The best things in life are free
the second best things are very expensive
Speed Queen version: If you find the details of the kitchen reno boring, you may want to scroll down to the mockups (I went with the blue tile). The last photo is my progress on the new wall (spoiler, it looks like a framed-in wall). Then, I have a few links to stuff I’m enjoying at the bottom.
Wanting what I cannot afford (the tile version):
When I was considering keeping my existing kitchen cabinets, reconfiguring them, and having new doors & drawer fronts made, I had a lot of fun imagining my cabinets painted in hues of pink, blue, or green, but finally settled on solid wood. In my experience, solid wood cabinets are much easier to keep looking nice and I like the warmth wood can bring.
However! I still wanted to bring in some color and figured it wouldn’t be too difficult to pick out a fun patterned tile for the floor. Hahaaaaaaaa.
Guys. It was so hard. I’d fall in love with a tile design, only to discover it was WAY out of my price range or was not available anywhere in the states and could not be shipped — or if it could be shipped, more than doubled the price. 😭 I shook my fist at a lot of really gorgeous tile in the UK, Germany, Spain, and Italy. 😭😭😭
I mean, look at the floor tile in this pic (made in France 😭):
That whole kitchen is pretty dreamy — the colors anyway, I do NOT like open shelving. But a pink zellige tile backsplash? Pink and green tile set in a rug pattern on the floor? 😍😍😍 And if you click through, you’ll see their adjacent butler’s pantry has a checkered floor treatment. I can’t even. It’s gorgeous.
Sadly, but probably relateable-y, I am doing this on a mostly DIY shoestring penny pinching kind of budget. So tile needed to be around 3K. 3.5K tops.
That budget was so incredibly limiting. I ordered dozens upon dozens of samples and I’d feel okay about some of them. I’d make mockups in Photoshop and could visualize the space taking shape. But then I’d run across the kind of tile I really wanted but couldn’t afford and I’d go back to the drawing board feeling unhappy and scared that I’d do all this work and hate it in the end.
I made a million moldboards and mockups and harassed my mom, sister, and friends with all the different choices. I spread out all my tile samples in the front entry and made everyone walk on them to see which ones showed the most dirt. I agonized over my choices in ways that are not particularly familiar to me; usually I am very decisive! And this took weeks! I had multiple headaches about it and had to take to my bed like a Victorian lady in a too-tight corset.
All this to say… I settled. I had to. I’m a little sad about it. But okay about it too. It’s going to be nice. I wasn’t worried about resale value, but if we ever do sell the house, I don’t think what I landed on will be a huge detriment. Plus, most of the tile I was drooling over was encaustic cement tile and it can be a hassle to care for. Going with regular old porcelain is a good call.
I cannot make a decision like this without a mockup:
Spoiler, I chose the blue:
This one was a very close runner-up:
Forgive the chair/rugs… the kitchen floor will be visible from the front room so I was trying to picture the flow of it all. My paint color is in the upper left corner. It’s Glidden Silver Cloud which I still really love and will need to have matched as it’s no longer made.
Note: Backsplash is not decided yet. It’s not as pressing schedule-wise and can go in after the cabinets and countertops are installed. I might go for a splash more color there, but I don’t know.
Anyway! It’s not this gorgeous green tile (10K for my space, not including shipping!) nor is it this beautiful pink tile (6K not including international shipping which probably doubles the price), but it’s pretty and I love blue.
Blue floor tile: Daltile Keepsake Blue Asanoha - 8” hex. Under $3200 shipped in the US.
Green floor tile: Realonda Kerala Aqua - 13” hex. Under $3200 shipped from Italy.
However did I choose?
Please insert that viral sound, “Don’t ask me how I did it, I just did it, it was hard.”
I really love the green (and my front room chairs are already green), but a sample was not available. Not even from the maker of the tile. Not from any of their retailers. Nobody would ship me even a PIECE of this tile. If I ordered it sight unseen, it would be shipping all the way from Italy and I was terrified it would arrive and be a puke green color… or just some strange shade I didn’t love. You cannot imagine how many samples arrived and looked COMPLETELY different than they did on my computer. I mean, maybe you can. It was most of them.
Also, my goal is to use a darker grout and thin lines to cut down on my full bore flaming grout hatred and I couldn’t make any look good with the green tile in my mockups. I know there are epoxy grouts now that supposedly do not stain, but their lighter colors are known to yellow so I didn’t want to risk it.
Another favorable mark for the blue tile: the keepsake line also has a plain blue hex in the same shape. I’ve ordered some extra that I will be taking to Boise where I’ll meet with a water jet fabricator to figure out what kind of memorial we’ll put in Eric’s spot. ❤️🩹
Extra deets on the mockups if you’re interested:
Blue rug: Tumble Amara - Indigo/Beige (not sure if I’ll buy but I am intrigued by the washable factor).
Green rug: Ruggable - Frances Vintage Teal Blue Rug
Range: Forno 30” electric range in white (comes with both silver & antique brass knobs/handles — it’s here already and I love it).
Chairs: Interior Define - Winslow in Forest (already own) may reupholster in blue but I’ll see how everything looks in seven years when we are done with this project.
Unpopular appliance choices:
I am switching to white appliances and most of my family thinks I’ve lost it. The internet and renovation shows are on their side unless it’s adorable retro styles 💸💸💸 or the Cafe line by GE, also 💸💸💸. But you guys, am I the only one? I have stainless steel appliances now and I hate them. I also hate my stainless steel sink. They never look clean. I know there are fingerprint resistant versions out there, but we have hard water and it’s just a losing battle no matter how you slice it.
Also, I really don’t like the french door on top, pull out freezer refrigerator situation I have going on now. Stuff gets lost in the back and in the drawer. Plus, the freezer pull outs are so hard to clean.
Here’s what’s on order / en route:
Whirlpool counter depth side-by-side fridge in white. I had to switch to counter depth when I moved the wall, but I think having a shallower space will work well for us. We no longer have our super hero leftover eater. 😭
Bosch 500 Series Dishwasher in white. So much research you guys and I’m still mad about it. I had a Whirlpool fail after five years and its replacement Samsung fail in two. I do not like spending this much on a dishwasher but it is apparently a good one that will last longer. Throw a goat into the volcano for me that this is true.
Maytag Flush Built in Design over-the-range microwave in white. I am weirdly excited about this. I did decide to keep the microwave over the range for a myriad of boring reasons. This one is very sleek, won’t jut out, can be properly vented, and will be easier to clean with all the controls hidden behind the door.
I shopped sales, used rebates, and took advantage of various Lowe’s card perks, and am selling existing appliances to offset cost, but spending this much money in a short period still gave me the vapors.
I did not expect to love the optional gold handle & knobs on the above-linked range, but I do! I’m not terribly fussed about being all matchy-matchy, but once the other appliances arrive, I may hack around a bit with some aftermarket solutions to get their silver bits to look more antique gold/bronze. It may go badly; I will return and report. 🫡
State of the Union:
Progress today includes the framing for the new wall between the laundry room & kitchen, including the metal framework for the pocket door. Behold:
I’ll start patching & skim coating the destruction I caused when removing the backsplash tile this weekend; sheet rocking should start Monday.
The blue tile won’t get here for a few weeks so we’ll have quite a lull waiting after the walls are finished. 🫠 If the wood flooring gets here first — and it likely will — I may ruin my children’s lives further by tearing up the front room (and our temporary kitchen) so I can get that in first. We’ll see.
Premium newsletter coming, I swear:
I hope this isn’t too boring! I do have a whopper of premium newsletter in the works. I’m chopping it into parts as to not send 50 thousand words in one go. I’m going to force myself to stop my endless revising and rewriting (it keeps growing more heads) and get it launched this weekend.
xo,
Jessica
Title & subtitle shamelessly swiped from Coco Chanel: “The best things in life are free. The second best things are very expensive.” I would add: the third best things are affordable and they are a-okay.
Linkalicious:
I mean, duh. But also… omg. I now have a huge crush on Post Malone. That hug, ya’ll.
Okay, this might seem a little strange if you don’t need it, but I have full on little-kid sobbed over some of these reels. Highly recommend for the lonely, especially if you’re missing your other half.
Speaking of an extra five inches (hahaha) this made me laugh. I live in jacked-up-truck country, so it was especially hilarious.
I bought this tech case (only affiliate link in the entire post) and it’s surprisingly perfect.
Well, this is depressing. What might it mean for those of us who are delusional in the opposite direction and are already convinced we are tired-looking hags? Is it even worse in reality?!
My kids all loved this periodic table with elements color coded to answer the question, “Can I lick it?”
I fell for an Instagram ad, but come on. The Horrors Persist, but So Do I is a perfect t-shirt for me, no?