DESIGN IDEA: Mix & Match Plumbing Trim

I have mentioned in at least a couple prior posts the vast amounts of brand new, super high end Waterworks plumbing I have picked up cheap on Craigslist.  Anyway, now that the plumbing is all roughed in, it is time to figure out which trim kits we are going to use.  The problem is, we don't have enough matching trim kits for all the various locations in our master bath -- not even for the shower alone.  By itself, the master shower requires five different trim items - 3 controls and 2 outlets:

1. thermostatic valve control
2. overhead shower volume control
3. overhead shower arm and head
4. hand shower volume control
5. hand shower wall outlet and hand shower assembly

So, while we have an abundance of great parts, they aren't going to match.  And, keep in mind, there are two ways they can match or not match: style and metal finish.  I am pretty comfortable with the handle styles not matching, but having dramatically mismatched metals might be a little harder to get okay with (e.g., vintage brass and chrome, or polished nickel and brushed nickel).

So, what do we think of these two mismatched lads for spots #2 and #4?

They are both polished chrome, although the one on the left is a little warmer in tone as a result of the way the nickel was applied to the brass before it was chromed (newsflash (to me at least): a layer of nickel is commonly used underneath other metals when plating brass because it gives better connection - basically, nickel is the primer of electroplating).

And then we would use one of these vigorous gentlemen for spot #1:

and this frolicsome lass for spot #5:

And finally, looming overhead will be this friendly 10 inch (and 10 pound) rain shower on an 18 inch arm at spot #3:

 

Yes, we are going to get there.  One way or another, I am going to shower up in that house by next Spring.

ACQUISITION: Fortuny Chandelier - it is ours

We drove out to the Jerz today to see this light fixture I found on CL.  The seller agreed to drop the price down to a number I was comfortable with so we bought it.  I had to get up on a ladder and uninstall it from her ceiling, so that was a tiny adventure.  Overall fairly simple.  

Here it is in the trunk of our car.

This thing is really big and really cool looking.  It is about 33 inches across and has a three-bulb fixture that hangs down in it.  Basically, it is awesome.  It is going to look amazing hanging from the center of that high vaulted ceiling in our master suite.  Hooray!!

Now we have to figure out where to store the thing until it is time to install it - although that time is not more than a month or two away! Indeed, we could install it now if we weren't concerned about it ending up covered with dust from ongoing work.

DESIGN IDEA: Master Bedroom Light Fixture (Oh, hello again, Mr. Fortvny)

I mentioned in a post a couple years ago that I was fond of the Fortuny hanging silk light fixtures.  I didn't realize that they do the same shape and style fixtures in Venetian glass.  Anyway, here are the offerings at this very moment from ebay and craigslist:

This one is glass and is on Craigslist for $499.  It takes three bulbs, which is good since our ceiling is high and the room large and oddly shaped.  Methinks it very very pretty.

This one is silk and does not have the ornate designs like the one I saw at BIG  years ago.  A pair of these are on ebay right now for $2000 for the pair.  they only take one bulb so not as much light, but I do like the simplicity.

What do you think?

INVENTORY: Plumbing Fixtures / Parts

For ease of reference and finding this stuff, here is a list with photos of all the plumbing pieces I have in storage.  Almost all of it is from Waterworks but there is some great Barber Wilsons stuff at the bottom.  Some will go upstate.  Some awaits a big fix-up at home.

Box #	Photo of Item	Description
		A satin nickel Julia faucet.
		A polished brass Julia faucet.
		A chrome Julia faucet.
		A copper bar faucet.
		We plan to use this natural brass finish, two-hole goose-neck faucet by WW for our master bathroom upstate.
		A P-trap for the brass two-hole faucet above.
A1		A hand sprayer for a shower set-up.
B1		Another hand sprayer for a shower set-up. ($895 with hook (below), hose and wall elbow)
C3		And another hand sprayer for a shower set-up. ($895 with hook (below), hose and wall elbow)
C2		This is the right angle hose wall outlet for a wall mounting WW hand-shower.  This goes to the wall, a hose goes from this to the hand shower handle.
C4		This is the wall mounting hook for a WW hand-shower.
B4		This is another style wall mounting hook for a WW hand-shower.
C1		And another wall mounting hook for a WW hand-shower.
A3 A4		Replacement Cross Handles for a WW faucet.
A5		Astoria Volume Control Valve Trim with Metal Hexagonal Cross Handle (Nickel).  This should be very useful since the WW volume valve rough it trims out is only $80-$120.
A2		Julia Volume Control Valve Trim with Metal Cross Handle (chrome).  Same idea as immediately above.
A10		Seven (7!) flush lever handles for fancy Waterworks or Toto toilets (shown in this photo and the next two).  Fancy!  I don't imagine we'll have 7 WW or Toto toilets any time soon, but we'll certainly have use for 2 of them and maybe more someday.
A11		More flush levers.
A12		More flush levers.
B7		This is a thermostatic shower body.  The control piece on the right is the cartridge that goes onto the mixer housing on the left.  I don't exactly understand how this works.  ($840 new)
A15		This is a nickel plated shower diverter to be used to add a handheld shower sprayer to an exposed thermostatic shower unit.  These things go for fat bank. ($1155 new w/handshower and hose)
A6		This is the handle for the shower diverter (A15) just above.
A16		This is a drain unit for a vessel sink.
A13		Handshower on Bar w/o hose.  Handshower not included.  However, I have three handshowers separately (see above).  The pic of the item installed is not the exact same style item, but it gives at good idea of what is in the box.
A14		Handshower on Bar (like above) with hose.  Handshower not included.  However, I have three handshowers separately (see above).
B8		This is a Perrin & Rowe Exposed Thermostatic Shower Diverter.  Basically, the big valve piece interrupts the exposed riser pipe above a thermostatic shower body and volume control and it diverts the water to the hand-shower.  It includes a sliding piece that goes on the upper part of the riser pipe to hold the hand-shower.  It also includes the hose.
		This is a Rohl 8-Jet shower head.
A7		This is a trim kit for a thermostatic shower body.  It isn't the exact same style as shown in the WW photos, but similar.  As you see, I have four of these in total.
B3		This is another trim kit for a thermostatic shower body.
A8		This is another trim kit for a thermostatic shower body.
A9		This is another trim kit for a thermostatic shower body.
C5		I'm not sure but I think this is a piece from a trim kit for a thermostatic shower body or maybe a volume control.
B2		This is a hand-sprayer for a kitchen faucet - the whole thing is there with hose and a separate valve assembly and everything.  But in order to control the temperature, I would need to add another mixer under the sink with a fixed termperature setting on it.  Hmmm.  Confusing.
B9		This is a Lefroy Brooks lavatory single-hole faucet.  Such a pretty faucet.
		This is a Kohler right angle shower arm.
		This is some sort of trim kit for a Kohler faucet/shower (not sure which).
		These seem to be some spare  WW parts.
		I think this must be a sink supply line valve.
		A sink drain assembly.
		A Barber Wilsons nickel tub fill with hand sprayer.  Attachments are for deck mount but wall mount attachments are available.
		A Barber Wilsons brass hand shower.  2 Attachments are for deck mount and only one extra for wall mount - but could be wall mounted with one extra attachment.
		Two old Crane faucet valve sets with porcelain handles.