Gold

The New Venetian Gold granite counter top has been installed!

The rectangular sink was the impetus for the rectangle theme on the floor and shower wall.

Bruce Marble & Tile

We've had a very good experience with Bruce Marble & Tile in South Norwalk, CT during our bathroom remodel. Not only do they have a tile and granite selection that is second to none, they are extremely fun people to work with.

We worked quite a bit with Alan. When we first started looking he showed us lots of tile samples and made lots of suggestions. He was great in both sharing knowledge and suggesting more budget friendly options. When we finally picked a tile, Alan exclaimed "That one is FIFTY THOUSAND DOLLARS a square foot!" At first, Valerie and I looked at each other with a blank stare and Alan laughed and gave us the real price much closer to our budget.

A few weeks later, we went to pick out the vanity top. Valerie spied a piece of Esmeralda from across the yard and had to see it. When we inquired about the price, Alan exclaimed "Your wife has very good taste, that slab is FIFTY THOUSAND DOLLARS!" By now we were used to it, and laughed along.

We then went inside and picked an edge for the vanity top. Valerie picked the fancy Ogee edge and Bruce (Alan's Brother) let us in on a secret.

"You know why that call that an Ogee edge? When we tell you the price you say 'Oh Gee...'".

At that point, I interrupted him and said, "Let me guess, FIFTY THOUSAND DOLLARS!"

Bruce Marble & Tile did and excellent job installing the vanity top and they always did what they said they would do. We would not hesitate to use them again.

Checkout their work.

Esmeralda Arrives

The Esmeralda granite counter top and Toto undermount sink have been installed.

Jeff has to work this weekend, so I am not sure when the faucet will be installed.

Waiting for Esmeralda

The granite installer called and said that the Esmeralda counter top has been cut and polished.

They could install immediately, if we were home to let them in.

Unfortunately, due to our schedule, I had to delay the install until next Friday.

I can't wait to see what the vanity will look like. One step closer to complete.

Plumbing

The toilet has been installed.

The shower fixtures and radiator have also been installed.

Grout

The floor and shower have been grouted.

I think they look great!

I would definitely use Ciro ago for tile installation.

Floor

Installation of the bathroom floor has started.

The bathroom is slowly starting to look like a bathroom again.

Shower

The installation of the tile shower has started!

Searching for Esmeralda

A few weeks ago, when we went to purchase the bathroom tile, we saw a piece of green granite (Esmeralda) that we really liked.

We looked at other stores, but did not find anything we liked as much as Esmeralda. So, we went back to Bruce's Marble to order the granite.

Unfortunately, the slab that I loved was already sold. However, the shop had two other slabs of Esmeralda. The one that we selected has a bolder pattern, which Jeff really liked.

The picture shows the granite, cherry wood cabinet and travertine.

Once the tile and cabinetry is installed, the granite installer will come to make the template.

Tile Update

Bruce's called on Monday to say that there was good news - the tile is available and could be delivered in a week!

The bad news was that they pulled a slab of the travertine from the warehouse and the color was different than the original tile sample. Their suggestion was to come and look at the slab, so we would have a better understanding of the color variation.

One characteristic of natural stone, is that no two pieces are alike. This is different than ceramic tile in which all tiles are mirror images of each other. I think the uniqueness of each piece adds to the beauty.

We agreed to look at the slab. As the salesman said - Once you order it, you own it. There is no concept of returns or restocking the tiles!

We went down to see the travertine slab and while the overall color was a little darker, we still liked it. So, the tile has been ordered. Hopefully, it will be in Wilton next week.

While we were there, I saw a beautiful piece of granite, "Esmeralda". I asked the salesman for an estimate for the vanity countertop. He laughed and said "You have great taste, extremely expensive taste." It turns out that I selected one of the most expensive pieces on the lot.

The salesman provided the estimate and my jaw dropped in surprise. I must have looked shocked, because he said the piece is extremely rare and that is why it is costly. He said it came from somewhere in Iran and difficult to access.

Needless to say, we will continue to look elsewhere, but it really was gorgeous.

Tile

This weekend we went tile shopping. We had previously seen travertine that we liked, but we weren't sure we loved it.

On Saturday morning, we set out with one goal in mind - to find floor/shower tile and one accent tile. Luckily, Bruce's Marble and Granite (Norwalk, CT) was our second stop.

Bruce's has a lot of tile to choose from, but more importantly we really liked their employee's attitude. They were happy to help, but were not pushy and were content to let us browse by ourselves.

We found two floor tiles we liked - one travertine and one marble. We then started to look for accent tile. Trying to find an accent was tougher than choosing the tile, there are so many colors and options to choose from.

In the end we decided on the travertine and a glass accent in green and beige (the color in the picture is washed out). We really liked some of the metallic glass tile, but thought this was too trendy and would date itself in a few years.

Bruce's will check with the distributor for delivery estimates. If the wait is too long, we will switch to the marble.