When we interviewed people for our Real People, Real Remodels section, we received a great deal of interesting and insightful information about bathroom remodeling. But as with all articles, we couldn’t include every last quote from our remodeling subjects. So here are some of our favorite “deleted scenes” from the interviews we conducted. This Q&A was with Katrin Atienza. Read her entire story here.

When deciding on the décor of your bathroom, where did you seek inspiration? I know that you have your own graphic design firm, so did you draw on your artistic background when it came to décor choices? My inspiration for the shower wall came from bamboo and a waterfall. I wanted to create a modern yet spa-like space that still works with the "old half" of the bathroom. A lot of my ideas (and clarification what we want and don't want) came from browsing through remodeling magazines and looking at actual tile showrooms, especially Porcelanosa and Cancos. Having worked in the industry many years ago, I prefer seeing & feeling an actual sample, taking it home and seeing it in my lighting.

Were you able to stay within your budget or did you find yourself exceeding it (and if you exceeded it, did happen quickly or were you only a few extra dollars over by the end of the project)? We were able to stay within budget until last minute. We didn't expect to have to put shower doors back in. But removal of the old rail damaged the tub, so we had to get shower doors, and that's what we're over by.

Did you have to make any sacrifices because of your budget constraints? If so, what was the biggest sacrifice you made? Not doing the whole bathroom. And I would have loved to have a deep tub for relaxing full baths.

What is the one thing about your remodel that you would do over if given the opportunity? Definitely put in a deep soaking tub. Use cream-white grout on the shower wall (same as for the accent) instead of they gray-beige the tile place recommended.