Dear Matt,

I’m remodeling our bathroom (I’m a first timer) and I am using green board on the walls. What I don’t know about is what to use behind or above the shower surround. We also have a 7ft plaster ceiling that I would like to replace because the paint is peeling. It seems to get worse as time goes on so I’m hesitant to prime and paint it as is. Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thank you!

Dear First-Timer,

Great questions! I would recommend using Green Board for the ceiling but not for behind a tile surround. Behind the tile, I would recommend Hardibacker or a traditional concrete float. As far as the ceiling area where you’re experiencing a lot of moisture and paint peeling, my recommendation would be to tile that location.

Hope that helps answer your questions. Best of luck!

Matt

www.youtube.com/watch?v=simY8jjapcU

There are 11 elements and 100 decisions to make in designing your bathroom, which is why we bring the design process to you.

We feel that the best place to make decisions about the design of your bathroom is all in one place: in your home. When you’re running all over town from showroom to showroom, it’s hard to see how each element may fit together. By viewing samples in your home, you can feel confident that you like how the finishes, colors, and textures work with each other and with the colors and design of adjacent rooms in your home.

Prior to your in-home design appointment, we have a discussion about the overall style, feeling, and functionality that you want in your bathroom. Based on that, we select sample products to bring to you from our warehouse.  For each element of the bathroom, from tile to faucets to lighting to grout color, we discuss the size, shape, texture, price point, and functionality of each so that we can help you make the best choice for your needs and for your budget.

The goal is that we want to put this whole design package together and stay right within your budget. 90% of the time, we fall in the intended budget range. 10% of the time, we might have to go back and make some adjustments. Because of our extensive knowledge and experience with the products, we can help you figure out where you can cut corners without sacrificing the style and functionality that you want at the end of the project.

One of the biggest reasons that people end up experiencing budget changes with their design and remodeling projects is that the fine details aren’t determined up front. What’s different about the One Week Bath process, is that at the end of the in-home design meeting, all of your decisions are made. This helps ensure that your project is completed on time and on budget.

Add safety, comfort, and relaxation to your bathroom with a walk-in bathtub.

In honor of bath safety month, we thought we would take a look at one of our favorite universal design or age-in-place design elements: the walk-in tub. As we’ve said before, the idea that “accessible” bathrooms have to be institutional and sterile is long gone. The idea behind universal design is that it’s design for all — for children and grandparents, for those in a wheelchair, for those who have no restrictions in mobility at all.

Over the years, we’ve all seen advertisements for walk-in tubs. They often feature people with restricted mobility who are visually comforted by the fact that they can enjoy a bath without the worry of slipping and falling in the process of getting in or out of the tub. This emotion is one that we attach to all things universal design: that feeling of safety and comfort when you’re most vulnerable. What these commercials fail to portray are all of the other demographics of people who can benefit from the versatility and safety of a walk-in tub. Beyond the safety, walk-in tubs also have features and options that make them versatile and luxurious.

Benefits of Walk-In Bathtubs:

• Ease of access prevents slips & trips
• Built in seats that provide safety, comfort, and support.
• Submerge yourself fully for a truly relaxing soak.
• Hand-showers built-in.

Last month’s featured bathroom features a walk-in tub by American Standard. Other major manufacturers are also providing walk-in and alternative tub solutions, such as Kohler’s Elevance rising wall tub from their Bold Independence line of products.

Do you like walk-in bathtubs? Do you have one in your home?
Let us know what you think!

It’s official, we’re hooked! After setting up our One Week Bath Pinterest account earlier this week, we’ve stumbled across countless ideas for color, design, accessories and more (plus, shared a few of our own projects).

Pinterest is a really interesting new social platform that allows you to create bulletin boards…much like design idea boards for you current, future, and dream design projects. Whether you’re browsing the web for some design inspiration or scrolling through Pinterest itself, you can “Like” and “Pin” images that you want to look back on later. You’d be amazed at what you come across (and how much time you can accidentally spend looking).

Brands are just starting to hop on the Pinterest Bandwagon. Here are our top 10 favorite accounts to follow so far:

1. Real Simple
2. Martha Stewart
   
3. DIY Magazine
   
4. American Standard
5. Moen
6. Kohler
7. Remodelista
8. Method
9. West Elm
10. Design Milk

Are you on Pinterest? We’d love to see what you find interesting & inspiring! Let us know if the comments so that we can follow YOU!

Happy pinning…

www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ipf_0WdECG4

We Understand the Importance of Feeling Safe and Secure at Home During Your Remodel.

When it comes time to hiring contractors and laborers for home remodeling projects, people often get nervous about who is going to be coming into their home. When approaching a project like a bathroom remodel, you often need the skills of many types of workers to handle different aspects from plumbing to flooring, to tile, framing, drywall, and paint. Since 99% of our clients are living in their homes at the time that we remodel their bathroom, one of our goals is that they not only feel safe & comfortable but that they aren’t inconvenienced by the construction project.

One of the unique aspects of the One Week Bath process and business model is that we don’t use sub-contractors. Instead, we provide each client with a dedicated team of staff. Day in and day out, our clients know exactly who is going to be in their home and when. Our team members are all highly trained and skilled tradesman and are accountable to the One Week Bath name, and to you. This gives us ultimate control over every aspect of your project from quality to budget. Plus, it gives our team a chance to bond with our clients; creating the best experience possible for everyone.

If you’ve ever dialed 1-800-ONE-WEEK, you’ve had the pleasure of speaking with Teresa, our Pre-Design Coordinator. Since starting with the company in 2004, Teresa has been a part of every single client’s bathroom remodeling experience. Prior to working with One Week Bath, she spent many years design sales and merchandising. Today, she is a key part of what makes the One Week Bath design process unique and highly efficient.

“Our pre-design process allows us to gather some brief information and answer a lot of initial questions up front. Not only does this ensure that we are a good fit for our clients, it saves us and our clients a lot of time later on when it comes time to design their bathroom,” says Teresa. “All these years later, I’m still constantly looking for ways to streamline our service and am always looking to improve our pre-design process.” Teresa’s passion for design and customer service make her an important part of the One Week Bath family.

Teresa’s passion for building and design dates back to junior high school when she took 3 years of both home economics and wood shop. It was then that she learned how to design, measure, and read patterns and drawings. She grew up in Southern California and spent many years in the Moorpark and Simi Valley area. She has since moved out of state to Oklahoma where she spends her free time rescuing and raising Arabian race horses and the occasional cat and dog.

If you’re even considering remodeling your bathroom or have questions about our process, give Teresa a call! She’d be happy to help you.

To speak with Teresa, call 800-ONE-WEEK or fill out our contact form.

Bathtubs are no longer confined to stark white enamel on cast iron. Today, you can find tubs created in materials, colors, shapes, textures and designs that are out of this world! Here is just a small sampling of innovative bathtubs to get your bathroom design inspiration flowing.

Bold Color

This glass tub from Italian bath fixture & furniture desinger, Regia, is a perfect example of the new wave in bathtub design.

A blast of color and a unique material in your bathroom can make a big statement in the overall design.

Organic Texture

Stone Forest, a New Mexico-based company, uses nature for its inspiration. Playing on organic shapes and textures for their creations, their tubs look to have been plucked straight out of the forest. Their Round bathtub is available in black granite, carrara marble, and travertino romano as seen to right.

Organic elements such as stone and wood can set the tone for the room and soften a space.

Unique Shape

Step outside the box and choose an unconventional shape for your bathtub to create visual interest in your bathroom.

This bathtub by Spiritual Mode whose tag line is “for excitement and relaxation.”

Where do you look to find design inspiration?

Preparing for the Future with Universal Design

We pride ourselves in working with customers who may not have a clear idea on what they would want in their bathroom, or those that have some idea and really have no idea how to get there. Typically our role is to help them find their vision. Rohini DeSilva is a retired attorney who also has formal interior design experience. It was fun working with her because she had a clear vision of what she wanted, and all we had to do was fill in the blanks. Our focus turned to melding budget and design; our job became finding products we were familiar with so we could guarantee everything, advise her with regards to budget and design a bathroom beautiful and functional.

Like many of our clients, Rohini and her husband Michael wanted to be sure to consider what their future needs may be. While a walk-in tub is not a necessity for them now, they wanted to create a bathroom that was flexible in the event that someone ultimately wouldn’t be able to climb over the side of a tub. We were determined to find the right solution at the right price, and ended up with a terrific American Standard Safety tub. The challenge then became creating a really pretty bathroom, with a tub that might tend to look institutional. We overcame this by focusing on other design elements like the countertops and cabinetry, that would make the bathroom modern and pretty. Ultimately, it all came together beautifully.

Thank you to Rohini & Michael for working with us. It was a pleasure to meet you and we hope that you enjoy your new bathroom for many years to come!

To learn more about our universal design services, call 1-800-ONE-WEEK or visit the Universal Design page of our website.

Now through the end of the year, we’re doubling our normal $250 referral rewards!

Just to give all of you an extra thank you for the referrals you send to us, we’ve decided to double our normal referral rewards until December 31st, 2011.

This means, every time you refer someone who purchases a One Week Bath, we’ll send you $500.

Here’s How it Works:

• CALL 1-800-WEEK for your PERSONAL REFERRAL CODE.
• Refer your friends, relatives or colleagues to us. Be sure when they contact us
at 1-800-ONEWEEK they give us your name and referral code.
• With your name and this code only, we will offer them a $1,000 discount off the custom bath remodel of their dreams.
• The moment your referred bath sales are confirmed is the moment we send you a check!
• WANT TO EARN EVEN MORE? For every three One Week Baths we sell as a result of your referrals, we will send you an additonal $500. That is a total of $2,000 to you for every three baths sold that are referred by you!

We can’t thank you enough for continuing to recommend us to work with your friends, families, and loved ones. It’s because of you that we’ve been able to continue to change peoples’ lives, one bathroom at a time.

Happy Holidays to all of you and yours.

A toilet is a toilet is a toilet….right?

Wrong! With extreme examples like Kohler’s ‘Numi’, the general form of the toilet is starting to change and evolve; bringing new levels of design and function to the once-utilitarian bathroom.

These days, choosing your toilet is an important design decision, with countless options. Short or tall, skinny or wide, black or white, leaver or push-button flushing action. Here are a few very specific styles that we have used in some of our bathroom remodels. Which one is your favorite?

The use of colored toilets is not as common amongst our clients but we have found that in certain circumstances, they make a perfect statement. In this particular bathroom, the black toilet helps to tie the entire design together. Do you think that you would get tired of a different colored toilet?

Overall design style is also an important factor to consider when choosing your toilet. At first glance, this toilet has very classic lines and style. Take a closer look and you will see the subtle, chiseled features in the base and tank that mirror the styling of the pedestal sink that is set next to it. Tank styles are now very flexible and can usually be easy matched to the style of the rest of your bathroom.

The second example of this features a very modern looking toilet. The minimalist design with narrow tank and soft lines is a perfect match for the sink in this modern bathroom.

Of course, these images just represent three of many, many more possibilities. To see additional options, you can visit our Toilets Facebook Album or the Design Gallery on our website.

What does your toilet look like? Is it standard? A fun color? Extremely modern or vintage? Send us pictures or tell us about it in the comments below!