Kitchen floor tile

I may have, *almost*, made a very, very important decorating decision!  Yep, headline news, at least in blog world.  Floor tile for the kitchen AND the vestibule.

I had been considering some kind of rock for the kitchen. Perhaps slate.  Actually, previous to the slate idea, I was certain I would have Mexican terra cotta tiles. This is what I grew up with and I love my moms kitchen floor. BUT then I discovered "Scandi decor" and have been drawn to it ever since.  While researching kitchen inspiration I seemed to pin a lot of kitchens with black floors.  Natural textured it had to be; slate seemed perfect.

But there were a few considerations I have to work through with my contract-Her; mostly whether my kitchen can sustain the weight of slate. And the thickness of slate set beside the joining rooms.

Then one day I went to a museum and used their restroom facilities. I was completely taken with the small squared black tile floor. Huge space, little black ceramic tiles, maybe 2"x2", with dark gray or black grout. I really liked the look of it.


And THEN, this past weekend, we were visiting my parents to celebrate Canada's Thanksgiving weekend. My mom and I went to Home Depot (she is finishing her bathroom reno) and I was browsing the tiles when I stumbled across Thee Perfect Solution.

CityScape - Carbon
"Cityscape is a contemporary stone-look series that creates a sophisticated feel for any room."

I am not necessarily aiming for contemporary, but stone-look, yes. And a natural footsy feel, definitely. At a mere $2.49 / sq ft. Compared to a possibility: Daltile 12 in. x 12 in. Brazil Black Slate Floor and Wall Tile $28.26 / sq. ft
(I haven't done any price research on slate as of yet, but these are today's prices on one companys' website)

I also like the Cityscape Mosaic for the vestibule. This small rectangle is what first caught my attention in tile section of H. D..  Oddly, the small rectangle tile does not appear to be available on the American website, which is where I am.

The story of Orange Rug room

In a house in the city there is a small room. A room that could have lots of potential, despite it's size. 

A year and a half ago, we tore out the orange rug. Gross.

We tested some paint colours and played on the wall. We then sanded the floor. When I say "we" I mean I hired a friend to do it. Then I stained the floor (5/2010). When I say I, I actually mean I! And then I (I for real), put a coat of Minwax Fast-Drying polyurethane on it.

And then I painted (12/2010) it Peacock Blue, inspired by the yoga room at CNY yoga. When I say "I painted the room" I mean I hired out to finish the job. Good thing I did as there was a bouncy wall that needed to be anchored. This is not notable to the naked eye. One needs to be a Contract-Her™ to know such things. The paint job took an additional 8 hours due to prepping, anchoring the wall with screws & washers, sanding, filling cracks and taping. She still did it faster then it would have taken me. Faster and better.

Paint Colours: Glidden colors - Peacock blue & Gentle fawn, mixed in Behr paint.

I love the peacock blue. I should have stuck with white trim.

I haven't finished the floor as all the dust and plaster from the prep work on the walls ended up in the grooves on the floor. Remember, I had only put one coat of polyurethane on it, which didn't protect the floor from the plaster and dust. I could neither wipe, scrub or vacuum this stuff up. But that's OK, because the sanding job sucked. Under the orange carpet existed a decent hardwood floor albeit stained with ... pre-owner animal presence.  The sanding guy tried to sand out the stains and smell and in doing so created welts and grooves in the hardwood in the corners of the room.  If you look closely into the 3rd picture above you can see the grooves. I had debated redoing the sanding part, but preferred moving forward. The staining didn't help, although I was really pleased with actual staining job.  After one coat of polyurethane I wanted to see if the painted walls would distract from the grooves. Well, the white plaster crap stuck in the grooves accentuated the problem and I decided to put this floor project on the back burner and see if the grooves disappear grow on me.

The room is small but has already morphed into many different uses; a storage room for the bathroom renovation (that was pre-update, w/ orange rug still intact), a guest room, a den/library and a few months ago, a storage room again.  Right now I am reclaiming it. The excess (bags of clothes, dresser w/ crafts and fabrics, blankets, vacuum, little piles of things - these 1910 homes lack storage space) has been cleared. The peacock room will become my creative space.

But why is it so hard for me to find a very simple and narrow table. I need this table to put my sewing machine on. And in a hurry as I have many things to make. Fleece hats, fleece poncho, something with ribbons, something with beads

Vestibule upgrade begins

started in a heat wave (7/23);

necessity is the mother of invention.

our house was a sauna.

outside was not cooler but there was a breeze.

the broken plexi-glass on the interior foyer door bug me.

a lot. 

but never enough to do something about it. 

i left it as is in order to block some of the winter elements from entering.

but now it is summer

and, until yesterday, i could ignore it.

pulled out the plexi glass, 

shut the interior door and opened the exterior door.

enters the wind, warm breeze

cutting through the humidity and french door open panel,
cooling the insides, slightly.

the, er, charming ancient pompom window cover also came down.

a little antsy to do more but too hot to dig out rocks for a patio, i got my trusty wallpaper scraping tool and started scraping the quaint, but old, damaged and brittle wallpaper off.

expecting to uncover rain damaged walls. 

son thought this looked fun too and took over.

calculating the lower cost if I do the tear down and my contract-her do the patching up.

realizing i am good at ideas and starting things but not so handy at construction and fixing.

the walls will need repairs.

the old, water stained and covered-with-nasty-rugs hardwood will be cut out

and little mosaic slate or marble will be installed.

I'm a reactionary sort, you see

I just started scraping,

before I cleaned out the area.

when I realized I was serious I put the hats and hoodies elsewhere,

the mail catcher basket remains.

These designs and colours are my current favourites; A mixture of slate and marble tiles

Source: alibaba.com via Sara on Pinterest

Source: alibaba.com via Sara on Pinterest

Source: alibaba.com via Sara on Pinterest

Source: alibaba.com via Sara on Pinterest

and then back to me,

some painting,

vintage gray (i have lots of this leftover from my stripes) on the lower portion, 

chantilly lace on the upper portion.

of this very tiny foyer
39" x 74"

Kitchen: GUTTED

We arrive home. I mentally prepare myself that it may not be completed. And much to my surprise, it was and I love it! Yep, my gutted kitchen is 110% more livable then the original kitchen. Bigger, brighter, and bountiful.  Camp kitchen cooking for the next 6 months while I figure out how I move around in the space, where I am inclined to want to put things, roll things and wash things.

I finally find a place for drying baggies and bibs!  The sink was moved to this wall, where plumbing was already in place for a washing machine.

 Corner cabinets and stove were removed.  Stove pushed against wall. Upper and lower cabinets removed from fridge area. Cutting board cabinet reused beside stove. I would like  a sitting area in place of the fridge, but not sure if I can forgo the wall and area for a table. hmmm



Wall cabinet / pantry / desk removed. Currently will host pet station and small cupboard.

We left the existing plumbing intact.Just have to step around this, better then the peninsula I was moving around. And the half bathroom.

Now I just need to move all the food and pots and pans and small appliances back into the kitchen so the other living areas return to their normal.

I originally thought I would replace the floor first. But electrical work and a new stove trump that. I have not been able to bake for a year. Everything burns. I need a new stove. And the ceiling light is faulty.

Go here and here for kitchen reno pictures and plan!

Half bath - before, actually make that current

The half-bath that will be included in the kitchen gutting project this weekend.  The toilet will be removed, floor torn out and then toilet temporarily replaced on sub-floor. Renovating to take place some time later.

The inspiration / plan for renovated bathroom is here.

Very old, ugly and dysfunctional cabinet. Sliding doors do not slide. Mirror is broken. Light does not work, but it has been a useful shelf.

 

And the view out the window...I like the icicles.

If I had a hammer...

it would be a sledge hammer.

In preparation for the demo, I imagined Extreme House Makeover. The first season, that is, before the show got all acty and too focused on the people they were helping (a little insensitive of me, non). Less focused on demo'ing. My son and I loved watching the demo part. Both of us quietly imagining sledging a wall down. I am sure my kitchen demo will not be as free trashing or thrashing BUT I decided I should have a sledge hammer in my tool kit.

Tool kit has gotten over crowded the past year ... couldn't toss, but didn't know where else to put the vintage faucets that were laying around the house when I moved in. Took kit seemed like a natural home. A few too many Allen keys, thank you IKEA.  A silver tin filled with drywall type plastic holders and screws but now that I FINALLY successfully used a couple last week, I should keep those. A fabric stapler used once but MAY use again, sometime in my life. A pair of goggles that I rarely use, but as soon as I re-home them, I'll find myself in dire need of eye protection....so things will remain put for the time being.

With that in mind there are a few intentional and worthy tools that I do need to get...

Sledge hammer. Everyone needs a sledge hammer, if not to use, at least to be able to say SLEDGE. Best word ever.

Sander. The small hand held sander. I keep looking and some of my wooden varnished dressers. Or cat scratches that may be easily fixed with the passing of a motorized hand held sander. I could do a lot with that tool.

Pry bar. There is a lot of prying that can be done around here. Who knows what lays under layers of old kitchen floor. Pry off a window frame. You name it, pop it off.

Axe. The cord of wood I bought in the fall....yeah, half sized chunks of wood that need splitting ... ah but a pry bar and sledge hammer may do the job!

Those are the tools I need. My most loved and versatile tool I have is my wallpaper scraper. That is what I bought it for when I lived in my first purchased home. Scrapped off the bathroom wallpaper, which was actually quite pretty but old and falling off. And then I kept on using the scraper. Held in corners and edges in awkward tight spots while I was painting and cutting. De-caulking the bathtub. Its my go to tool.


What is your go to tool?

tidbit. One of my memorable campfire songs...If I had a hammer, I'd tell you what I'd do...I'd hammer in the morning ... all over this land. And when I was a camper, I could bellow those high notes like no other.

If I had a hammer
I'd hammer in the morning
I'd hammer in the evening
All over this land
I'd hammer out danger
I'd hammer out a warning
I'd hammer out love between my brothers and my sisters
All over this land

If I had a bell
I'd ring it in the morning
I'd ring it in the evening
All over this land
I'd ring out danger
I'd ring out a warning
I'd ring out love between my brothers and my sisters
All over this land

If I had a song
I'd sing it in the morning
I'd sing it in the evening
All over this land
I'd sing out danger
I'd sing out a warning
I'd sing out love between my brothers and my sisters
All over this land

Well I've got a hammer
And I've got a bell
And I've got a song to sing
All over this land
It's the hammer of justice
It's the bell of freedom
It's the song about love between my brothers and my sisters
All over this land

©1958, 1962 (renewed), 1986 (renewed)
TRO-Ludlow Music, Inc. (BMI)

http://www.arlo.net/resources/lyrics/hammer-song.shtml

kitchen - before

Photos often put things into perspective. No wonder I have been cranky. Look at this nastiness and clutter!

"I am a patient person, I have high tolerance. I am a patient person, I have high tolerance." I tell myself after looking at these pictures. Admittedly, I just moved in last September. I was 6 months pregnant. I did chimney work, blew in insulation, gutted and remodel the upstairs bathroom. Had a baby. Replaced some windows. Painted two rooms. Play with my 8 year old, run my out of home business .... it is ok, its coming down NOW!

Some water damage and nastiness:

Some ugly vinyl floor that does not come clean. This was also in the upstairs bathroom where we cut out the vinyl and plywood, down to the boards.

A small bit of solace. 

That is all I can bare to reveal. I have deleted the layout photos. Besides the dingy atmosphere, the apparent lack of storage (re: cluttered counters), it was too depressing to look at.

I will be meeting with my Contract-Her this week and discussing my three phase plan!

My current elements, likes and needs: Pantry, white, ceramic, tile, stone. Wood. Floating shelves. Minimalism. Eating/gathering area. Light. Airy.

Bathroom reno completed

The bathroom was painted over the weekend!

The mirror and shelf were installed. We also took off the "plastic" baseboard and installed a wood baseboard. A trim around the door frame was attached. The wood shelf is still undone as I do not know what to do with it (it is not the recessed "2" shelf I envisioned). We love the outcome of bathroom - a complete year from start to finish! 

The Toto Aquia II Dual flush toilet;  I love my toilet. It was really important to me to get a water conservative dual flush. Although any toilet would have been better then the water guzzler that was previously in here.

Kohler Wellworth sink. The sink, this was my backup sink. I had bought two other sinks and returned them as they didn't fit the tiny area and they were not quite what I wanted.  Faucet is by Kohler.

Wall paint - Oatlands taupe; Door, baseboard and ceiling - white. I initially used Chantilly Lace paint by Benj Moore on the walls, but that dulled the tiles. (post edit: not in love with the paint colour with this bathroom. I will have the find the perfect white)

Baseboard Painted and installed by Contract-Her.

The shelf was installed above the tile, just in case I changed my mind. I didn't want to put holes in the tile.   Mirror - Pottery Barn online store.   Vanity Shelf - Vintage Tub and Bath.

Light fixture - oil rubbed bronze, made by Rejuvenation: 

The boldest thing I did in this bathroom, the Floor tile - Keystone Daltile -ocean blue and artisan brown summer.

Wall and bath surround tile - Modern Dimensions, Arctic white matte finish

And a white waffle shower curtain and bath mat from Target. Still need a new rod. I have a bruise on my cheekbone as the rod keeps falling down.

Click here for BEFORE pictures. And here for work in progress and one of the beautiful but rejected sinks.