CB, I would never knock your house down to replace it with a monstrosity like the one next door!
Everything looks great! So true about the chrome, I learned too late that brushed nickel usually costs more!
@BunsenBurner - I agree with you 100%, but that is the reality of the coastal San Diego area.
Real, real shame. Same is happening in
my neck of the woods, too. Lovely houses got bulldozed and replaced by giant boxes that all look the same.
Yeah it’s happening here as well. It makes us very cautious about making any changes for resale because we’re 99% certain our home will be demolished so a bigger place can be built in our lot. Our next door neighbor’s house had that happen and down the street. Very few homes have remained as is after sale around the neighborhood.
I don’t give a rats’ behind about what happens to our place after us. We are here to the bitter end… so we go forward with anything that will make our lives better. Life can throw a monkey wrench into the best plans, but we don’t plan on not doing something because of what the next owner might do.
^Himom is talking about things you do explicitly to help the resale, like paint a neutral color, or get rid of old carpet.
We are doing things to our house that WE like. The next owner can change them…we don’t give two hoots what the next owner does.
@coralbrook you are doing this work on your house…for you…not the next owner. When/if you do sell…you will look forward, not backward.
In the meantime…this studio is looking great!
The studio would also make a great in-law or guest suite too. Doesn’t have to be for renters for the next people.
I agree –– Given that short-term rentals are often a contentious subject and a legal quagmire in many areas in San Diego, I wouldn’t necessarily consider putting one in as something that one should do for investment or business purposes (especially not for making monthly mortgage payments!). And certainly getting a long-term renter might be another possibility. At the end of the day, it will certainly be a nice selling point for potential buyers that would appreciate the rental income or could use it as in-law or guest suite, aging parents, caregivers, nannies, au pairs, etc.
It’s also nice as a caregiver’s cottage for the future in case that’s ever a need, @coralbrook.
When we consider whether to do ANYTHING to our home, we do it because we want it, assuming any new owners in the future will likely demolish and build a McMansion as large as zoning allows.
My relative has been remodeling her home with an eye toward resale. They replaced carpets downstairs with wood. They replaced some windows and painted as well. They were thinking of selling their 2-story house and buying a condo until they learned of the sky-high monthly maintenance fees for such condos—yikes!
Bath Vanity
Finally pulled the new vanity out of the box and got it installed. Still have to do the plumbing hookups but we needed to see if the plumbing was going to fit with the vanity design. I just want to say that this vanity rocks! It is very high quality construction, real ply cabinetry. The marble top is beautiful and the sink is nice size. But the very best part… all of the drain lines and water lines fit just right!!! This is a big savings. We are always moving the plumbing around for the crazy vanity I end up purchasing.
The top drawer is a fake drawer but has the pop out for toothbrushes and stuff. Good use of space. The other 2 drawers are full size, but have perfect cutouts for the sink, drain lines and p trap. Love it!
I think it is a good value for the price. Comes in navy blue or white.
I’m going to have to change out the handles. Just hoping I can find some easily for the drilled holes.
Loaded some photos
We should be done with all the trim work and everything in the bathroom tomorrow, ready to install kitchen on Monday. The IKEA kitchen cabinets are being delivered Monday. I went with simple high gloss white cabinets and I am going to have fun with the backsplash to pop some color. Needed the white cabinets because it is such a small space.
I may have mentioned this, but I have decided I need to add a shower into my current half bath, now that I have lost the full bathroom we had in the back. When my D was visiting last weekend, she was staying in the guest room (the one with the newly soundproofed walls adjoining studio apartment). I realized that she has to walk all the way across the house in a towel to take a shower in the Master Bath. I do not want guests using my Master Bath 
So, back to the drawing board. I have found a way to carve out a shower into my existing laundry room. I am going to have to stack my full size washer/dryer because I want to be able to keep a good size utility closet in the laundry area. The bigger issue is that I will have to close up a door that goes from my laundry area to the half bath. This means I have to open up a door to the exterior because the bathroom is used a lot for large events at my home. I need to be able to have a bathroom available to the back yard. So, have to move a window and add a door into the bathroom and close up the door that goes into the laundry room from outside. Lots of stucco patching… Dang it!
Oh well, house needs to get painted anyway as part of the project. It’s way overdue.
I need a small corner style shower. This is one I am really drawn to. It doesn’t look like all the other plastic corner showers. I will t ile the walls to customize it. I love the black glass enclosure, but really do not want the black shower pan. I can see that getting white soap scum and calcium really quick.
Here it is with white shower pan
https://www.build.com/dreamline-shen-8134340-89/s1219156?uid=2914830&source=gg-gba-pla_2914830!c1709211088!a66212952669!dc!ng&gclid=CjwKCAjwqqrmBRAAEiwAdpDXtDDDdgmkm0IIFfKjF6FSy9jEyp4EZPm0_pTljnSn-TRPWiQljgfNTBoCvcMQAvD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds
The bathroom is really coming together and the vanity looks really nice.
Did you notice that the Lowe’s reviews of the shower you posted are varied? Some note that the “grids” are tape.
Really like that vanity! I will have to steal your design idea for the guest bath in our house that desperately needs a major facelift. 
I did notice that the reviews said the grid lines were a type of tape substance. The other reviews complaining about chrome pieces or screws were for another Dreamline white fiberglass wall enclosure. My biggest concern is I want a really good ready made shower pan, no matter which glass I get. Don’t know how to find a good one versus flimsy one because I’ve never used one before. This shower will not get used a lot but don’t really have room to build in a full dam structure. Guess I’ll have to go to the tile supply places.
The problem with those pans is that they may not be strong enough to hold up a regular-thickness glass enclosure, so you are forced to use something with thin glass and a metal frame. You can probably find one rated for full-sized glass, but it’s something to keep in mind when you buy a pan.
When we did our master bath way bath when, we originally had a 36" pan, and it just felt too small. And with the full square, the corner protruded into the bath and really took up a lot of space.
So we tore it out and put in a 42" pan with an angle, something like: https://www.lowes.com/pd/DreamLine-SlimLine-42-in-L-x-42-in-White-Acrylic-Neo-Angle-Corner-Shower-Base/4573438
This has the advantage of having a door that opens into the middle of the room, which can make the layout a heck of a lot easier. Even if you keep the 36" pan, the angled version may may sense depending on your layout.
The round ones look pretty cool too:
since the round ones are not available, I suggest CB got with the 42" pan.
Unless she doesn’t have room for that large a shower.
I will load a picture of the dimensions I have to work with. room is a rectangle. The issue is that one side of the shower corner is the wall adjoining the guest bedroom. In that wall I have to get the 22" side of a vanity, then a 24" pocket door and then the side of the shower. I prefer to have some type of shower enclosure that opens in the corner area of the shower, similar to the black french one (two doors slide open and don’t even swing out into the space) or an angled one.
If I go any larger than 36" on that side, I may be stealing too much from the laundry room. Guess it’s time to take very careful measurements before I proceed any further!
Shower will probably only be used about once a month and then maybe about 10 days/month in the summertime. Although I am going to start promoting my outdoor shower more stringently to guests and surfers/pool swimmers But, the toilet/sink will be used a lot by guests entering from the back patio.