Build Bath & Shower

Let’s start this post off by talking about personal strengths. Mine fall along the lines of 1.) tearing apart a house I’m living in, 2.) doing shit someone told me I couldn’t, 3.) building random things while drinking wine, and 4.) hugging chickens. Obv. Things that are not on that list? Decorating a house. I mean, I’m decent at replicating something I see and like… a super expensive bathroom vanity , for example? No problem, I can build one on the cheap. But the more I’ve seen really talented people put rooms together, the more I realized how much I don’t know (and, frankly, don’t want to take the time to learn) about space planning, the best way to arrange furniture, and just plain making a room look good. This hasn’t been an actual issue in my life because all of the houses I’ve lived in for the last 8 years have been in a perpetual state of getting torn apart and being put back together. So, you know, my biggest concerns have always been things like whether or not I have a functi...

Hotel Review: After the 25th "I'm exhausted and I can't keep working these crazy hours," I decided it was time to force my husband to take a vacation, and although he was (and is) a classic workaholic, he sheepishly agreed. Knowing that I travel somewhat extensively for my job, he left the destination up to me. My choice — a magnificently restored hacienda in the Yucatan region of Mexico, known simply as Hacienda Petac. After a short flight from our home in South Florida, we began our journey via rental car to the tiny village of Petac, about 30 minutes outside the city of Merida. I should probably explain what I mean by tiny. I mean two streets, a soccer field, a basketball court, two churches of different denominations, a corn grinding factory , known locally as a tortillaria, as well as three corner stores known as tiendas. That's what I mean by small. In truth, the village of Petac exists because of the Hacienda. Consisting of roughly 170 residents, m...

Ted Marules' new bathroom is neither subtle nor cheap. "We had visions of grandeur," he says of the $20,000 renovation to his Houston-area home. "We planned to have some wonderful moments in there." Marules and his wife sprung for all the frills: special- order Spanish tile , marble floors, gold faucets and the Texas- sized whirlpool bathtub . "We got some really nice, fancy stuff, and we spent the damned money for it," says the 53-year-old accident reconstruction expert . "Looks like a Roman whorehouse, but it's beautiful." The centerpiece of Marules' marble palace is the hourglass tub, a 10- jet Jacuzzi mounted like an acrylic altar at one end of the room. It set him back $1,897.70. In its promotional materials, Jacuzzi says the tub Marules bought , the Real model, "surrounds the bather in sumptuous curves for an exceptional bathing experience ." Through the Magic Touch controls and PowerPro jet system , it promises ...