tile style

here we are on sunday night, 8pm. by the grace of God we finished tiling with a little time to relax before the week starts. here is a rundown of the tiling project:

monday night: we cut and drilled plywood over the subfloor. i helped ben after i got back from bible study, so we probably spent two hours doing that.


tuesday night: finished laying and drilling the plywood. worked from 7-10ish.
wednesday night: cut the cement backerboard, and mixed the mortar to stick it down. we drilled it in, too. worked from 7-about midnight.
friday: a friend came over to help me get started with the tiling. worked from 11-4:30.


saturday: ben and i tiled a little more. worked from 11:30-5:45 (and then showered at lightning speed to get to a wedding at 7!)


sunday: finished laying the tile. worked from 5-8. throughout the weekend, i pretty much cut the tile on the wet saw and dana/ben placed it on the floor.



so we have almost 25 hours logged for this project, which is exactly what our home depot book estimates it would take a beginner. however, we haven't even grouted yet. oh well! :)

art project with miss bef

last night, beth and i completed the second-to-last step of last weekend's art project. the mission was to do something on the walls in the tiny half bath to mimic wallpaper. i've been loving wallpaper lately, as there are tons of modern wallpaper options these days. my favorites are from walnut wallpaper. here are some inspiration photos i've collected.




but wallpaper is expensive, and kind of a commitment. we were in a hurry to finish whatever wall treatment we were going to do because we had to install sconces for our electrical inspection.

now, beth has serious artistic talent so i enlisted her in my art army. i thought we might be able to mimic something natural-looking (like trees) with paint. recently, i saw a design*sponge post with a similar project that encouraged me that we could pull this off. so with these pictures as our inspiration, we set off.






i had already painted the adjoining mudroom in "dorian gray" by sherwin williams, so we carried that into the bathroom, too. (of course, i had a semi-brief period in which i was convinced we should paint this bathroom bright kelly green...but i realized the error of my ways. but i guarantee green will appear throughout our home...i love it!)

beth just sketched some tree outlines in pencil right onto the wall. then we filled them in. i initially bought the shade of white that was at the top of the paint sample strip, but when we put it on the wall, it was too stark (i think it was four shades away). we went back and bought the shade right next to dorian. after a few hours of painting last friday, beth finished up the details last night with a small brush. here she is in action:


and here are a few shots of the bigger picture. (we only painted the tree silhouettes on one wall - the one that is visible from the mudroom.)


in morning light (and with the green tape removed):



i am really pleased with the results. we need to do a few touch-ups, but it is pretty much finished. once we get the window painted white, some trim, a toilet and sink, and a few accessories, i think it will look really sharp.

thanks for your help, beth! now i'm off to tile the floor for the mudroom and bath. pics to come!

weekend update: mini-makeovers

this past weekend was full of small triumphs around the house.

first off: the front porch. i finally put out the housewarming gift dave and lauren got us. it is an adorable welcome mat from patina. my mom and i went to costco and she bought us this fantasticly huge plant. so they went up on the front porch. i know this is kind of like lipstick on a pig, but it brightened up our entryway significantly (even if the only person who notices is the postman).

before:


after:

to quote from clueless, "not a totally betty, but a vast improvement."

here's another small update:



(please excuse the sawdust.) i love the knobs. they add a great sheen to the kitchen that makes me really excited for shiny new appliances.

and finally, we painted the mudroom a lovely shade of gray. it was actually called "dorian gray" from sherwin williams. they had funny names. a close shade was even called "intellectual gray." i want that job: naming paint colors. we also installed a light fixture because we have our final electrical inspection coming up. we decided that the fixture wasn't bright enough, but we'll keep it up for the inspection and then change it out.

before (note the sad little light bulb):


after (note the sad lack of doorknob):


i think it will look awesome with crisp white trim. the doors will be painted a color to keep them from looking filthy; i'm just not quite sure which color yet.

this weekend involves a paint project in the half bath with a special guest. i'll post pics when it is finished!

the faucet chronicles

who knew selecting a kitchen faucet would be so hard? not me. i seriously dreamed about faucets last night. but we finally picked one. i bought it today, after numerous trips to home depot, menards, and a few online browsing extravaganzas.

chrome, stainless, or oil-rubbed bronze? two handles or one? pull-down spout? side spray? soap dispenser? it's worse than ordering coffee. plus, there's always the complication of getting the best quality we can afford but spending as little as possible.

i knew going in that i wanted a side spray, and ben told me that we should get a one-handle model (there was a reason but i can't remember. something to do with pressure and an even temperature...).

when i first started, i wanted something modern and industrial. our small group leaders have an awesome one like this:


i love how intense it looks, but again, i didn't want a pull-down faucet. so i thought something simple like this:


but we wanted to go with kohler or moen for their warranties, and it was hard to find one in our price range. then, today, i was at menards. it was time to make a decision. i saw this moen beauty, and i was strangely drawn to it. (amazon has it listed for $400...we did not even pay close to that for it.)

it is definitely a departure from the modern stuff i usually go for. but i think that is what makes design fun - mixing styles can make a room interesting because you can't quite pin it down.

in other news, i put the knobs on our cabinets tonight. as i unwrapped each knob, i felt like i was opening a present. they are so shiny and pretty! i'm thrilled with our choice. the details really do make the difference. so i'm blogging about the minutiae to remind myself to pay attention to the small stuff.

a cruel joke

i've been terrible about blogging. false promises have been made. the past few weeks have been busy - it seems like all i do at home these days is sleep. weddings, cabins, bible studies, baby showers, birthdays, etc. have been keeping me busy.

so here's a little teaser photo. we received the cabinets last thursday, and ben and a contractor hung them on friday. we are still waiting on countertops...those will come next week. then electrical, then inspection, then appliances. then.....cooking!

announcing cabinet arrival

we had our cabinets delivered today!

i squealed when i saw them...they did not disappoint. ben is taking the day off tomorrow to help a few contractors hang them. i'll post pictures when they are up - hopefully tomorrow!