Jane has always dreamed of having a dishwasher, other than Art. As these things sometimes go, adding a dishwasher turned into remodeling their 40 year old kitchen. The kitchen has been a work in progress for about 18 months now. First it was the design, which involved two architects and an interior designer, all trying to give Jane the kitchen of her dreams and not the budget of her nightmares. Then there were several trips to IKEA (200 miles round trip) for cabinet selection and purchasing. A few months delay and the remodeling began.
Jane's kitchen during demolition
Finally the time had arrived for the BACK SPLASH. I started scouting materials a few months back, and Art and Jane made some exciting choices. Materials were ordered and purchased. Last Thursday all the materials were here and it was time to get tiling. We borrowed equipment from our mutual friends Phil and Marsh, whose home will be featured here many times in the future.
Saturday morning Jane and I got started. Jane was a novice, but eager to learn. I have some experience with installing tile, I've seen it done a million times. Just kidding, I've done some installing before, most recently with Marsha and Phil in their two new bathrooms. Owen joined us at lunch time, he never misses an opportunity to hang with me and Jane. I think it's like a trip to a comedy club for him, he always gets us laughing. As usual he was home trimming the Mesquite tree from HELL all morning, it was Saturday after all.
Only one trip to the Home Depot was required, a NEW WORLD RECORD! But, the three of us were a well oiled machine, and we had about half the tile up in a few hours. By sundown we were all tired, dirty, and need of a few Margaritas, but excellent progress had been made. Art joined us after work, and we hit MOLINA'S for some Margaritas and Mexican food. Jane and I decided we would wait until the next morning to see if we could move enough to finish on Sunday.
Both Jane and I indulged in some aspirin Saturday night, but we were ready to go late Sunday morning. Art joined in on Sunday and it was pretty snug with all four of us in the kitchen, but we managed. Owen showed Art how not to cut off any fingers while using the tile saw. The four of us really hustled and we had thin-set pretty much everywhere. Jane was just about to reach expert status, except she didn't get to cut any tiles. We took an break for some awesome BBQ from BRUSHFIRE around 5. Janet, another friend, stopped by to observe the work, her back splash is next. After everyone had consumed some PIG meat and a few beers, we set the last few pieces.
Jane and I will grout this Friday, but here is the progress so far!
Jane's Kitchen back splash before grout (below)
The back splash is a combination of three materials:
Pearl grey ceramic "SUBWAY" tile 3" x 6" from AZ TILE
blue and green glass accent tiles 1" x 1" used in pairs from AZ TILE
we used 1sf of each of; blue gloss, green gloss, blue matte, and green matte
we used 1sf of each of; blue gloss, green gloss, blue matte, and green matte
tumbled stone 1" x 2" bands of 6 pieces from A WORLD OF TILE
The design is horizontal bands of subway tile alternating with bands of stone and glass squares in pairs are added every 6 tiles with the stone
The entire back splash on the "Breakfront"(not shown) is done only in the stone and glass
Everyone is pleased with the results!
Owen and I both like the style and materials so much, we may even decide to finally get a back splash in our kitchen. After all it's only been 11 years.
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