The Great White Tile Debate, Crisis, Melodrama....

I am sure that everyone has caught on to the fact that I am NOT the rehabber. Actually, "the Rehabber" is an amalgamation of several people. Rehabbing itself is actually a catch all phrase for tons of different tasks and job positions. People that choose to be on a rehabbing team tend to wear tons of different hats. The complexities are insane, because what you end up with is a cast of characters who are constantly redefining their roles to fill in the gaps. The Investor is a Lender, Book Keeper, Task Master, List Maker and often a Personal Shopper. The Contractor is a Mr. Fix-It, Voice of Reason, The Check and Balance to the Designer, Demolition Man and Manager of Men. The Real Estate Agent is a Bird Dog, Historical Consultant, Advertising Guru, Blogger, Housing Stock Analyst and Default Designer. Real Estate and projects are a delicate dance where everyone begs not to have their toes stepped on. So, just try to imagine for me, what happens when these roles overlap, are in direct opposition, or a constant state of flux. It can be quite like dancing with a partner that doesn't know the steps. I know this because I have experienced this realestatic (I just made that up) phenomenon first hand and have caused many a gracious partner to politely excuse themselves during my brief time "dancing" salsa.


This week some seemingly simple decisions were to be finalized with Terracotta. In addition to selecting fixtures, a pedestal sink, what paint goes where and other odds and ends...We had to pick out a bathroom floor. Now, this may not seem like a big deal, right? WRONG. Originally, my big vision as the Designer was to preserve the small white hexagon tile that was on the floor. Dan the Contractor had meticulously removed the linoleum that was covering it to make my dream a reality. This idea also appealed to the Investor and Owner of Stärke, because it saved money while keeping some of the original historic charm of the house. The Plumber however, seemed to have different plans. While putting in new plumbing up to the second floor, he ripped a good deal of the floor, MY floor OUT. In my fury and disappointment I could have assigned the Plumber a myriad of different titles at that point in time, but never saw him after the incident.

What were we going to do? It is a disaster, a true drama that seemed to have no suitable solution. Dan, the Contractor was home sick or I am almost sure he could have soothed the situation with his words of wisdom in his role as, Worksite Sage. So, the Investor stepped in and put on the Designer hat that he took off of my head. Going to work, he began suggesting suitable replacements that would stick within the budget and be readily available. We needed that tile, pronto. Best laid plans...

I was so set on that white hex tile that nothing suited me. I was not in a good mood and retreated to the Circa Office. The Investor had more ideas for replacement tile that was very close to my original vision and kept with the vintage feel. I myself, was hoping I could convince him to replace it with the same tile. Needless to say, I wasn't very receptive to any of his ideas until I had a night to sleep on it. Poor guy, he had always been pretty receptive to my suggestions and I was throwing his on the ground and stomping on them. Waking up this morning I had a fresh pair eyes and clear mind to assess the situation. There were several choices swimming in my head. I didn't like any of them. It is the finishing touches that help sell a property and none of my choices seemed like a "right" fit. Late this afternoon I still had not come closer to a choice. While working on a new listing that is going to ROCK (4044 Shenandoah) I got an email with a picture attached. It was the Investor turned Designer emailing me with a perfect fit! I had wanted an all white bathroom, so I had only been looking at white tile selections. He had decided to break up the white theme with a vintage black/white pattern, an option I hadn't even entertained. I LOVED IT, and it was, "oh so vintage". It was then that I realized I had broken a cardinal rehab rule, "always remain flexible because Murphy's Law is always in full effect". I had also broken a design rule that called for you to, "think outside the box". I had over emphasized the importance of my vision of how things should be.

So, here in my role as Blogger I admit, in writing: Trading your hat for another or becoming the follow after being a lead can make for some of the best final products ever. Pride has little place in business, and with a little determination one can excel at a role completely foreign to them like the Investor did.



One thing I have failed to mention as a BIG BONUS was there is new plumbing and water lines from the basement all the way up to the second floor. Maybe a new bathroom floor isn’t so bad of a price to pay. I mean, I assume that a new owner will appreciate not having to deal with any of that in the foreseeable future.