Holiday Motivation

Holidays in The Villages are wonderful if your family will make the trip! So, often there is a great exodus before Thanksgiving so that the holidays can be enjoyed, “Back Home” with the family and grandchildren. However, for those of you who stay and can entice your family to come south for the holidays it is the most wonderful time of year! The weather is mild, there are so many great things to do around The Villages and if they are lucky, they will get to see the lighting of the trees in the town squares. I cannot believe that it is 28 days until Thanksgiving but if you are having family members visit there is still time to update those guest spaces. Let’s get motivated by taking a peek into the guest bath of a Lantana model that is updated and ready for guests throughout the holidays and beyond somewhere in the heart of The Villages.

  •  Replace vanity
Typically, we would replace the vanity with something custom made but the homeowners found a beautiful vanity online that they fell in love with and that was the inspiration for the guest bathroom. The style of the vanity is traditional doors and drawers, but the vanity has feet so that it looks like a piece of furniture. The vanity arrived in a big crate, and it was ready to install very quickly. You can buy any style that you like online. Buying the vanity online was not a money saving thing, because pre-made vanities can be expensive. The homeowners were devoted to finding a vanity that looked like furniture, and I think the results are great. Also, the vanity was purchased without the countertop. The ability to customize the countertop is very important so if you are looking online, I would opt out of the counter that comes with it and have a counter custom made at the time of installation.

  •  Finish carpenter
We relied on the finish carpenter to install the vanity. Once the vanity was installed, we added more molding to the space. We started above the new vanity with a surround made of molding that reflected the molding on the vanity below. The molding above the vanity creates two sides that are set out and will be adorned with two lighted sconces. The molding at the center of the surround sets back creating a nice niche to accept the lighted mirror that was purchased for the space. The molding provides a continuous look from the front of the vanity to the top of the wall. The walls received a molding treatment as well. The large wall on the left was divided in half vertically and in thirds horizontally. Large boxes were made on each half of the wall and then small boxes one third of the wall height were installed below the large boxes. We applied molding to all the walls and the trim carpenter created the boxes in scale with the area that was receiving the treatment. This is something that provides so much visual impact but is inexpensive to add to a space.

  •  Paint
The entire bathroom was painted white. The applied molding added texture, and the white brightened the space considerably. When the walls were painted white it disguised the closet door in the bathroom and the space looked bigger. The molding is what makes the white work. If the walls did not have the texture of the molding, I think just white walls would look flat. All the paint in the bathroom is emerald brand so everything will be scratch resistant and easy to clean.

  •  Quartz countertops
The counter tops are quartz, and it is the same quartz that was installed in the kitchen. The base color is a bright white and there is grey veining running throughout. We installed a six inch back splash behind the sink and the backsplash drops down to four inches in front of the panels created by the finish carpenter. Lately, I have been installing higher backsplashes and not only does it look great, but the backsplash is more effective when it is higher.

  •  Lighting
The side panels created by the finish carpenter were created to accommodate two beautiful Hubbardton Forge lighted wall sconces. We installed two lights in the ceiling above the vanity because we eliminated the overhead light bar that most bathrooms utilize. There is ambient light above the guest using the space and there is light at the face level for the guest.

  •  Lighted mirror
This is the best thing ever! We installed a large lighted mirror, and the light surround adds the perfect lighting for makeup or hair. The different sources of light keeps the space from having shadows. We don’t want any shadows when putting on makeup. The mirror lighting can be set to different temperatures such as cool or warm. The mirror is also fog free so that after a shower you can push a button and the fog will dissipate. These mirrors are surprisingly affordable. They come with frames or without frames and they are easy to hang. The only thing that you need for one of these mirrors to be installed is an outlet behind the mirror, so you do have an electrician prior to the installation.

  •  Shower curtain
The shower curtain is extra tall. This curtain was installed at 90 inches high. The tall curtain also draws the eye upward and helps reinforce the height in the space.

  •  Art
The art above the toilet is very tall. This piece is a great blue heron by Gene Rizzo, and it is stunning when it is oversized. Again, the height of the art works well with the tall curtain and the treatment above the vanity. All the height works to pull the eye upward creating a large feeling in the space. There are two smaller pictures on the left wall, and they add depth and interest. The dark frames in the space look good because they add the warmth into the space, and it looks and feels inviting.

  •  Faucet
The faucet is high function and beautiful. This faucet can be used like a kitchen faucet. The small part at the bottom of the faucet can be pulled out for rinsing the entire sink with the greatest of ease. There should never be a toothpaste blob left in the sink with this feature.

  •  Basket
The basket on the countertop holds rolled up towels. This piece of décor not only looks good and adds warmth, but it is functional as well.

  •  Lantern
The custom lantern on the counter contains a sea fan, and some shells. The piece is great for a bathroom because it is easy to dust.

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Before and After Pics Below