Kohler Showroom

We went to the Kohler showroom in Burlington (1150 Corporate Drive) on Saturday and did more research since we like the clean designs. It was a small showroom but the lady that worked there (Jeanette) was nice and helpful. It wasn't like some of the other places we've seen... Since they don't work on commission there was no pressure.

There was a nice sink and toilet in "biscuit" which is a cream colour that looks nice with polished nickel. Jeanette mentioned that white goes best with chrome, otherwise it can be distracting. Unfortunately, she didn't have samples for the 2 vanities we liked but we had seen one previously at a showroom on Bay St in Toronto (cherry wood finish).

After pricing out all the materials, for one bathroom we were looking at between $5000 and $7000. Contractor #1 mentioned to put budget against fixtures (such as faucets) and the vanity that are viewed first. He suggested saving money on the toilet... which is not a bad idea.

The other tip that we seem to hear all the time is to not put in a tub. Jeanette reinforced that most people do not take tub baths and that especially in a condo a walk-in shower would be preferred. We are concerned with resale value and wonder what would be better?

Dream Bathroom Stats

We went back to our dream bathroom #1 and learned that it was made up of mainly Kohler products including the sink, faucets, vanity and toilet. The knobs were wood but switched out for a chrome square knob. The taps carried the square theme as well as the toilet roll and towel bar. Our next plan is to go to Burlington and visit the 5000 square foot Kohler showroom and along the way drop into Home Depot and Rona to check out tiles. We also confirmed that the countertop was quartz (ceasarstone) and it was in Lagos blue. We both really liked the clean lines and contemporary look of Kohler. Unlike some vanities that we checked out at some big box stores that come pre-made, we liked the simplicity and natural wood.

Saturday Learnings

We visited CIOT (Lawrence & Dufferin) and found some nice tiles. Our favourite was a faux-slate (porcelain) in a charcoal grey at $4.50/sf. It's Corek 12x01P which is a 12x12 porcelain tile. The shower tile we both liked was Luxor beige 13x20 at $5.75/SF (ALFL13200IK). His total would be around $680 for tiles (both floor and wall, excluding labour).

I also liked a beige floor tile but thought it would look too plain to have both beige on the floor and shower. It was 13x13 Pietra orient IMPP13x04P. My total would be $513 for tiles.

We loved the natural stone (marble, slate, etc.) but realized that we're too lazy to continually treat it and care for it. We're happy to have it installed and of course clean it... but treating it is another story.... As we were leaving there was a nice quartz (caesarstone) called Lagos Blue 4350 that he liked.

Next we visited Taps which was adjacent. We saw a nice sliding shower door 60" 3/8 frameless but there was no price. There were a few nice tubs which were around $439 and 60x32x18 which were a bit too narrow for our spaces.

We had a quick lunch at the nearby Wendy's and then head over to Ginger's. This was a nice showroom but way too pricey. He liked the TOTO toilet, soft close seat but it was skirted (too feminine for him) and it had a narrow inside. He liked the Anna Mirror with shelf that was 51"high x 28"wide for $299.96. It had the same wenge wood as his coffee table (BNT5001001). The chocolate brown and grey towels were nice but at $59 were way too expensive. I think the Bay or Sears would have similar towels for about half the cost. Finally, he liked the wall sconses Roderick double sconse (2191019) in polished chrome or polished nickle for $155. I thought this seemed pricey and that we could find it elsewhere for less. If anyone has any ideas, please let us know! He thought they looked like "light sabres" from Star Wars...

Tubs Etobicoke Showroom

Much to our surprise, very few Kitchen + Bath showrooms are open on Sundays! After some online research we found that Tubs was the only one open on Sun July 13th. They had several locations including Mississauga and Etobicoke. Before venturing out, we decided to call to ask which showroom was larger. Upon calling Etobicoke, they confirmed that they were the "mothership" and we should pay them a visit...

Many located north of the city (in Vaughn and Woodbridge) boast showrooms that are ~30,000 square feet. We had been sadly disappointed with the ones around Yorkville that featured (I'm not kidding!) one bathroom vanity and countertop (Davenport & Avenue Road) or three small vanity displays (Avenue Road). It was not worth our time and effort to visit these in person.

Another showroom we visited at Davenport and Woodbine was quite nice but unfortunately they do not do condos. It's best to call ahead of time to inquire about condos and also to request an appointment (some require this and you can't just walk in). Also, it's good to confirm days/times that places are open. We were surprised to learn one excellent tile place is closed Saturdays (due to religious reasons) and tried to combine a few places in the area (Keele and Lawrence).

We arrived at Tubs around 2pm and had until 5pm to look around. I'd recommend bringing paper and a pen since it's almost overwhelming. Each bathroom has a suite number and you can write down your favourites (if you like everything) or just the tile. There are prices for everything. Next, you can sit with an associate and go over your favourites and what you plan.

Before visiting showrooms, it's best to bring with you:

• Your bathroom measurements and a rough diagram/sketch
• Know what you plan to do (total gut job or partial reno)
• Word of mouth - chat with friends, colleagues and family members about work they've had done (and ask for contractor suggestions)
• Online research & magazine research (cut out pictures that you like from magazines) to establish a theme (contemporary, modern, traditional, french country etc)
• Research materials
• Determine a budget

Tubs has most suites featured on their site and links to their Manufacturers. They suggested that it's best to get all your materials and either store them at your place (tough to do in a condo) or they could store them and the contractor can pick them up as needed.

Has anyone been to the other Tubs locations? It may be worthwhile to visit those showrooms as well...

Bathroom Showrooms

On Sat July 12 we spent the day viewing bathroom showrooms in Toronto. We wanted to get some ideas on what we like and don't like. There are so many options to choose from! We need to make decisions about:

• Tiles (floor and wall)
• Wallpaper
• Vanity: Countertop and base, wall mounted or not
• Lighting - spots or track
• Faucet - sink and showerhead
• Tub - jacuzzi or standard
• Sliding glass shower doors or curtain
• Toilet
• Toilet paper holder, towel rack and hooks
• Mirror and medicine cabinet

We visited Binns, an upscale kitchen and bathroom showroom. It was great for design ideas but started at $25,000 + retainer which is out of our price range. They only do a few bathrooms each year.

Next, we went to a few Kitchen + Bathroom showrooms around Yorkville (Davenport & Avenue Rd areas) but they did not have much by way of selection.

Finally, we drove up to Steeles (Markham) where we went to Faucetworks. It's a great bathroom showcase which featured a number of vanities, tubs, faucets and sample bathrooms. My favourite part was the interactive showerhead section where you turn a knob to see the showerhead flow. You can adjust to see all 3 settings and prices are listed. They have wholesale (discounted) prices. We liked the rain showerhead by Moen (3 settings) the best.