Tuesday, September 30, 2014

Getting Down To Business (Kitchen Update)

Yes, it's been a while.  I've had wedding hangover when it comes to writing.  But, our progress on the house hasn't slowed.  In fact, the weekend following our big day, we started right back up and wrapped up a bunch of projects in the kitchen.

Honeymoon? Not yet.  We took a pre-honeymoon four days following our nuptials.  We exchanged vows in Northern Michigan at a beautiful estate winery.  Our family and friends headed back the day after the wedding, and Justin and I hung out and enjoyed the area (er... fell asleep at 8pm) for an extra few days.  We will be jumping on a plane and heading east to Italy for two weeks in March for our much awaited 'moon.  If you are looking for a sneak peek of photos from our big day, you can jump on over to our photographer's blog

Our kitchen has come a long way since I last shared it way back in, oh...June!  Whoa.. sorry for the break folks. I have a coworker in Chicago (at my paying job) who reminds me frequently that I suck at blogging about progress.  I can't argue with that. 

First off, we put the cabinet doors back on (long ago, I promise). 



(I still have some paint touch-ups... clearly).



And we finally made a decision for our backsplash (remember, when I shared our thoughts back here).  If you know me, you probably could have guessed what direction I would go.  I like to play it safe, and although hex tile would add some great pattern, I was afraid I'd tire of it over time.  So subway it is.




Justin spent 4 days golfing (that's right, golf widow right here), and I wanted to surprise him with a finished backsplash when he got home. 



This little project was really affordable for marble ($196 in materials)!  But installation was a PAIN.  For one, I chose 3x6 individual marble tiles.  I used 12"x12" sheets of 2"x4" subway tile in my last house, and installation was a breeze!  Not so much this time around. 


Secondly, I didn't have many long runs of straight tile, so 75% of the tiles had to be specially cut using a tile saw.  I was working with marble (a natural stone) which has fault lines that would cause a small cut to crumble to bits.  I purchased a new saw blade, and this seemed to help some, but it still wasn't perfect. 


I hired our friend to help me install the tile.  He cut, I layered on the mastic and laid the tile.  Working together with no breaks (I'm a slave driver...), it took over 10 hours to install the tile.  I did the tile backsplash in my last house by myself and finished in about 8 hours... and there was more tile!



The grout went on quickly.  We used 1/8" tile spacers and grouted with an unsanded white mixture.





It's been too long, so let's take a quick look back at where this ol' kitchen started.
 
 
Next up... my obsession with open shelves.

A note about the tile I used in the kitchen.  I purchased the Venatino Polished Marble from Lowe's and I overbought a ton.  I'm so glad I did because I found a large variation in the undertones of the tile.  They ranged from bright white, to gray, brown, and gold.  I would lay out a few boxes of tiles, choose the ones I wanted then returned the tiles I didn't want (gold and bright white).  It turned out great, but there was definitely some leg work that went into choosing a pattern before I installed the tile.

1 comment :

  1. Standing ovation! Backs hurt and manicures are destroyed, but you did it yourself.

    ReplyDelete

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