piled + tiled
/$25 + 2hrs later, this is what I left the laundromat with. Do you remember how, more than once, I’ve told you that I despise putting laundry away? The answer to my problems? Having a DRESSER in our bedroom!! It’s so easy to just plop the folded clothes right in. And the one good thing about going to the laundromat, is that ALL of your laundry is done in one false fell swoop [thanks for the correction on that saying, dad!].
Clean laundry….ahhhhhh [breathing in the dryer sheet smell]
I was talking to a certain someone today, and they ever-so-kindly asked/demanded that I post photos of the kitchen tile. ;) In fear of stressing out a pregnant lady, the only thing that is not on my to-do list, I complied.
My uncle finished grouting the floor last night and we are BEYOND happy with how it came out. It has a nice textured feel to it and we love the varying colors of gray.
We went with a charcoal groat grout, for contrast with the tile and to make the floor look a bit darker. We decided against a lighter grout because of how easily it can look dirty, despite how often you clean.
I should have used my foot as a scale figure to show you how big these tiles are. They really make the kitchen look wider! Well, that and the wide angle lens. ;)
From above!
The counters will be installed Thursday [!!!!], the plumbing will be finished Friday, and our appliances will be delivered Friday as well. Fingers crossed that our electrician can come on Friday as well. If he can, we will have a FULL functioning kitchen THIS WEEK! If he can’t, we’ll have it up + running by Monday. Either way is really fine by me and at least we’ll have a working kitchen sink by the weekend. A few extra days to be without a full kitchen, is no big deal in the grand scheme of things.
But Friday would be awesome.
So how are Chris + I doing? How are we not at each other’s throats? How are we living in this tornado of a mess?
I could go on + on, so maybe I’ll have to have a little “how we’re not going insane – part II.” That is, if you enjoyed part I. ;)
My amazing-talented-kind-generous uncle, is coming over tomorrow to start working on the 3rd BR closet. While he’s doing that, I’ll be installing the kitchen shelves, drawers + doors. Oh yah…it’s all coming together!
Off to bed.
Ashley
Clean laundry….ahhhhhh [breathing in the dryer sheet smell]
I was talking to a certain someone today, and they ever-so-kindly asked/demanded that I post photos of the kitchen tile. ;) In fear of stressing out a pregnant lady, the only thing that is not on my to-do list, I complied.
My uncle finished grouting the floor last night and we are BEYOND happy with how it came out. It has a nice textured feel to it and we love the varying colors of gray.
We went with a charcoal groat grout, for contrast with the tile and to make the floor look a bit darker. We decided against a lighter grout because of how easily it can look dirty, despite how often you clean.
I should have used my foot as a scale figure to show you how big these tiles are. They really make the kitchen look wider! Well, that and the wide angle lens. ;)
From above!
The counters will be installed Thursday [!!!!], the plumbing will be finished Friday, and our appliances will be delivered Friday as well. Fingers crossed that our electrician can come on Friday as well. If he can, we will have a FULL functioning kitchen THIS WEEK! If he can’t, we’ll have it up + running by Monday. Either way is really fine by me and at least we’ll have a working kitchen sink by the weekend. A few extra days to be without a full kitchen, is no big deal in the grand scheme of things.
But Friday would be awesome.
So how are Chris + I doing? How are we not at each other’s throats? How are we living in this tornado of a mess?
- The first thing you must do is realize you are going to be using your communicating skills more than ever. I repeat, more.than.ever. Luckily, our design taste is pretty similar. We both like clean lines, simple furniture, cool + earthy tones, etc. There really weren’t too many debates on anything we picked out. We worked together on narrowing things down like paint color, floor tile, cabinet door style, etc. We would usually get down to about 2-3 options and then Chris would tell me that I could pick from there. What a lucky duck I am. hehe When we picked out the kitchen color scheme and I had the 2 different options, we both instantly went for the calm, clean + light scheme. While our specific material choice has changed since that decision, our color scheme did not. We are thrilled with our choice of white cabinets, as it really opened up the whole kitchen.
- That being said, if you and your significant other don’t have the same taste, there will be a lot of compromising going on! Go to a few furniture stores and see if you can find common ground. Browse design websites online and talk about the colors you both like the best. Get opinions from friends, without telling them whose idea is whose.
- With things like the wood floor stain color, we discussed the options but also made an informed decision. We did research and talked to the our flooring guys about what colors showed more scratching [dark stains] and the differences between oil based + water based polyurethane. We decided on a light stain, to help hid scratches and we chose a water based poly. The water based is much more eco-friendly and health-friendly. The fumes from oil based can linger for over a month, but the water based fumes were gone within days!
- We decided on our financial spending comfort level together. If you’re doing a remodel with a husband/wife/boyfriend/girlfriend/friend/etc. you must be on the same page with the finances, or it’s going to be really tough! This isn’t to say that we both weren’t stressed about all of the money being spent, but agreeing on how much will be spent is key. We set a budget for each item and then worked in tax and a 10% overhead amount, because projects like this typically increase in cost as you go along. Um, hello, paint. We went through WAY more paint than I expected!
- Be each other’s support! You are going to get stressed out. If you aren’t stressed at all, that worries me and makes me jealous. Try to think about the bigger picture. If things are going to take a few extra days, is it really a big deal? If you have to spend $100 more on something, is that going to matter in a year? When you start to ask yourself questions like that, it can put you more at ease. Or at least it did for me/us. We are spending quite a bit of money. Much more than we’ve ever spent before. But! We know this is an investment that will pay off in the future. The money we’re spending isn’t technically “gone.” Yes it has been spent, but we’ll get it back + more, whenever we sell. We are so very lucky to have found a great deal on a house, in a very in-demand part of town.
- I’ve actually been dealing pretty well with the chaos. It’s funny because I used to be the major stressed out one in the relationship. I cannot tell you how often I freaked out during grad school. “I’m never going to finish!!” “I am going to get reamed out at my review tomorrow.” “I’m not going to sleep tonight!” “My work suckssssssss.” etc. etc. Lot’s of crying, lot’s of freaking, lot’s of wasted energy. I think it’s been harder for Chris being at work and then having to come home and work on school [currently in grad school]. He hasn’t been able to help as much as he would like, and I know that has been frustrating for him. Balancing everything has been the hardest task for us both. If you’re living in a house that is being remodeled, find ways to keep things organized as much as possible. Set up a temporary system and stick to it!
I could go on + on, so maybe I’ll have to have a little “how we’re not going insane – part II.” That is, if you enjoyed part I. ;)
My amazing-talented-kind-generous uncle, is coming over tomorrow to start working on the 3rd BR closet. While he’s doing that, I’ll be installing the kitchen shelves, drawers + doors. Oh yah…it’s all coming together!
Off to bed.
Ashley
