Bathroom Update: Kohler Purist Fixtures

I’ve had to make some difficult decisions while planning our bathroom renovation, but choosing the fixtures was simple: I wanted Kohler Purist fixtures.  I love the clean, modern look and everyone I encountered during the planning process (including plumbers, plumbing supply and bathroom reno store employees, and random old dudes at The Home Depot who do not work there but feel compelled to share their wisdom/chat me up) insisted that the quality of Kohler can’t be beat.  That was all I needed to hear, because I’ve been drooling over the Kohler ads in my home decor magazines for years.

Handy Hubby and I chose the Kohler Purist fixtures because the entire Purist line has a simple, mid-century modern inspired look that we love – and it complements our interior door hardware.  Even though mixing metals and styles is trendy right now, give me matching metals any day.  In a small home like ours, the coordination helps create the cohesive, streamlined, airy space I crave.

For the tub, we opted for the Purist® Rite-Temp® pressure-balancing bath faucet trim and the Purist hand shower kit.  We had a hand held shower in the townhouse and loved it, so I knew from the beginning I wanted it again.  I shower at night but wash my hair in the morning, so this hand held shower is indispensable to me – plus it’s perfect for rinsing out the tub after washing it, bathing the pup (if we ever have a dog smaller than a horse), and winning at water fights.  I have seen a lot of bathrooms where the hand held shower kit supplements a standard shower head, but that seems a bit redundant to us.  This is all we need.

We made ONE critical mistake by not measuring where we put the bracing for the bar, which was then completely covered during the tiling process – obviously!  Not to worry: we located the bracing and were able to move forward with the installation.  Other than that, installation was a breeze and we just followed the instruction manuals for everything.

One of the best features is the drain plug control, which you operate by twisting the cover for the overflow – this means no reaching in to a scungy tub to pull a drain cord!  In my mind, that is what total luxury looks like.

One little confession, though: I accidentally ordered the wrong tub spout.  I had originally wanted this spout because the profile is the same as the Purist lavatory faucets we ordered for the vanity.  But when this arrived, I really liked the shaped and so I kept it.  This is my version of mixing and matching 😉

I have seen a lot of people (like Emily Henderson) use the Kohler Purist fixtures in the brushed gold, so ordering the vibrant brushed nickel was a gamble because I hadn’t seen it in person or even on any design blogs.  Happily, I wasn’t disappointed – it’s beautiful!  The brushed nickel on some cheaper faucets at the home improvement store really varies and some have a really yellow cast.  This finish is perfect – exactly what you would expect from a high quality, brushed nickel finish.

In these photos you can get a better sense of the beautiful shimmer and organic feel of my tile choice – and it’s so easy to clean, thanks to the large size and minimal grout lines.

Baby steps toward a finished, functioning space!  The walnut cabinetry is getting installed today, which means the counters and aqua sinks will be installed soon…

Disclosure: After choosing my finishes and fixtures, I reached out to Kohler and was thrilled when Kohler agreed to collaborate with me on this bathroom reno.  All design choices and opinions are my own.  I was not asked to provide a review about the projects.  I am just jazz hands excited about finally having some high end bathroom faucets!  Oh yeah, and showering inside – another major luxury.