Ten minutes to write. Less time to read.

I’ve heard or read that the devil is in the details. I’ve also heard that God resides there too. I guess a project I’m currently involved in will reveal the truth.

That project is a total remodeling of the two full bathrooms in our house. By today’s standards they are old-fashioned; in fact, they’re about the only thing left in the house that we haven’t brought into the twenty-first century.

So we’ve decided to gut down to the studs and start over. We’ve also decided that I will be the organizer of this project, the one who runs around and gets dimensions and prices and delivery dates. The one who gets permits and hires subcontractors and who does what when. Just call me the GC.

Demolition of the current bathrooms starts Monday, October 3; and I hope to make the transition from old to new inside a month. I’m told this is ambitious, but I suspect that the more detailed I am at the front end the easier the back end will go.

So my decorator and I have begun a tour of Home Depot, Lowe’s, local bath and ceramic tile outlets, etc. I’ve put a life-size model of the footprint of our bathrooms on the floor of our garage with different colors of masking tape. I keep my tape measure in the car and a notepad by my side.

And indeed the details are innumerable. There are vanities and sinks and faucets and drains and showerheads and tile and commodes and lighting and flooring to contend with. And each of these specific things has a myriad of options from which to choose. Then there are knobs and pulls and towel racks and toilet paper holders and towels to color coordinate. All this for the smallest room in the house.

As if that isn’t enough, we’ve decided the master bedroom needs a makeover too, so that it doesn’t look shabby along side its new master bath. Which means there are paint colors and moldings and window treatments and bedspreads to consider.

Even though we’re not starting to tear out the old until October, it’s clear that we have to have an idea of what the new looks like if we are to meet our month-long remodeling deadline. So I pursue the details, down to what kind of nails will keep the cove molding in place. I’ll let you know if I meet the devil or God at the end.