More tile photos

Photos of the tiling project

Tiling our kitchen

I've somehow lost the cord for my cameras somewhere between my office in Paris and my bedroom in Wisconsin so there won't be any photos for awhile, which is such a shame because we are in the middle of tiling our kitchen (finally!) and I need some encouraging words. I'm worrying because I think that it looks very.... colorful. Like Bozo the Clown colorful. Big Top circus colorful. I am really hoping that it is just the shock of having something on the wall after looking at plain plasterboard for the past, oh what is it now? 6 months. And after all the trouble I went to to get these stupid tiles, maybe I have expectations that are a bit high? I definitely need some unbiased opinions.

I don't think I mentioned here all the trouble that I went this summer through trying to order these tiles. After months of sort hemming and hawing about it, when I arrived in the States in July, we put the cash in my bank account there and I emailed my order to the company, with all the details of my American credit card. Then, the next day, I get a call that my card was rejected. What?!! Oh, yeah. I forget that this card has something ridiculous like a 200 dollar limit so I had to call the bank to raise my limit for this purchase. Then I called back the company and told them to put the charge through. The next day, I get another call from the company telling me that it was rejected a second time. Apparently, the actual charge was 7 dollars over the figure that I had given the bank (I'm not going to embarrass myself by telling you how much these tiles cost because I was slightly shocked myself when I got the total. And then, to add insult to injury, it was 7 dollars more than that. I am used to working in metric now so when the price was given to me per square foot I didn't have a very good idea of how many feet we were dealing with. A VERY LARGE number of square feet it turns out...) So third times a charm, the charge went through. Now it was just a question of waiting.

Well, the third week of August rolls around and there is no news on the tiles. By this time, B is in the States getting hysterical and asking me to telephone the company every other day to check up on the delivery. I finally cave in and ask if it would be possible to rush the delivery since we would only be in the States for another 5 days to accept delivery and it turns out they are on their way. But nothing is as simple as that, in my world. Turns out that on the date of delivery, no one would be home so my poor cancer-ridden mother had to meet the delivery guy in the parking lot of Farm & Fleet on her way to radiation treatment to get them. So, now I feel even worse about not liking the tiles because my poor mother had to actually sacrifice her health for me to have the tiles.

Now, when we were originally talking about whether or not we thought we should have the tiles shipped to France or bring them ourselves, I thought B told me that the documents indicated that the total weight of the tiles was only around 45 pounds. That didn't sound like very much so I said lets just throw them in our bags. I guess it was 45 kilos because by the time we unpacked all the boxes and stashed the tiles among our clothes and in our carry-ons, I could barely move a single suitcase. Turns out we had something like 105 pounds of tiles. We spent an entire afternoon shifting around stuff from one bag to another, trying desperately to keep everything under the weight limit after hearing some very scary stories this summer from our friends about overweight baggage charges.

So finally, we check in and everything seems fine. We arrive in France and check for chips or cracks in the tiles- nothing. Everything made it here in perfect condition. B finds the right tile cutter (naturally, they required some ridiculously special diamond bladed German saw which cost a mere 300 euro. Although we figure we should happily pay it as we got so lucky on the overweight bags and sneaking through customs) and manages to special order the grout that the company says is essential. He spends the entire day putting up tile and when I took at it? All I can think is that it makes the countertops look gray. And that these skinny 1 inch by 8 inch tiles make A LOT of pattern on the wall. And for a mix of whites and beiges, they sure are colorful tiles.

I'm hoping hoping hoping that when I get up tomorrow morning I change my mind and think that they look awesome. Its a really big change and its normal that it looks strange to me, right? Right now, B still has his tools everywhere and plastic on all the surfaces so its hard to judge. My project tomorrow is to go to an electronics store and buy a new cord to download pictures because I need some advice. Argh!! Its moments like these when I really wish I had managed to find a real decorator to help design the kitchen, someone with enough experience to know what is going to look like too much once it is up on the wall, even though it looks discreet and chic on paper. Well, live and learn. Even if the tiles are messed up, I guess I would consider the kitchen 90% successful. I can live with that.

A fully functioning kitchen- AT LAST!

What a great day! We finally, after more than a month of building works, once again have the luxury of living in an apartment with a fully functioning kitchen. The plumber came this morning and hooked up the sink. That means no more running to the bathroom every time I need to get Ella a glass of water. No running stuff through the dishwasher three times because there is no place to rinse off food gunk. No more emptying pasta water into a bucket and ending up with half of it on the floor because I am trying to hold the colander in one hand and not scald myself. Oh, and best of all? Maybe my cleaning lady with deign to enter the kitchen once more. Bizarrely, she hasn't touched a thing in the kitchen in the last 4 weeks- not even emptying the dishwasher. I realize that it was, technically, a building site and more or less a lost cause in terms of cleanliness, but still. I was so baffled each time she left the house, only to find that she had left a stack of filthy dishes on the counter and the dishwasher full, that I never managed to quite articulate a request. Hopefully, she won't be too disturbed by the unfinished walls and Wednesday we can get back to normal.

Actually, I'm thinking that I might attack the walls this week anyways; this morning the plasterer came for the last time and since B and I have pretty much decided that the only way to pick out the tile will be by visiting an Ann Sacks showroom, we will probably not have tiles any time soon. I figure I might as well make the walls presentable since I will have to live with it this way for a couple months. Plus, I have my very exciting Tupperware party on Friday morning and so all my mommy friends will be in the kitchen checking it out. I don't want to say I am definitely going to do it, because at this point, I have so much stuff to clean up before we have people over, I might never be ready. On the otherhand, I get slightly lunatic about the house whenever people are coming around and re-painting a room doesn't even scratch the surface of my special kind of crazy.

I am also very anxious to see this picture hung up. I mentioned last fall that we had bought a painting at the vernissage for Charel at the Galerie Felli and this is it. Since it arrived, I've just been shifting it around the house from one corner to the next. I couldn't really figure out where to put. Finally, I think that it will look really great hanging in the kitchen since the lightest color matches the cabinets and stone and there is a greenish tinge in the water (that you can't see very well in this photo) that is picked up by the glass in the upper cabinets. I will still need to get it under glass so that the humidity and grease in the kitchen don't wreck the surface of the painting, which is actually quite fragile, but for now, I just want to see it up. I think that getting up some art will go a long ways towards making me feel like this project is coming together and will be finished one day soon.

Countertops are in!

So the guys just left and our countertops are in! I really think it turned out great- although the color is slightly darker than I thought it would be, not exactly as creamy as expected, but I think that it might just be due to the fact that some of the pieces of stone had less grey in them than the piece that we ended up with. B really likes the color. My fav thing is how thick it is- 7 cm. I also really like the underhung sink, which is enormous. When we went back to the kitchen shop to confirm the plan, we asked for a bigger sink. I don't know why we thought the original one was too small, when I suspect it was the average size. Since we only have one basin, instead of two, like in the old kitchen, its probably for the best. I also have ended up happy with the little trash can thing installed in the countertop. The idea is that you can just brush crumbs, peelings, etc into the bucket instead of trying to carry them to the trash. Ultimately, it probably would have been more useful to have a dishsoap dispenser I suppose. Oh well. B and his gadgets, its impossible to control.

Since the color of the stone is a lot more greige than I expected I am a bit confused now as to what I should do for the tiles/wall color. If the color had been paler, I thought either a really cozy brown color would look good or a very pale cream color. Now, I suspect that either of those choices would make things just too monochromatic and blah. Back to the drawing board, I guess. I've already pulled out my stack of color swatches and its interesting to see that a pinky beige color looks the best with the stone. The next best is definitely a deep, dusty purple color. Of course, neither of these looks phenomonal with the aqua blue glass. Hmmm.

I was just wondering as I looked through the color samples if it wouldn't be a good idea to apply some sort of decal to the front of the glass cabinets. I've seen some really amazing uses of photography printed onto clear sticky paper and applied to plexiglass. If I could do something like that to change the color of the glass, it would be fantastic. I already asked B if we could possible use the plastic tint that you put on windows (to block out light) on the glass and he said he thought it would be a bad idea. I might have to insist on trying it anyways. It would give it the perfect smoky brown color that let the cabinets blend into the background.

Finally, the best way to deal with the monocromatic color scheme might be to add some patterened tiles. I was flipping through the Ann Sacks website and found some glass tile mosaics that might be just the thing for blending the beiges and the aqua blue. What do you think of this or this? I'm starting to realize that there is no way that I will be able to order these tiles over the telephone, however. Clearly, I'm going to have to find a very good reason to fly back to the States for a weekend so I can visit a showroom and make some decisions.

Door adjustments

Voila, the work that they did today. I am very very happy to be able to say that those few inches that were added to the doorway make a huge difference. It definitely leaves enough room for traffic so that the counter top can extend a full 20 cm over the edge of the cabinets without making it feel like the counter sticks out into the doorway. B had agreed to do the work but wasn't convinced it was necessary, even still this morning. As soon as the builders moved back to give us a look, then and only then did he realize that it was better. This is so frustrating for me. The man has no imagination. Unless he can see it with his own eyes, he's a sceptic.

Last night B and I spent about 2 hours hanging up plastic to isolate the area from the rest of the house and try and contain the dust. I think that it might have only taken them about 45 minutes to cut out the door frame, knock the door back and put in a new floor tile. Figures. AND there is still dust over 75% of the house. I cannot even begin to imagine what it is going to be like when they do the plastering. Of course, they refused to even try taking the wall up to the level of the kitchen ceiling. At the last minute I tried to push them into just going for it, arguing that it was only a possibility that the ceiling would fall out. The other possibility was that everything would be fine and I was feeling very lucky. No dice. Plus, they didn't even take out the wood framing above the door. I just have to keep telling myself that atleast its better than before.

It is so windy outside right now, all I want to do is cuddle up in bed with a nice book and take a nap. Ella and I have promised to go to a playgroup this afternoon for galette du roi. Wish we could skip it. Or else go in a taxi...

New coffeemaker, new life

Wow- this is the coffeemaker to end all coffeemakers, as I far as I am concerned. Check out that fine piece of stainless steel Swiss engineering. It was actually built in Switzerland, people. Nothing is actually built in Switzerland unless it goes 'cuckoo'. I had been quietly complaining about the price of this appliance that B insisted on having thinking that even a cheap model would have been a silly indulgence. I am now eating my words.

It got off to an inauspicious start. The coffeemaker was delivered Saturday morning -at 7:10 am. Have you ever even heard that it was possible for things to be delivered at that hour. Since Ella began sleeping through the night, I had forgotten that 7:10 am even existed. B and I were still sleeping so soundly and were so unprepared for a delivery to arrive early, that we didn't quite know what to do with ourselves. B banged madly at his alarm clock, trying to turn it off,only managing to turn on the clock radio, to blast Celine Dion at top volume (thanks Ella for fiddling with all the buttons) and I tried to scramble into some clothing but hadn't put my glasses on so could not even locate a pair of pants out of the mound of inindentifiable black clothing heaped on the floor. Finally, one of us had the clever idea to just go and answer the door, that someone being B. I gave up the fight and went back to sleep for a few hours, figuring no appliance was worth the effort.

Wrong wrong wrong. B had it all hooked up by the time I woke up. He had been stumped by the German instructions flashing across the command screen, but I sorted it out with some expert googling and we were off. I have been on a caffeine buzz ever since as I try to work my way through all the different functions. You see, this brilliant little coffeemaker can grind the beans as well as brew the coffee. It also steams milk, reheats drinks, provides boiling hot water for tea, and even folds the laundry. Well, ok, not the last one; but it does make all sorts of lovely types of coffee. Look at that coffee- doesn't it look delectable? Luckily, ella talked me into baking yet another batch of cupcakes (this one was chocolate-chocolate from Nigella's cookbook. Not bad. Closest recipe yet to duplicating the fluffiness of box cake, I think) so I have had something to nibble on as I sipped my way through the instruction manual.

I like it so much I am almost ready to tell B that he made a good choice. Almost.

More kitchen photos

In the last two photos you can see the problem with removing this door frame. If we could take the wall out to the ceiling it would mimic the entrance from the living room/hall, which would look great (especially since we had to leave a jog in the ceiling in between the old kitchen and the old hall.) But from the other side of the door, you can see how the ventilation arrives just where we want to do work. The builder said that the ceiling in this section is already fragile since it used to be held up by the wall which we removed. If we were to take out all the support on the other side, it would very likely crack, especially since we aren't entirely certain how much the ceiling is holding up the vents .

You can also see through the doorway how much the island is sticking out into the flow of traffic. By removing the door frame entirely and adding this 15 cm on the lefthand side (as you look from the dining room into the kitchen) I am hoping that it won't feel so awkward. Its moments like this when you appreciate how much a professional, like an interior architect, can help because they have enough experience to know what it will end up looking like whereas I just have to rely on my imagination. One thing that I am certain of- I want a clean look and this door, with the fussy molding and tricolor paint job, is too messy to stay.

Kitchen renovation progress to date

Of course, it was all very well to come back to Paris and see my dear husband, but obviously I was far far more anxious to see what had been done to my kitchen. I have to admit that I was a teeny bit disappointed because in my head, I imagined it looking far more finished. When B described it to me over the telephone, it seemed like there had been legions of builders slaving away on 24 hour shifts, going as fast as possible to have it all perfect for my arrival. Granted, the change was pretty dramatic, but it is far from complete. Obviously, we can't have a sink til the countertops are installed (we are having an underhung sink) and the stone cutter just got back from holiday today so I think we have to wait atleast another week for that. These photos were taken a few days after I had arrived, and I had the chance to put some boards on the top of the cabinets so that we could actually have a place to work and set stuff down. B then installed the extraction hood. I also had B put the induction cooker on the temporary countertop (after the photos were taken) because it was getting impossible to think up healthy meals (that Ella would eat) that could be prepared using nothing more than a microwave and the kettle.

Anyways, my verdict? I love the floor tiles, which have a very discreet leather look to them and are the same format as our old tiles, that is to say, large rectangles laid out like brickwork. The finish on the cabinets is very nice and it looks great with the long steel door handles. I definitely wish that we had decided to cap each of the doors top and bottem with the thin metal plates. I thought it might be too much, since the handles make quite a dramatic visual statement but I think it would have given the kitchen a slightly more expensive look and it actually would have been very useful for maintaining the door and easy for cleaning. Oh well. Live and learn. I also am thinking that instead of leaving a spotlight in the corner near the window I'll ask the electrician to set it up so that I can hang a pendant light over the sink. It would be a nice design touch and that spot is a bit useless where it is. In any case, all the ceiling spots will be replaced with positionable inox spots. The only real problem that came up during the renovation had to do with the fact that we didn't have enough electricity coming into the kitchen to support the induction cooktop, the electric oven, plus all the new ceiling lights and plugs. They actually had to add a new switch box to the electric board in order to get up to an acceptable level so some of the fancy lighting things I asked them to do (like separate inside lights on the glass cupboards, a plug inside the niche) had to be nixed for safety reasons.

Now, on to the bad. I also do not like the glass in the upper cabinets. We weren't able to see the actual product before ordering, but in the catalog, they did not look this green. I think it looks like cheap Ikea glass. What the hell is up with that? And since they have frames on the exterior, the glass is glued on, and I can't paint the interiour or replace it with clear glass. Now that I am trying to pick out the backsplash tile, I am really confused about how to deal with this. Its such a huge block of color, I can't just ignore it. I feel like I have to somehow tie it in the rest of the kitchen, but aqua blue is definitely not top of my color preferences. I think that the best solution will be to have a multicolored backsplash using the Ann Sacks Metro tiles (or maybe Metro Crisp?) I'm starting to like the idea of using a mix of whites and creams, maybe even in an etched finish.

We chose all Siemens appliances, mainly because we liked the look but I am overall really disappointed with the stuff. They do look nice but there is no functionality. Compared to the Smeg appliances in our old kitchen, these are terrible. The oven is overcomplicated and I can't cook anything without getting out the instruction manual. The microwave is the same. The dishwasher is practically useless. Even the induction cooktop seems to have more buttons than necessary, all the while being incapable of doing half the jobs I want to do. Would never recommend this brand to anyone else- unless it is someone who doesn't actually use their kitchen.

The other problem that came up, that you can't quite see in these photos is that the island ended up far closer to the doorway between the kitchen and dining room than I had expected. I had asked B to be there when they were installing it to verify the distance and ask them to remove a small element on the adjoining wall if necessary. This would have moved the island 15 cm closer to the window wall and I think it would have worked out perfectly. He wasn't there that day and didn't think it was a problem, but when I pointed out that the counters would extend another 20 cm beyond the edge of the cabinet, he saw what I was worried about. We had the builder come and have decided to take out the entire door frame between the two rooms and knock out the 15 cm of wall on one side. Unfortunately, because the heating vent is just above this door frame, we can't make a clean line with the ceiling (atleast, the builder was pretty doubtful). It would have looked great, and really unified the space if we could have done that, but already taking out the door frame will be an improvement. I had asked for this to be done originally and B made an executive decision to leave the door, to make it easier on the builders. When will he learn that his wife is always right- even if he doesn't know why?

After the door is knocked out, the plasterer will come and finish up the walls. I am already leaning pretty heavily towards a dark brown Farrow and Ball Paint for the two walls around the eating area. I think that it will look really cozy and make a nice contrast with the cabinets and countertops. Of course, its just paint, so why not give it a try, right?

Overall, things are going along very nicely, no bad surprises, just a bit slower than I would have liked.

My kitchen design dilemma

I don't think it is a coincidence that today I received an email from a cuisine (kitchen) coach offering to help me sort out my project, for a mere 250 euro consultation. Its tempting.... Take a look at their website. The only thing that makes me really hesitate is that I am sort of at the end of the project and I am a bit afraid that they might suggest things that I can't implement because of decisions that we've already made. I also think, and this is partly from experience, that decorators tend to stick pretty closely to one particular style. This is fine if you love that style as well but no use at all if it is something that you find uninspiring. Since the site doesn't demonstrate very well the style of their designers, I hesitate to have someone come in. What if I spend 250 euro and she suggests speckled granite and copper pots, you know? I'll mention it to B tonight but I don't see him going for it.

kitchen wallpaper

kitchen wallpaper
Originally uploaded by aprilpschwab

I love this kitchen! I found the image via thekitchendesigner.org and it really got me thinking.
We finally heard back from the marble/granite wholesaler re: the stone we had picked out for the countertops. They sent us a photo of the sole slab that they had in stock and it was awful. It had a huge section at the top with no variation in color so it looked more or less like concrete, while bottom half was speckled with small "stones". It wasn't pretty at all so we said "No thanks". Now we can't figure out what we want to replace it with.

I didn't mind the dark brown that B had picked out, but I don't like the idea of dark floors-light cabinets-dark countertops- light walls. So whats the alternative? Maybe light colored countertops and dark walls? After seeing this kitchen on a decorating blog, I started thinking that maybe a really bold wallpaper would be just the thing to give our design some direction. I went on the Cole and Sons site and found this paper, that I LOVE:

The drop is 80 cm, so I think the pattern must be quite large. I need to see it in real-life and think that BHV carries this brand so I'll try popping over there tomorrow, I think. B probably won't be thrilled with this pattern, but I think that it could really work, since that red/orange color looks to be the same that I used in our office- Red Earth by Farrow and Ball. I like the idea of keeping our color scheme consistent throughout the entire flat. We could do the countertops dark brown, maybe even use this marble, since B fell in love with it when he saw a sample of it. The floors could stay dark chocolate brown as well. We stopped in at Raboni on blvd Henri IV last week and looked at some dark chocolate brown floor tiles with a very subtle leather grain pattern to them. The only thing that held us back from ordering them was the fact that they only existed in a 60 x 60 model. Then, we can use a chocolate brown pain in the niches. The only thing that bothers me a bit is that there is a gold accent in the paper (which I really like) which would maybe class with the stainless steel appliances. Hmm.

The other minor problem would be that we would have to change the wallpaper in our hall/entry. Right now it is a beige on white leaf pattern and it runs right up to the kitchen door. I like pattern, but even that would be a bit much for me.

I don't know about this. It would take a lot of bravery to commit to orange flowered wallpaper and gold veined marble in the kitchen. Even on paper, this idea scares me. Maybe I'll keep looking for a wallpaper just a teensy bit more subtle.

Kitchen renovation project

I don't know if anyone still reading remembers this, but the whole reason that we put our house on the market in the first place is because the Great Kitchen Renovation of 2006 was such a fucking nightmare that we abandoned the project, deciding that it would be easier to just move house. Ha ha ha. How I laugh at my naive younger self. (Of course, we have not gotten to the part in this renovation where they start knocking out walls... )

So, basically, this means that I have had a lot of time to think about what I wanted to do. Not that it seems to have helped any. I would generally say that I am incredibly decisive. I know immediately if I like something or not and if it will fit in with my plan. But this time around? I cannot figure out what I want to do. I think a bit of it is due to the fact that for once, I am not just decorating to please myself but with an eye on the eventual resale value. I know, I know. If I am staying here, I should just please myself. But my interiour decorating ego has taken a body blow by all the criticisms during the apartment visits. Sure, tons of people gave compliments but its always the negative feedback that stays lodged in your mind, a niggling doubt that just won't die. And since my partner in the renovation is not known for his rapid fire decision making... I'm just glad that we are almost done. The only thing left to decide is the stone for the countertops. Unless I change my mind, and technically, I have another day or two until these decisions become absolutely irrevocable. So be careful what you say in the comments section, my husband begs of you (he is reading over my shoulder right now).

Here is a diagram of the current situation in our kitchen:



When we first moved in, we decided not to make any structural changes to the kitchen because the kitchen was already tons bigger than the kitchen in our old apartment and I was really smitten with the original cabinets that were there. You obviously can't tell from the photos, but the cabinets are heavy solid wood, lined in zinc, and the paint is enamel.There is a pull out wooden cutting board and a marble slap hidden under one of the countertops for making pastry. We had to remove a wall of cabinetry to add modern stainless steel appliances (because these cabinets are so old, the dimensions are off just enough that we couldn't slot in new stuff) and chose some glass upper cabinets for extra storage. I honestly just love this kitchen and, for me, there is plenty of room for cooking and storage. The only thing that is wrong with it is that there is no room for a table. It might be stating the obvious, but toddlers are messy eaters, to put it mildly. After cleaning our dining room rug for the second time in a year, we've decided that it would be more cost-effective to completely re-do the kitchen to add an eating area than it would be to continue to let her eat at the dining room table.

This is a diagram (very rough) of what the new kitchen will be like. We are going to close off the door to the bedroom and move it to another spot. The wall to the hall will then be knocked out to give the kitchen an extra few meters squared. The door to the dining room will be taken off to just make a clean opening, although I still wanted to keep the kitchen a separate room. We will be adding a large eating island , with an induction cooktop and three long drawers underneath. On the opposite wall, where there used to be the sink, we are putting in two full length columns, one with a fridge and freezer and then other with a microwave and a regular oven. The sink is going to be moved in front of the window and will be underhung. The dishwasher will be moved to where the oven used to be and next to it, we are putting in a glassfront wine refridgerator. In the laundry area, we are taking out the big Ikea pantry that we used to have and are putting in a cabinet that will have a coffee maker built in. The broom cupboard will be taken out and made 20 cm deeper so that it can hold a narrow set of drawers on the bottom and then glass shelving will be put in the upper section, maybe with a flat screen TV set in, lit from above.

All the "technical" part is decided and I don't think we will change anything. The real issue is with the decorating. Which color? Which finish? What do we do with the walls? Do we add wood accents? Do we want a tile backsplash? I've been scouring the web for ideas - thank god for this site- but I haven't found anything that really inspired me. (Actually, thats a wee bit of a lie. I absolutely fell in lust over this kitchen, I love every single bit of it. BUT I decided that too late in the game and had to abandon the idea. Oh well. Better to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all, right?) We ordered the cabinets in a standard sort of beige matte laquer although we still have the option of ordering the cabinets in a custom color for a small extra cost. We were thinking of having them done in a really rich expresso brown and putting in light stone countertops, something the color of travertine but not so easy to stain. But yesterday we were at the stone wholesaler and couldn't find anything pale that we liked. We had nearly decided on getting a plain pale ivory stone but having it cut extra thick, like 15 cm, since the price was quite low when the salesman told us that it would be really difficult to maintain as well. The disappointment quickly disappeared when I found a slab of the granite that I had searched for last year after seeing it in a Met Home article. How gorgeous is this? The only problem is that they don't have it in stock, it can only be ordered, and we can only get if they happen to have it in stock at the headquarters in Italy. We picked out a back-up granite in dark brown (actually its the one B prefers. So basically, either I win or he wins, but the compromising thing didn't work out so much on this home improvement project.)

So the kitchen is scheduled to be delivered at the end of December. Which means that B will have to stay here for the Christmas hols. That is another post though.

So today was