Great Gray Grout

Hello again!  We're back...and still working on finishing up the kitchen little by little.  The new job has kept me pretty busy, and Brent has been slaving away as well, so the pace of work and documentation of said work is...a little slower.  Here's what you've missed:

1. The kitchen is now vented!  We can exhaust out through the roof.

2. The backsplash is sealed and grouted!

3. There are cabinet doors on the cabinets we kept!

Here are some pics from grouting.  We used Delorean Gray Sanded Grout from Home Depot.

The punch list is getting tiny!

• fabricate the drawer fronts
• spray all doors and drawer fronts that are going to be gray
• install hardware on the new doors and drawers
• trim above the cabinets
• paint touch ups
• installing the open shelves
• the door to the mudroom (size, paint, install, hardware)
• installing the rest of the soft closes

It was especially lovely to welcome many friends and family into our home yesterday for a little Holiday Party an d put the kitchen through its paces.  What a difference it made!  Counter space...a great place to sit and chat...a sink big enough to do all the dishes...as if we didn't already love throwing parties enough!

A post dedicated to the doors and drawers Brent is making/has made will be next!

The fancy tiles are up!

This week has been dominated with backsplash and trim.

I'm very excited to see how the focal wall comes out.  We chose the breakfast bar for the panel of fancy tile for a few reasons.

1.  The breakfast bar is shallow and could use some visual interest.
2.  It is opposite from the longest counter with the big windows that draw your attention right away.
3. It would give a custom feeling for not that many square feet of the more expensive tile.

While frames like the one we designed are often put behind cook tops, we don't really want to draw attention to our un-centered stove wall, and there isn't much real estate between the top of the stove and the bottom of the microwave/vent.

After solving some problems (i.e. the pattern so to avoid tiny slivers of tile), and where to place the outlets, Brent is well on his way to having the tile on the wall!

Here is the info on the specific (COST SAVING) tiles we used:

The 1x2 subway tiles were found on amazon.com for only $9.99 a square foot...I have a few left over if anyone wants some :)

The octagonal tiles are from Glasstilestore.com at a savings of over 50% what I was quoted for the EXACT same tile at the tile store.

The frame pieces were also on amazon.  I'm proud to say that we spent approximately 1/3 of what it would have cost to order the tiles from the tile store and have them installed. And I have a feeling my estimation is probably on the low side for labor.  I just love the classic subway tile look with the classic material of marble - an impractical countertop choice, but it is great on the walls!

Next steps - time frame TBD...  seal the marble, then grouting all of it.   Sadly, Brent goes back to his REAL job on Tuesday :(  The vent needs to go through the roof for the stove.  Then it's on to drawer and door fabrication, spraying, and install and I think we'll be pretty much...done!  Stay tuned for my curtain work with Colleen tomorrow!

Backsplash continued...

While I have been toiling inside what feels like a brick oven this week, Brent has been applying mini bricks to our backsplash.

It's been pretty exciting to see the transformations between when I leave at 6 am and get home at 5pm. For example, this was the first picture yesterday:

and when I got home..

Today was no exception!

He made progress on the nook, completed the stove wall, and started the breakfast bar.

The breakfast bar is especially tricky, because it is going to include a framed panel of different tile to spice it up a bit.  I think it's really going to add somewhere to catch your eye on that side of the room. It needs to compete with the full wall of windows!

So we had to figure out where the mandatory outlets would be, but not distract from the design.  We decided to line up the bottom of the outlet plates with the bottom of the frame. So ... more measuring.

Marking the spot to cut

Hole cut and wire needed to be pulled out

New floating outlet box installed

Tiling begins around the outlets!

Up! Up! Up!

First edge of the frame goes in!

The nook is looking SO great as well!  I can't wait to put the coffee maker and toaster in there!

Brent's main discovery about backsplash tiling? There are MANY cuts that need to be made outside on the tile saw, and they take a very long time.  But we both agree, the outcome is worth it.  Next steps: finish tiling, seal the marble, grout.  Some trim will be finished as well in between the tiling stages.  Once the tiling is done, the LAST BIG THING will be to make the remaining doors and drawers (as much as I love looking at exposed plumbing...and having nowhere to stash silverware... :)

Also, I'm going to be making the curtains this weekend with the major help of my sister-in-law.  That will be a happy break from schoolwork. The fabric has been sitting in the corner for a couple of weeks - I cannot wait to see it up (and take down the plastic).  I also need to get the hardware.  I'm planning on simple rods hung in the middle of the second-to-top-pane, to provide enough privacy, with rings/clips.

I had originally wanted a darker metal, but since we didn't go with that same finish on the pendant light, I'll probably go with a matching brushed nickel look...but my gut is saying dark, so we will see.

Tonight we had our first visitor in a while stop by - to buy our old island!  Our friend Drew had this to say, "Clean, simple, and nice."

I thought I was avoiding math today...

The backsplash is the last MAJOR project that has to happen in this reno.  Since it is something we have never done before, I have spent quite a bit of time researching tips and tricks online.  One that keeps popping up is - SPEND TIME ON YOUR LAYOUT to end up with the most attractive end product possible.

I figured - oh, OK, I can bang this out in an hour or so...OR FIVE....it took five hours, and I didn't even finalize the layout for the feature wall!

How I did it:

1.  Laid out all of the tile 

so that I could group similar tone/texture sheets together - I don't want you to be able to tell where one sheet ends and the next begins, and some of the sheets were definitely more bright white than others.  Since it's a mosaic, it really should all flow.  That meant covering all surfaces downstairs with 39 square feet of tile...

2.  Remeasured all of the areas that will be tiled.

Now that most of the trim is in (pics in a post later this weekend), and cabinets are where they will reside, and counters are in, I re-measured all of the spaces to ensure accuracy.

3. I took the sheets of tile and measured and made rough cuts for each area.  

Essential tools included a utility knife to cut through the mesh backing, a cutting board, a tape measure, my notes on the sizes, and tape to mark the tile for where it will need to be cut with the wet saw.

I also had to make decisions/adjustments for which side of a corner would be tiled first (thereby decreasing the width on the adjacent wall by the thickness of the tile).

4. Labeled each pile of tile so that it will be quick to layout before cutting/install.

5. Poured a glass of wine. 

Thank goodness that is done!   At least now, I feel that I really was a helpful part of the tile install - even if I'll be at work when Brent actually puts it on the wall :)  It is going to have such an impact on the space - I can't wait!  Brent said that he is hoping to start on the sink wall tomorrow! 

Decisions, decisions....

I, who loves making decisions, and is quite quick about it, did not realize how many there are to make in a simple kitchen remodel!  Once we decided on the cabinets, and spent many many hours with Tom at Home Depot selecting the exact ones and double checking our measurements, there were MANY other things to decide.  After looking at the Silestone options at Home Depot, and not finding one that was going to work for us, I looked around for a solid surface gray and white option with enough texture to stand up to some wear.  We considered soapstone look-alikes, marble look-alikes (I really liked Lyra), but they all seemed too...solid in appearance.  Plus, what if a future buyer really wanted granite?

We decided upon Caesarstone Atlantic Salt.  

Then, it was onto the paint color for the lower cabinets...so many grays to choose from!

We've decided to go with Behr's Graceful Gray (second from the right).


Next decision... onto backsplash.  I know that it has been advised to wait until the countertop is in the space, but given my wide collection of samples, and the knowledge that we would like some marble to luxe up the space, with low contrast, and a classic look, I felt confident to select.

While I loved the modern look of the bottom left (reminded me of smooshed penny rounds), I really wanted marble!  So ultimately, we decided to go with the mini subway tiles in carrera (top right), and an accent wall of the smooshed hexagons (middle bottom).  A big shout out to Amazon.com and Glasstilestore.com for prices that were less than half of what I was quoted at the tile store!


Meanwhile, we had been looking for a bridge faucet, but were not appreciating the prices for our tiny budget (700-1200 bucks!)  Luckily, we found this great option at Lowe's.

It's a Delta faucet with decent reviews, so fingers crossed it works out!


The next decision was the flooring.  We had thought about Marmoleum...it looks so retro, and we even found a gray on light gray option, but I wasn't thrilled with the reviews about how it holds up.  My mom suggested hardwood, since the rest of our first floor has great hardwood, and it would be great for resale.  After some research, we feel that the Bellawood Natural Red Oak in 2.25 inches will be the best match for the rest of our flooring.


Finally, we picked out a sink, microwave/range hood, and dishwasher.  We found them all at Home Depot after doing some research.  We also found what to use for the bead board ceiling there as well.  Now just to get all of these things into our new space!