One Man's Floor is Another Man's Weekend

Last weekend was one of those rare times when we get a day off for a holiday that requires no action on our part. No baking of class cookies, no purchasing of presents, no preparation of a giant meal or out of town guests. So we decided to celebrate in the way that Home Depot suggests - by putting in a new floor.

Here is the before shot. Notice the slightly pinkish linoleum. What the pictures don't show is the scarring that has come from eight years of living with said linoleum. It was a treat for the eyes, let me tell you.

This renovation idea was all well and dandy until the day before our project started. I got a miserable cold. But in our family, we don't let that kind of thing stop us. So while the cold was killing my nasal passages and stalking Chris, We tore out the unsightly linoleum. There now. Isn't this better?

Then we covered the entire floor with orange wires that promised to keep our cold feet warm even on the worst winter day. 

Then we covered that with some orange junk. Something about uncoupling the tile from the subfloor and independent movement. I'm just the unskilled labor here.

                                      

Finally, Saturday night saw the laying of the first tile. It was considerably later on Saturday night than originally planned and we were both really starting to feel the effects of that darn cold virus. 

Nonetheless, we worked all night. From the placement of this picture, I can tell you that it was about 1:00 a.m.. We worked until 3:30 a.m. when we realized we were officially too stupid with exhaustion to measure tile anymore. I heartily apologize to the next owner of our house in the event they tear out the trim behind the fridge and realize the tile is cut a bit short. I was tired. Mistakes were made. Mostly by me. 

But by Monday night, we once again had a functioning kitchen. This is my favorite moment - the dishwasher being replaced. Let me tell you, after 5 days of cooking on the grill and in the microwave and having to resort to doing dishes in the bathroom sink, this was a beautiful sight.     

                                

And then we were done. Kind of. There's still a bit of trim work for us to do. And by "us" I mean "Chris". I am after all banned from caulk products since the Harney Street bathtub incident of 2004. But we won't talk of that.

Here's our lovely new travertine floor with a marble medallion. (And by the way, those orange wires under the floor are delightful).

Thanks, Chris for an adventure in tiling. Also, thanks for making everything an adventure.