Shopping for Tile
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| Nice, but maybe a little 1950? |
Our
townhouse has two bedrooms, and two and a half baths. Several years ago we did the master bath and
the half bath over. New tile, new
cabinets, shower, floor, mirrors and fixtures.
We are happy with both. Before renovations they were borderline
disgusting. We are left with the guest
bathroom which is not border line, it is genuinely disgusting.
After two
years of squirreling away money we are ready to make the final bathroom as nice
as the others.
Today we
shopped for tile and fixtures. If you
are looking to make your head spin, try and pick out tile patterns for floor,
shower. accent and backsplash. There are
about 20 million possibilities. Truth be
told, I really don’t care that much about what we finally pick, but it makes
Mrs. C happy to think when we make a choice that we are both on the same page.
Actually I
do care a bit, but only because some of the picks Mrs. C considered were so
hideous and or expensive.
Men, what do
you do when your wife chooses a décor that you absolutely hate? I’m am not an expert in many things, but I
have some helpful tips on this topic.
First, never
just say you hate it. Women generally
think that if a man hates anything to do with décor or fashion, that it must
actually be stylish and tasteful. The
exception to this is if a gay man dislikes something, then a woman immediately
assumes the style or décor must be unfashionable. Most women automatically defer to a gay man
when it comes to fashion.
When asked
for my opinion on something that I do not like I draw on my “Say Yes To The
Dress” experience and use gay code language to voice my objections.
EXAMPLE:
What do you think of
this pattern for around the tub?
I hate it! WRONG. She will now want that pattern. Try again.
What do you think of
this pattern for around the tub?
Hmmm, I like it, but do you think it
is a little busy? BINGO. Women hate “Busy.”
Do you like this color?
No! It is way too blue.
WRONG. Get used to blue.
Do you like this color?
I like the color, but it is a little
too kitchen-like. BINGO. No one knows what kitchen-like really means,
but if she uses the color, every time she sees it she will think of that
comment, she will never use that color.
What do you think of
this tile?
It’s nice, but it is kind of
expensive. WRONG…in spades! Now she really wants that tile and she is
pissed off at you because you are cheap.
What do you think of
this tile?
It’s really nice, but I’m not sure
about the texture, and it may be difficult to clean. BINGO. This tile is toast and you are respected for
knowing about texture and even thinking about ease to clean.
They start
on the bathroom soon. The tile,
fixtures and accessories may not be my choice, but they are all at least
acceptable, and nothing is overpriced.
Hell, my
choice would be a floor that looks like a football gridiron and wall tiles with
the interlocking NY Yankee logo.
When it comes to décor, if you want
your way, you must think gay.
We completely remodeled the bathroom a few years ago. I got to pick the wall color and insisted on a toilet that wasn't a big jon. End of story. DH picked the rest of it out all by his little lonesome. I hope he's happy, at least one of us would be then.
ReplyDeleteWe haven't remodeled bathrooms yet so we haven't had to choose tile or flooring, etc., for that matter. When hubby was getting ready to fix his parents' house he inherited, I "let" him choose everything because after all it wasn't technically my house. I have to admit, I'm not color coordinated. I don't have that gene, but hubby is incredibly color coordinated and knows what goes with what, how to make things look the way he wants, etc. When we were redoing the pool earlier in the summer and the contractor came with all the colors, I freely told hubby "pick what you want" because I knew it would come up so much better than what I might choose. And I was right, it did.
ReplyDeletebetty
Woo-Hoo! Do we get to see pictures of the finished bathroom? pleasepleaseplease :)
ReplyDeleteI'm thinking of ripping out the bath and going for a 'wet room'. Fortunately the room is small so white is all I can have. Unfortunately I have no one, gay or otherwise, to consult. Do let us see your pictures when ready!
ReplyDeleteWe have yet to do the bathrooms. Only one has tiles that desperately need replacing and 'he' likes them. I am in the midst of having the kitchen done. We are in France and my son is in charge to see it all comes out right. My husband was given a voice in the choice of tile -- within limits those being various shades of blue. I am happy that his choice was also mine...
ReplyDeleteYou are a very wise man Joe (with a very well developed gay instinct) - I probably should have had you on board when I redid my bathroom then I may not have had so many hammers etc hanging on the walls which are just magnets for dust!
ReplyDeleteSpot on, Joe!
ReplyDeletei think you've broken the code. :)
ReplyDeleteYou are one astute husband.
ReplyDeleteMy husband used to say that decorating the house was up to me, he knew nothing about that stuff. As long as nothing changed and nothing was moved, he was fine with it.
ReplyDeleteYou are a sneaky cranky old guy aren't you? You know we wives have a few tricks up our sleeves as well.
ReplyDeleteDo you like this tile?
No, it's too expensive.
Well, it may be a little pricey but I think it's timeless and won't go out of style and look terrible as quickly as some of these others. I mean, they look good NOW but just give them a couple of years and we'll be thinking of replacing again.
I'm sure if Mrs. C. had wanted the tiles you thought were too expensive they would be sitting in your bathroom waiting to be installed this very minute lol.
Now that I think about it, she may have played me a bit...I'm just not smart enough to figure out how.
DeleteYou can make it though a minefield rather nicely. You do think like you need to think while navigating through what you hate and what you can live with. Most important there isn't an argument either. Well done.
ReplyDeleteHave a fabulous day Joe. ☺
You are smarter than most males when it comes to interior design.
ReplyDeleteI think you've found your new calling.
ReplyDeleteYou definitely know what you're doing. You hit my Bingo buttons with those three comments. I don't like busy, kitchen-like or difficult to clean.
ReplyDelete"If you want your way you must think gay." Hahahahahahahaha! I love it. And I gotta' say. I kinda' dig the 50's look in the bathroom. :)
ReplyDeleteCongratulations on discovering the decorating secret!
ReplyDeleteI make the choices; my husband has the power of veto!!
ReplyDeleteYou have learned so well watching " Say Yes to the Dress." Your new code is priceless and sure beats having to hire a gay decorator.
ReplyDeleteI can't recall a time when my wife picked decor I hated. She usually defers to me when it comes to aesthetic decisions.
ReplyDeleteHeeheehee! Remind me to watch for this kind of talk the next time we redecorate.
ReplyDeleteSounds like you dodged the "JERK!" bullet this time.
ReplyDeleteI draw the line a window treatments :)
ReplyDeleteShopping for tile might be the title of a future post on my blog, POCIR
ReplyDeleteI admire your approach to keeping the peace. I really want to redo our 1930s bathroom, because a lot of the old tiles are broken. If I can talk my hubby into it, I'll probably just bring home samples.
ReplyDeleteWe just wandered through the master bath reno a couple, maybe 3 years ago. Good times
ReplyDeleteWe did nearly all the work ourselves to, um, save money? But when you're saving money you sometimes get better junk than if you were paying someone else so ... but we love it. Now.
I have no knack for picking out anything. Everything in our house is "neutral." When we sold our last house, the realtor called it "boring." But heck, that house sold in 7 days.
ReplyDeleteAnd yes, I want to see pictures, too!