Of course, as I spent my Summer in lovely Looeyvul, and I've been otherwise occupied since my return to HPNC, the Kitchen Redo stalled. Not that I haven't thought about finishing it...many times, I've gone online to drool over the bazillion tile selections. I just haven't had the time or energy...or the ability to see clearly enough to make good color choices...in order to make anything happen. Well, that's about to change.
I went to Lowe's yesterday to get some Mumkins (bright yellow mums in orange pumpkin pots, decorated like Jack-o'-Lantern faces) for the front steps. I have two of the same pots from last year, which are now sporting some cuttings I took from Missy M's mums and rooted earlier this year...believe it or not, they are flowering! But, I thought the steps needed a little more flower-power, don't you know? Especially since everything else is winding down for the season.
Anyway. As these things happen, you go shopping for one thing...and wind up with something else entirely. Can you relate?
I drifted from the Garden Center with my mums inside to the Tile area, and proceeded to spend the better part of an hour mixing and matching kitchen tile backsplash possibilities. I then decided to buy a few of this and one or two of that and take it all home to work with.
And that's how my counter came to look like this.
It's a puzzle, really. A mystery. And I do love a good mystery. Only...I'm not so good with more than three options...makes my head spin and my interest in the project switch to "off." So, with Mr. T's help, I am narrowing down the choices before I get too frustrated.
While I was in the tile aisle, I talked to a man who had just tiled his bathroom. He assured me that a kitchen backsplash was a doable DIY project IF you did these four things:
1. Know ahead of time EXACTLY how you want it to look. (Hence the tile puzzle currently on my breakfast bar.)
2. Measure everything to the 1/16" and draw it all out on paper (Hence getting Mr. T involved...he's the "measure twice, cut once" woodworker in the family...and also the resident draftsman. I can't draw stick people.)
3. NEVER start the project when you have something special happening. He said his wife's parents were coming this week, and she was "driving him crazy" to get his project done! (Point taken. I promise not to wait until Thanksgiving week to start my project.)
4. ALWAYS buy more than you think you'll need. You may not be able to find an exact match if you run out. (As a knitter, I'm already on board with that concept.) He was there yesterday because he needed just three more tiles of a certain size to finish his project...and the HP Lowe's didn't have them, nor did the Winston, Asheboro, or Wilkesboro stores. Lesson learned, Tile Master.
So, here's what I know for sure.
A. I want glossy, white tiles as the main element in this backsplash. This kitchen has a great feature in corner windows over the sink, but as one window faces north and the other faces a tree-shaded west, the natural light is weak. We need the reflectivity that glossy white tiles can provide. Plus white is the main colorway in the granite.
B. I want to use a subway tile pattern and size of the tiles. I like that look.
C. I want to incorporate some hammered copper tiles we have left over from our kitchen redo in MO. (Remember: buy more than you'll need!) I love the warmth that copper gives to a space, and with all that white...we'll probably need some sources of warmth! Plus, one of the accent colors in the granite is a reddish hue, which the copper will pick up nicely. (The other accent color is black.)
D. Without going overboard, I want to include some glass tiles...or mosaic tiles...or possibly both...as accents.
So, this Kitchen Redo Redux post will be...continued. Stay tuned!
No comments:
Post a Comment