Day Five

Today was my first day back to school, so I couldn't creep in and take photos whenever I thought I wouldn't be in the way.  I'm not sure if this is a bad thing, because when I came home today, I was blown away by how great the floor looks.

I finally nailed down my choice for floors back in the end of July.  This was an adventure.

Tip #5:  Get what fits your vision.  It's your money, you have to live with it, get what you want.  

I wholeheartedly believe this.  The way that my mind works with any project; I know something will work in the space when I see it.  It happened with my contractor, with my cabinets, and with my flooring.

Our contractor gave us the names of places to go, but as I found out with the granite, the suggestions are nice starting points, but they don't always give you what you envision.  I had done some leg-work for the granite, so when it came to picking out floor tile and backsplash tile, I had some other places to check out.

I don't recommend going by yourself for choosing big things like granite and flooring; it's nice to have someone to bounce ideas off of.  The husband had to work, so I went on my own to recon tile flooring.  There are a ton of choices.  Our contractor recommended this luxury vinyl tile, super easy to install, cost effective, and really functional.  I went to check it out.  It's an awesome product; it's warm to the touch, unlike tile, and it's crazy durable. The vinyl tile is made in the same way as composite decking.  But no matter how great the product, the available colors didn't fit the bill.

My heart was set on the long, skinny tiles, 12"x24", in a solid gray.  That's the vision.  So I looked and found a couple of tiles that I liked at the recommended place--not the vinyl composite tile, but porcelain.  Then I went to a place that I had been the week before and liked the atmosphere and people.  I have this weird sense of loyalty to people and places that I feel have taken good care of me.  On my granite travels, I found a local, family-owned shop in Albany.  I worked with the third generation in the family.  Even though I didn't get my granite there, he answered my questions and gave me some excellent advice.  I also had scoped out the flooring while there, and knew that they had something that I liked.  The following day, the husband I snagged some samples from both places and brought them home.  They let you do this.  It's totally awesome for visualizing the space.

As it turned out, the recon was pointless, because we ended up with an entirely different tile than what I had picked out on my own.  But when I saw this tile, I knew.

From the dining room.

This shows the subfloor that the tile guys put down.  I guess they had to level everything, and to make sure that nothing would move and ruin their amazing work, they put down 1/2" think cement board.  That floor is secure!

There are a number of ways that tiles can be laid.  I talk a good talk, but I've never been in this situation before.  I know nothing about flooring.  I have been all over the web, looking at pictures, but I wasn't sure what would look best in my space.  So I asked the tile guy.  He's the expert.

Tip #6 (Bonus tip!):  When in doubt, ask your experts.  You hired them for a reason.  

I've done this a lot in this project.  My contractors haven't let me down.  From the chimney, to my cabinet doors, and now my floor.  The tile guys off-set the tiles by one third.  The idea of half tile off-set would look too choppy, but this will flow.  I agree.  I love it!  The tile guy also recommended a grout color because I had neglected to choose that.  We're going a shade lighter.  It is going to pop.

How cool is that!