so sick of pinterest links.
You’re bathroom looks amazing seriously! We had to share!
BLACK AND BRASS! Heck yeah! Such a classy combo. I’m glad you scored some solid plumbing accessories. It sounds like a shining moment between you and the contractor.
Only slightly I continue to annoy him daily. I’m glad he’s too nice to say anything to me. The next bathroom thing was a real big deal. So if we redeemed ourselves at all over the accessories, we shattered everything the next day. I only have the pregnancy thing to cite for my craziness for a tad longer.
“Black & Brass” is going to be stuck in my head all day now. Thanks Wills. Wills’? Anyway, I love the fixtures you chose! Happy you got to pick something you really love instead of settling for the builder’s choices!
Haha sorry about that. I had “Party All the Time” stuck in my head yesterday thanks to Nick. I was just glad that we found something better and cheaper than our builder options.
I love the black and brass fixture. And I’m a huge fan of Overstock. I have bought several bathroom and kitchen fixtures from them myself.
They are great for that type of stuff. I’m glad Nick remembered how great our wet bar faucet from them was!
Those look great! Overstock for the win, once again!
Yes! And we have a ton of O credit to use towards I’m sure more house stuff!
Brass. Is. The. Best. Ever. No but seriously. Ever.
I know! I wish there were more reasonable options out there! It’s either crazy expensive or shiny 80s crap!
I am completely drawn to that shower head. I am looking for all of these things for our bath reno as well. We already did brushed nickel in our house, so we will continue that, but I am going to pair brushed nickel with brass and see how I like it. I think it will be just amazing with this black as well. I have my eye on a single hole faucet that goes with this series for our sinks. Did you pick sinks yet? I want to find something really inexpensive there and I want square rimmed sinks. I might go IKEA for those… don’t know yet.
We ordered our sinks from the builder’s vendor. They are rectangular. We needed something that could be undermount which is why we didn’t go the IKEA route there. IKEA did have great drop in options at incredible prices though. Our shower heads are similar to your bathroom model right? Except the finish.