Sunday, July 29, 2012

tile... step 2 and then some.

This week has been a week of tile.  The tile in our house takes up over 50% of the flooring, so nothing can really happen until this is laid, and grouted.  And, they are grouting today!  Our tile is a travertine in a rectangular format, laid "running bond" or shifted.  Natural stone in a classic format.  The kitchen, hallway, and bathrooms will be in tile.




Grouting.


Domingo Montez.  Best tile layer ever, even at the age of 60+


And here is my current dilemma.  Backsplash tile.  As a designer, there are many options available, more so than Home Depot, etc.  This makes the decision even harder.  I don't want to do something super simple/plain or something that everyone is doing.  The other annoying part is that yes, even though we are remodeling a house and spending all this money, we are trying to stick to a budget, and $14/SF tile is not in the budget.  So of course I'm trying to find a deal and not go all willy-nilly on whatever is the most amazing, etc.  I have to be practical too.  Kinda.

(The concrete looking tile is representative of our granite...)


Island stone, grey linear shifted



Casa Mood Shimmery mini's


Porcelanosa ceramic minis, matte and glossy


I really like the idea of shifting it 45 degrees!



Daltile Silver Screen Marble 

So, I have decided to not make a decision until our granite is in, lighting is in, and cabinets are in so I can make a well-rounded decision.  We can live in a house without a backsplash... right?



Our beautiful backyard after all the rain.  



The fireplace in transition.  Power and cable drop poke through with existing supports for a mantle.  Plywood up to mount the metal lath to...


(metal lath)

and then the new stucco can be troweled onto that.

Another dilema.  Landscaping.  This area at the back of our house is a dead zone.  Literally.  Nothing is growing.  There is so much shade, but really nothing has ever been there to try to grow, so even with rain its a futile effort.  I am in the process of scheming an idea for this area.  


I have decided that commercial landscaping, like the kind at the domain, and nicer shopping centers, has great inspiration for native plants that are simply laid out and full and pretty.  


Exhibit A.

On to other things.  David is power washing the guest house this weekend to prep it for... NEW EXTERIOR PAINT!  The little house will no longer be exposed cedar siding, but look just like the main house.


(also, I am very adamant about a privacy wood fence there on the left side.  Another day.)

Cabinets get delivered and installed next week!  Then the real magic begins.  All kinds of trades can be in the house at the same time, which helps everything to happen faster.  We are looking at a move in date near the week of August 13th.

Until the next step, katie, H&H

No comments:

Post a Comment