Remodeling and New Construction Talk... Top 5 Dallas Bathroom Design Trends for 2014

Across the country, elegant remodeling themes and trends are contributing to the ascendancy of the once humble bathroom. We scoured the national trends according to Houzz, HGTV, Professional Remodeler, and others to compare them with our experience in order to present the Top 5 Dallas Bathroom Trends for 2014.

1. The Spa Experience:

To provide an outlet from the stresses of work and personal obligations, many of our neighbors are creating serenity in the form of therapeutic, spa-like bathrooms. In creating this spa experience, we have used natural materials, as well as rich textural elements in our designs. Visually open showers with multiple shower heads, angled body sprays, and bubble massage baths all contribute to the feeling of relaxation and well-being that you would expect at a luxurious spa.

2. Open Showers:

Today’s elegant showers blend in almost seamlessly with the bathroom design through frame-less shower glass and curb-less ooring. Bathroom ooring now runs continuously into the shower area, which no longer requires a curb to step over. Shower glass is sleek and elegant with no framing to interrupt the view of the detailed tile work behind.

3. Freestanding Tubs:

A structural element and a focal point of many of today’s bathrooms, the simplicity and beauty of a freestanding tub is an attractive option. It creates a larger more open feeling bathroom by allowing the ooring to continue through to the wall behind. is element can also add a unique aesthetic – with a vintage design, modern shape, or contrasting color.

4. Furniture-Styled Vanities:

Vanities no longer have to be built into the wall. Furniture style vanities add of sense of living room elegance to the bathroom. Because they are not attached to a wall or built into the ooring, it allows the tile to continue beyond, creating greater continuity of the bathroom’s appearance. Hovering and cantilevered vanities are also becoming more popular, along with open shelving.

5. Elaborate Floor and Backsplash Tiles:

Today, designers are implementing elaborate floor and wall tile designs by mixing mosaic tile work with other shapes, materials and textures. This pattern, or visually interesting effect can also be achieved with uniform natural stone and simple subway tiles to create a serene, unified, and open feeling. Glass and matte tiles or multicolored tile sheets are also being used to create visually stunning walls as focal points around vanities and cabinets.

While design trends are changing, everyone wants to live in a home with beautifully designed, highly functional kitchens and bathrooms. If you’re thinking about remodeling either of these rooms in your home, give Bella Vista Company a call and we’ll discuss the best solutions for your needs.

For more information on Remodeling or Custom Homes, read our blogs at www.bellavistacompany.com

Literary art

Finding the perfect gift can be a challenge, especially when shopping for someone with eclectic tastes.

Two years ago, neighbor Mike Clem wandered into Random in Hillside Village Shopping Center at Abrams and Mockingbird to find his wife, Shelly, a Valentine’s Day gift.

He found something he liked. It wasn’t perfect, but it gave him an idea: a book cut into the letter “S” for “Shelly.” He asked the lady at the counter if she had anything like that, and she said, “No, but if you make one and bring it in, I’ll sell it.”

As it happens, Mike has quite a knack for craftsmanship. For years, he built high-performance engines for racing Formula Onestyle cars, and he developed a meticulous attention to fine detail while working on luxury vehicles such as Lamborghinis and Porsches.

Not only did he have the skills, he also had the tools he needed in order to take on a book-cutting project — a band saw, a drill, and other heavy machinery.

The first one wasn’t very good, Mike admits. “It took a few weeks to figure it out.”

But he did figure it out, and he soon found that people loved the idea. He and Shelly started selling the book letters on Etsy, where they flew off the shelves, so to speak.

People buy them for Valentine’s Day, Mother’s Day, graduation gifts, kid gifts, wedding day centerpieces, and so on.

Although book letters are still the bread and butter of the business, the Clems have started experimenting with other ideas as well. Making silhouettes of boots, hearts or other shapes, for example, or cutting shapes or letters into the heart of a book.

“It’s fun because it brings out the cre- ativity in everyone,” Shelly says. “We have some books that we leave sitting out because we don’t know what to make them. Sometimes it takes just passing by them and seeing them over and over again.”

Although book letters are still the bread and butter of the business, they’ve started experimenting with other ideas as well by making silhouettes of boots, hearts or other shapes.

The Clems say they are happy to help customize a book letter, within reason, by using someone’s favorite novel, children’s books or college textbooks.

—Brittany Nunn

FIND THESE BOOKS ONLINE at etsy.com/shop/LetterLounge

Into the wild

“My head can fit in there,” Rylan Price says matter-of-factly, pointing to the open mouth of a stuffed alligator head sitting on the entry-hall table.

And then, in the true form of a 6-yearold, he proceeds to demonstrate.

The alligator head is just one of many exciting things to see in the Prices’ house. Rylan’s dad, Jason Price, is a sport hunter, and if the number of animals and animal heads in his front office are any indication, he’s pretty good at it.

“My husband is very motivated by trophies,” Beth Price says.

Most of his collection consists of ducks, but he also has an aoudad head, a tundra swan, a badger and even a bearded hen.

“Hens do not normally have a beard,” Beth explains. “When you turkey hunt, the males usually have a beard, and that’s kind of how you can tell how good the turkey is — based on its beard. So anyways, it’s very weird that, that hen has a beard.”

Aside from hunting trophies, Jason also has several John James “J. J.” Audubon lithographs from the first edition of Audubon’s book “Birds of America.”

And Beth has a niche collection as well. The walls of her kitchen are lined with dozens of beautiful restaurant menus from around the world, which she’s saved over the years and framed.

The Prices’ home will be on the Hollywood-Santa Monica home tour in April. If you’re one of those people who goes on home tours to glean home décor inspiration, this year’s Hollywood-Santa Monica tour has some interesting finds — from a one-bedroom duplex that makes a small space feel comfortable and functional, to a spacious five-bedroom house with two living areas and a custom-designed, screened-in porch.

And, of course, the Prices’ taxidermy menagerie. Unfortunately, Rylan won’t be there to show you how his head can fit into the mouth of the alligator, but maybe you can talk your friend into trying.

—Brittany

Women’s Advanced Surgical Procedures

When you need to have a gynecological procedure performed, you want confidence in your surgical team’s experience and expertise. At Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital Dallas, we have handled women’s surgical needs for over 30 years. Plus, we were the first hospital in Texas to be named a Center of Excellence for gynecological surgery by the American Institute of Minimally Invasive Surgery. Using advanced technology and techniques, the team of physicians on the medical staff will care for you before, during and after the procedure. Ask your doctor to have your gynecological procedures done at Texas Health Dallas.