Past Successes: The Kitchen

Sometimes great design is driven more by being cheap than by being creative.

For my kitchen backsplash, I wanted the high end look of stone, but could not afford the high end price. By bargain hunting on Craigslist, and by just going to tile sellers and asking what they had that they were trying to get rid of, I was able to get the tumbled marble 3x6 subway tile super cheap and the 4x4 tumbled marble tile I actually got free.

I did run into a challenge because there was not enough of either to use by themselves (or together, I was about 8 sq ft short of the 30 sq ft or so that I needed). So I had to get creative. I went to Lowes and got some tile that best matched what I had at home. I mixed all the subway tile colors in a randon pattern, and suddenly I had a design.

 

My next challenge was that I wanted to minimize cutting by laying my tile so that it just fit the space from the top of the 4" backsplash to the bottom of the cabinet (about 13.5"). I realized I would need a 1" trim and 1/8" spacers to fill the space without having to cut along the top. So I went back to Lowes to look at trim, and found travertine 1"x1" mosaic tile on 12"x12" sheets. Cutting the mosaic into strips was a great money saver, and time saver since it helped the tile fit perfectly.

I still had to figure out what to do over the sink. Again, to minimize cutting, I measured the space, laid the tiles out on the kitchen table with spacers, and fiddled with the design until I found a look that was functional (filled the space with minimal cuts) and fashionable (well I think it looks georgous).

Lessons Learned:
I learned the value of planning when laying tile. In coming up with my design, I considered what would look good, as well as how would it fit in the space. I think the less cuts you have in your design, the better for the finished product. Also, put up tile is not rocket science but it pays to do your research and follow the tips of the pros. Laying tile is hard work and you want it to come out right the first time.

Let the madness begin!

Hello! First of all, let me say thank you for reading my blog. I know you got lots of other things you can do with your time, and I appreciate you spending some of it with me. I am so excited. Out of all the blogs, you chose mine. It is kind of like going back to high school and getting to be popular. Or not. Either way, I am glad you decided to stop by.

You must be wondering what makes me a mad DIYer? Well, it all started with a leaky water heater. No, I did not fix the water heater, but the water heater did mess up the carpet. No, I did not install new carpet, but the new carpet is next to the hallway bath, in there I did a lot! What does the hallway bath have to do with the water heater? Other than warm showers, not much. But getting the water heater replaced was the catalyst for fixing all sorts of stuff around the house. And since I spent most of the money on the water heater (and a new kitchen but that is a different post), the only way the hallway bath was gonna get done was if I did it myself. And now that that is done, i am working on my master bath.

So why the need to blog about it? For one, I hope sharing my experiences and successes (and failures too) will help inspire others to DIY. It is immensely satisfying to bring your vision to reality using your own two hands. And I would love to share what I have learned with others and hear great tips, so I can learn more too. Plus I have taken to carrying photos of my work like they were my children, showing them to any random stranger I can find. And where better to find random strangers than the internet. (But I hope we won't be random strangers for long.)

Speaking of pictures, I will be posting some soon, of my past projects and the current one, my master bath. The bath is small but my plans are big. Have I bitten off more than I can chew? Oh I hope so. Let the madness begin.