Showing posts with label marble. Show all posts
Showing posts with label marble. Show all posts

Friday, July 6, 2012

Penny Tile ♥

Once again I am feeling like there are simply not enough surfaces in my house to tile.

I absolutely love the mini penny round tiles on this week's episode of Sarah 101 "Baker's Kitchen".

via HGTV

via HGTV

via HGTV

 To make matters worse the tiles come in several fantastic colour options...

Ming Green, via Creekside Tile

Bianca Carrara, via Creekside Tile

Oriental White, via Creekside Tile

For more of Sarah 101, check out the shopping guide and episode gallery or watch the full episode online.

Amy

Sunday, February 5, 2012

Indecisive

I don't know what it is about our fireplace that makes me so indecisive.

First we were going to keep our existing arched brick fireplace and I spent hours trying to strip the paint off the brick...


Then I got frustrated and tore it out...


Then we settled on buying a new gas insert and building a new mantle...


We were going to fill the inside of the mantle with brick left over from the chimney... but now that it is time to install the brick I am having having trouble committing.


I keep seeing images on pinterest that make me double guess myself on the brick.

Marble Mosaic Tile
Via The Marion House Book

Glass Tile
Via House of Turquoise

Black Stone
Via Pinterest

Dave has given me until Thursday to decide so I will be spending the next four days searching the internet and tile stores for options.

After that I might have to cancel my Pinterest account so I don't get tempted to change my mind again...

Amy

Friday, July 8, 2011

Bathroom ♥


Via Pinterest

Via Life's Design

Via Apartment Therapy
Via Apartment Therapy
Amy

Thursday, June 16, 2011

Soapstone

Dave LOVES soapstone. He lobbied for a long time to have soapstone counters in the kitchen. After extensive research and searching, I vetoed it when I found out the beautiful, uniform black soapstone found in school labs and Martha Stewart's kitchen is now almost impossible to come by. Supplies of soapstone are getting low and most of the stone available now is heavily veined and rarely black.


What I wanted...

What I found...
I do love soapstone too, so ever since the kitchen we have been trying to work it into the house some where... neither of the bathrooms have counters, it is too expensive and heavy to justify for a desktop and our laundry room is just simply out of the question (there is a reason there are no photos of the basement). 
Finally we have found the perfect location to use soapstone - on the hearth in front of the fireplace!

The slabs are the perfect thickness to inlay into the hardwood flooring, the colour will compliment the brick on the mantel and anchor the black cast iron insert, and soapstone has excellent heat retention so it is ideal for a fireplace hearth. Plus we only needed a small peice so we would be able to save money by getting our stone out of remnants from other projects.

Last week I visited the remnant pile at Dauter Stone to pick out a piece of soapstone. They had remnants available in three types of soapstone - I was torn between the charcoal grey Canadian (back) and the deep black green veined Serpentine (front). Ultimately I decided the Canadian soapstone would work better with the grey accents in the brick (really I was scared to commit to the green veins in the Serpentine - too much colour for something so permament!).



Now we just have to wait for our stone to be cut and polished. Hopefully it will arrive soon so we can start the hardwood flooring!

Amy

Tuesday, May 31, 2011

Tile ♥

I have been telling Dave for a long time that we simply do not have enough surfaces in our house to tile. I would love to find a place for these fantastic mosaics.





Amy

Tuesday, April 26, 2011

And the Winner is...

Herringbone!



I am quite impressed that we didn't get to the end only to find out we messed up the pattern along the way!


Amy

Thursday, April 21, 2011

Entry Tile

We have been playing around with options for the tile in the front entry. Since the tiles are 8" x 16" pattern options are pretty limited but this is what we have come up with so far.


Herringbone

Angled Herringbone


Basketweave


Modified Basketweave

Cast your vote! Let us know your preference in the comment box below!

 
Amy

Tuesday, December 14, 2010

Bathroom

We have already renovated the upstairs bathroom once but it seemed a shame to have one room in the house that did not have spray foam insulation so all of our hard work got torn out and we get to do it all over again.


We were pretty satisfied with the original renovation so it will be reconstructed with only a few changes. First instead of the wood wainscoting, we will be installing 3x6" bianco marble tile on the walls. We plan to use bianco marble pencil pieces and 6x18" tiles to create a baseboard and top it off with bianco marble chair rail pieces. The grey marble floors tiles will be staying.






We will be reinstalling the Kohler Memoirs pedestal sink and Serif toilet.


And of course we will be reinstalling our beautiful clawfoot tub. However we will be replacing the faucet and shower with a set that also has a hand-held shower. After a recent incident involving our old shower rod detatching from the wall and separating the showerhead while Dave was in the shower, spraying the entire bathroom in water until I could rush in and turn off the water supply, we are adamant to find a much sturdier shower enclosure. So far these two "Hotel Quality" shower enclosures are the front runners, both from Signature Hardware.  

Thermostatic Hotel-Style Shower
 
Hotel-Style Shower

Current code requires that thermostatic faucets are installed but the thermostatic faucet is just not as pretty as the traditional cross handle version!

Amy




Sunday, December 12, 2010

Front Entry

Although a measly 6' x 8', I am hoping that the renovated front entry will have a big impact on those who visit our home. It is all about first impressions right? 

Though really almost anything will be an improvement from the lack-luster pea green walls and worn finishes the room featured before (made to look even worse when the only "before" photo I have is mid-demolition).


The outer door was one of our splurges. A gorgeous Arts and Craft style door in a rich mahogany wood tone from Jeld-wen.

Jeld-wen Wilmar Door
The inner door is the original front door to the house and features an antique mail slot and turn-style brass door bell. We had wanted to restore the wood and stain it to match the new outer door but unfortunately the wood has been sealed with something that prevents it from absorbing stain evenly. Instead we are hoping to make the door a feature by painting it a vibrant colour. Right now we are leaning towards a deep blue.
   




Teal Tempo, Oceanside from Sherwin Williams

Originally I had been dreaming of a dramatic marble floor - either black and white marble in a checker pattern or a carerra marble mosaic rug.



In the end we decided a polished marble floor might be a little too slippery during the winter and selected a 8"x16" distressed travertine tile that we plan to install in a herringbone pattern.


Anatolia Antique Pewter Travertine

The light fixture will be a brass and glass pendant that we bought on a trip to Thailand four years ago (I hate to think what the customs agent thought when they saw two light fixtures and a large wood cutting board in our luggage).


When we bought the light fixture, I had planned to paint the ceiling similar to the ceilings in the Grand Palace where I had first spotted the light fixture. I am still contemplating it as an unexpected pop of colour.

Grand Palace, Bangkok, Thailand

There is one big challenge remaining... trying to find storage for all of our coats and shoes!

Amy

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