It’s been all about the tiles for the past few days. Jason has been the loveliest tiler and great to have a chat to but not too much…..I’ve been keeping the kids away from the kitchen and hallway so he could do his work. And I’d keep popping my head in to ohh and ahh. It has really started to lighten up the room.
I’m actually so glad I didn’t go with the dark floorboards because this room was always so dark with all of that dark brown 70’s kitchen and the brown walls. Now with these light tiles on the floor and the brown kitchen out…..it’s so light and bright. And all night I’ve been stopping to admire the floors.
These are a porcelain tile from Amber Tiles. I went in there looking for Travertine tiles but was scared off by the staining (I have heard a few stories even after they have been sealed) so I settled on the porcelain and they are just gorgeous. Yes there is the chip factor (think something dropping on them not the potato variety) but I’m really happy. Retro daddy has been advised to seal up the grout which is a buff colour to match the tiles but so far so good.
Retro daddy is painting as I type out this blog post and he will spend Sunday painting and the coming week will see the appliances arrive (I ordered through Appliances Online who seemed to have the best prices AND you can just pay on delivery which is great for cashflow) and the kitchen cabinets arrive Friday (woohoo!). I should mention that I’m not allowed to assist in painting and haven’t been allowed to since the ‘butt swiping’ incident of 2006. We had just moved into our first house and I managed to take some paint with me and my big pregnant butt while I was trying to help out retro daddy.
Unfortunately there is a slight drama with the oven which is somewhere on a ship out at sea and isn’t due to arrive into port until mid October. This is not good news as all the trades are due to be finished by the 18th so they’ve made it a priority when it comes in but I really hope it arrives before the 18th because that really is the star of the show in this kitchen. A big black ESSE cooker that I decided to order in Australia so I didn’t have to have it shipped over from England….ahem……It will all be worth it, I know it will and the 3 year warranty is a big plus.
Watch this space…………..
The view from your windows always makes me think that the kitchen is on the top floor of the house, but from your description it is on the ground floor, is that right? The outlook of the trees is just beautiful.
ground floor but about 2metres or so from street level as our block is raised. It’s a lovely outlook and we can see the water in the distance, I haven’t minded doing the dishes with a nice view:)
I am definitely jealous of that view. My view out the kitchen window is of the compost bin, brick fence and of our crazy neighbours house
If it makes you feel better at our last house for 3 years I looked out at our neighbours dirty weatherboard and into their bathroom window! Grandmas hacking cough was also something special throughout the day ! Our houses were so close together it was no fun:)
Oh wow, I always thought your kitchen was on the top level as well!
Corrie this floor just looks FABULOUS…. and now I definitely have tile-envy 😉
oh thank you, I’m really happy with it. It’s come up really nicely
Corrie, they are lovely!
thank you! I’m really happy with it and keep going on about it to retro daddy who doesn’t need to make more of a fuss, just once is enough for him. But they do look lovely:)
Corrie the tiles look fabulous, bet you cannot wait for it all to be finished, you will be in seventh heaven xx
Love your style. Am seriously hooked with each step of this reno. I am praying that oven arrives on time.
Corrie I have dealt with appliances online multiple times and they are awesome, the delivery guys never fail to knock my socks off with their pleasant, helpful manner and happy attitudes. Your tiles are looking great.
What’s more they have a wide delivery area. My son on Central Coast bought a new washing machine and they deliver up there. They cheerfully told me they go almost everywhere with free delivery. Good prices too. I’ve bought several things from them.
They look great Corrie, fingers crossed the oven arrives early. It is a beautiful space will look amazing when finished.
Happy Sunday xx
I have been trying to decide on tiles or cork for our kitchen (small space) now I am pretty sure I shall go with tiles. My cooker and range hood will be installed tomorrow. Excited.
Our grout is unsealed Corrie and it’s terrible!!! It soaks up the stains as it’s very porous. I would definitely seal ASAP even before the rest of the kitchen goes in….some of my grout stains I have been unable to remove
I love these tiles – keep a few extra cuz they can be replaced individually but similar to fabric there is a dye lot effect so you don’t want one to stand out. Think of how easy it will be to mop this floor compared to wood. And when folks don’t move their chairs gently you won’t have this nasty feeling inside your head saying…..do you know how much this floor cost me, this is my floor – look after it! It really shows how dark the kitchen was with the brown walls against the nice white floor. I think you and Retro Daddy were very smart to be able to see the potential of the house vs the dated (very!!!) look of the decor. Not everyone is that clever.
Hi Corrie
What beautiful tiles!! Can’t wait to see the end result.
We reno’d our family bathroom and were advised to seal the grout. I did and it was the best decision I ever made. Because the grout is such a light colour, any mould issues are really obvious, but the sealant seems to make the mould almost a non-issue. The one thing I do though, is every year I spray the grout down with Exit Mould and reseal.
All of that to say, seal the grout! You’ll be so glad you did.
Cheers,
Samantha