My parents have lived in their house for the past 17 years and have finally come to the decision that it's time to update and make it more them and less builder grade. It was a long time coming, but little by little this house is starting to have more of their personal touches to it.
The kitchen upgrade began when the microwave went out, followed by a new stainless steel fridge and dishwasher. Mom waffled back and forth on moving onto the kitchen floors or tackling the last appliance and by the title of this post you know that she opted for new floors.
It took a couple of weeks, numerous stops to different flooring departments and several take home sample tiles to finally come to a decision on the new 20 x 20 porcelain tile.
With the tile ordered it was time for a couple of before shots before we got to work on tearing up the linoleum under the direction of our handyman Mike.
Looking from the dining room back. To the left is the pantry and to the right is the laundry room. Down past the island you'll find the breakfast nook with windows out to the backyard. Feel free to look pass the mess and Gypsy's photo bombing.
From the breakfast nook back towards the dining room
Close up of the linoleum - 17 years of scrapes and tears
For the most part the linoleum came up pretty easily, but there were some patches where the glue stuck a little more. On those spots we watered it down then scraped/shoveled it up.
One last shot before the tile job started. As you can tell Gypsy was very interested
The team came in and laid the diamond pattern down in one day. They let it sit overnight and completed the grouting the following day.
And here are the beautiful after shots of the new tile floor (prior to adding the new trim).
And one last shot side by side of the before and after.
I think the larger tiles really help to make the kitchen feel larger!
Watching the skill and speed of the team working on the floor was very educational. Chris has laid tile before, but I haven't so I've always had a feeling in the back of my mind that I wouldn't be able to do it. Of course the diamond pattern requires more cutting than the standard pattern, but I think we might be able to start with something like a small bathroom.
Have you done any tiling?
Watching the skill and speed of the team working on the floor was very educational. Chris has laid tile before, but I haven't so I've always had a feeling in the back of my mind that I wouldn't be able to do it. Of course the diamond pattern requires more cutting than the standard pattern, but I think we might be able to start with something like a small bathroom.
Have you done any tiling?
It looks fantastic! I love that tile, and I'm always a fan of the diamond pattern - so pretty and custom-feeling!
ReplyDeletewow, looks awesome! bet your parents are super happy about the improvement!
ReplyDeleteSo happy! Mom can't get over the change... which of course makes her want to change more. If only there was an unlimited budget.
DeleteIt looks great! And Gypsy did a fine job supervising. ;)
ReplyDeleteLOL, it's what she does best :)
DeleteI LOVE LOVE LOVE large tile...I think it makes a room look larger and more open. The "after" photo looks so much better! Want to bring your new skillz to Austin and retile our entryway? :)
ReplyDeleteHaha! Maybe after a good amount of practice :)
DeleteIt looks so much better! I've had linoleum in a lot of my apartments/past parents' houses, and tile is such an improvement — don't know why builders keep laying down linoleum in the first place!
ReplyDeleteI agree, the larger tile does seem to make the room appear bigger. I'll have to remember this tip. :)
ReplyDeleteLove that they went with the diamond pattern!
ReplyDeleteoooh, I LOVE the diamond pattern! I really want to do that in our bathroom, but my husband isn't keen on the fact that it's a lot more cuts, and you have to have a larger tile cutter to do it. It looks so great in the kitchen though, definitely makes it look larger!
ReplyDelete