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| FIRST things first, Beekeeperswife! You are awesome. Thanks again for all your install tips and photos. They have been so helpful so far. I am LOVING the way it looks and it's not even grouted yet.
Here are some progress photos.
Hubby working:
Lots of cutting. Thankfully the tiles were soft and cut like butter!
One wall almost done!
Had to bevel the corner tiles
Wall# 2 almost done
Starting around the window
I was happy with how they did around the potfiller
Thats it so far! Should be done tiling in about an hour. So the tile job took about 8 hours with a lunch break with my husband and our friend working. Tomorrow we grout!!! |
Follow-Up Postings:
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| Looks great. Hubby and friend did a beautiful job!! |
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- Posted by williamsem (My Page) on Sat, Sep 15, 12 at 19:04
| Beautiful! |
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- Posted by breezygirl (My Page) on Sat, Sep 15, 12 at 19:05
| Oh, wow Slush! It looks amazing! I was just wondering the other day what was happening with your tile. I can't wait to see it grouted and shining next to that yummy SW. Hurry up! ;) |
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| Love the tile Love seeing it going up. Looks wonderful!!!!!! |
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- Posted by WindyCityLindy (My Page) on Sat, Sep 15, 12 at 19:08
| It's beautiful! I can't wait to see the finished backsplash with your superwhite. |
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- Posted by AboutToGetDusty (My Page) on Sat, Sep 15, 12 at 20:17
| So pretty! And so impressive, you DIY folks. Wish I learned some tips from my dad while he was still on earth. It's so wonderful to see such talented people on GW! |
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| It's gorgeous! Can't wait to see the final pictures with your countertops. I thought I had my backsplash picked out - travertine subway tiles, herringbone glass/travertine for above stove, and a thin band of the little glass tiles. I looked at it for a few days and realized the travertine just doesn't go w/my granite. Looks great w/my cabinets, but awful w/granite. I love the glass tiles, but there isn't anything else that will go w/them since they have some travertine mixed in. I love the arabesque - even asked the tile store for a sample, Never heard of it...jeez, maybe I need a new tile store! Anyway, yours looks PERFECT! |
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| OMG beautiful and your hubby's got skills! I can tell I'm going to LOVE your kitchen. What kind of countertops are you hiding under that butcher paper? I'd like to use arabesque tile, somewhere, maybe a bathroom. Can you share Bee's install tips? Can't wait for the big reveal. |
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- Posted by beekeeperswife (My Page) on Sat, Sep 15, 12 at 20:52
| I was just thinking about you! This looks great! Make sure to take a picture of it when you have one wall grouted and one wall not. It is really an interesting "keepsake". I received my samples of it in the smoke color. Guess what? I really love it. So many things going on around here that I can't make a decision this weekend, but let's just say I was quite surprised at how much I like the arabesques in gray. I guess it's like children...you can't imagine you will love the 2nd one as much as the first, but you really do. Congrats on doing such a great job. Love it. Bee |
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- Posted by remodelfla (My Page) on Sat, Sep 15, 12 at 21:13
| looks beautiful! |
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| wow, it looks great! I love the texture and interest that the arabesque gives. |
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| somebody's hubby loves them very much!!! That looks really great and DH and friend are doing a great job putting it up. Your kitchen looks great! Love your light fixtures. @ |
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| Slush and Bee. What brand of arabesque are you using/considering? Thanks |
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| I love your cabinets and the tile. Your dh is wonderful. Up close that tile is just beautiful. Can't wait to see it grouted. |
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- Posted by gsciencechick (My Page) on Sat, Sep 15, 12 at 22:58
| Love it! Wow, that looks like a lot of intricate work. Congrats to your DH and his friend. I like your cabinet latches, too. |
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| It looks great. Your husband is an artist. What type thinset did they use to put it up? Is it water based? If so, what keeps it from soaking through the sheetrock and causing swelling or falling off? |
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- Posted by dragonfly08 (My Page) on Sun, Sep 16, 12 at 0:54
| Gorgeous gorgeous gorgeous (and your kitchen was already so lovely!)!! So happy to see that someone is finally pairing this beautiful tile with Super White! Can't wait to see your reveal! |
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| Beyond gorgeous! That is the most beautiful tile ever! |
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| Fantastic! Looking good. Well done DH! Can't wait to see the finished product. |
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| OHHHHH MYYYYY WORD!!! That backsplash is insanely GORGEOUS! That's the kind of element you would "build a house around". And how nice (especially for the pocketbook) that your DH could install it himself. BRAVO! |
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- Posted by secondhalf (My Page) on Sun, Sep 16, 12 at 9:14
| Sigh...so gorgeous. I love that tile and what an amazing job you guys have done putting it up yourselves. And Bee...your generosity with others is such an inspiring thing. I may decide on that tile for our backsplash just to remind me of that virtue! |
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| Thank you all for the wonderful comments :) It was fun signing in this morning and reading them. Bee I bet the gray color would look AMAZING with the SW! I can't wait to see it. I think they were using Omnigrip thinset? No problems at all. Here are a few more pictures once the tiles were all up. Unfortunately - this morning we both discovered a missing tile in the corner under the cabinet by the range. Well my DH's friend took his saw so we are unable to cut that tile out which means we probably won't grouting this weekend because we have to get that tile in. I'm so disappointed! But at least the big part is done and hopefully we can get it grouted next weekend. On the plus side, the tiles will have their true 24 hours to set which they wouldn't have if we grouted this morning. Okay on the the other photos. They are a bit dark because it was at night. I LOVE how it looks with the quartzite!!! Before Grouting:
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| Looks beautiful! |
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| Magnificent! |
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| Tah Daaaa!!! I've been waiting for this. Wow beautiful! Can you send your hubby to my house; looks like his work is more meticulous than many of the "pros" out there. Please post more pics when the tile is grouted including a close up or two. I'm curious to see how it works with a bevel. Also please tell me what your countertops are...in addition to being obviously gorgeous that is! Your pics are a great inspiration and I second the comment about about Bee's generosity in sharing her time, resources and crazy mad design skills! Agree that a gray arabesque in her beautiful new white kitchen would be amazing. Found this pic on Houzz. Don't know for sure, but it looks gray AND beautiful! |
Here is a link that might be useful: Gray arabesque with white cabs
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| My gosh, this is beautiful. Aren't you delighted? How can something be lush and subtle at the same time? This takes your kitchen in a whole different direction from the way subway tile would have. Congratulations. You will enjoy this for years and years. |
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| It looks wonderful. Seems like that would be hard to do too since it doesn't have straight lines. Kudos to your husband and friend. I agree, it is perfect with your countertop too. |
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| Beautiful!!!! Congratulations and want to officially welcome you as an alumnus of the ABT club! I thought of BeeKW when I saw it, so glad she posted. Amazing that your DH and friend did this! My DH has no talent in this area. |
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- Posted by breezygirl (My Page) on Mon, Sep 17, 12 at 0:01
| Even better! Too bad about the grouting, but you've waited so long already. What's another week? ;) Island--that beautiful gray tile is Walker Zanger Ashbury. I've not seen that particular install before. Very pretty! |
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| Island: the counters are called Moon Night Quartzite. Some places call it Super White. We got ours honed so they have a soft matte finish where you can feel all the veining. I love them. The tile is from Mosaic Tile and called Beveled Arabesque in white. |
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| Slush and Breezy thanks for the tile info. Slush those countertops are gorge! I don't know much about quartzite other than I've loved every piece I've seen on this website. I haven't seen much in the tile yards here unfortunately. Searched high and low to see a slab of perla madre in person and no such luck. Is the Moon Night durable or does it etch and stain like marble? Please tell me you don't need to baby it? Can you please post a close up of it sometime? Thanks. |
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| Moon Night was actually labeled a granite at the place we got it at but quartzite always seems to have "labeling" issues. Our fabricator said it was the hardest stone he's cut and went through a few blades cutting it. For a year nothing happened to it and we have 3 kids 12, 5, and a 3 year old. We are also red wine drinkers and there have been several times that we left spills overnight and it has never stained. BUT just a year of it being installed we had a dispenser of Beergaritas (with lots of fresh lime juice) on the island for a Fourth of July party, and of course there were spills. The next day I discovered a HUGE etching. BUT since we have the matte finish you can hardly tell. I'm wondering if it was just because we didn't reseal the counters. We had only done it when we first got it. Since then I have resealed them and we've had no more etching. Here are our slabs at the yard:
Our other choice was to get it polished. Which is so gorgeous, but I had never seen a matte finish counter like it and we wanted to be different. Plus I just loved the feeling of the veining and how soft it felt.
Here it is right after install:
Not the best photo, but you can see the veining here:
This is before installing the backsplash and crown molding:
It's funny, I went to take a photo of the etching and I can barely see it now. I think it mostly faded away in the last few weeks. Probably a plus for getting a honed finish. Here is the etching
and from another angle, no one would ever see it but me
Hope that helps. We have absolutely zero regrets about getting the Quartzite. Everyone who walks in our kitchen is in awe of it. Living in Southern California most of the homes here have very dark kitchens and everyone thought I was crazy for wanting a "white" kitchen. Those are associated with cheapo apartment kitchens usually. But once they saw the finished product they changed their tune. I definitely have Garden Web to thank for opening up the world of gorgeous kitchens to us. |
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| Oh and that's not any staining on the stone - it's just the light from the flash. |
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| Gorgeous Slush, congratulations. I love your honed quartzite too! I wish I had the option to hone my quartite, I love the matte texture too. |
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| Slush, I love your kitchen so much! I can't wait to see updated pictures with the crown molding and no paper on the counters to protect them. From glimpses of the crown molding, it is gorgeous! You did a great color match! The counters are gorgeous! The cabinets are the off-white color and style I love (as I love anything close to the shake look in either inset or full overlay with a frameless style.... but I also love other styles also but this is the preferred look for my kitchen that is not small that I want). The hardware is so beautiful. The floors are wonderful. The lighting is classy. Finally, I love the backsplash! It really adds a uniqueness to the kitchen like Bee's did to her kitchen. |
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- Posted by mabeldingeldine (My Page) on Tue, Sep 18, 12 at 18:57
| I still to this day find that Moon Night swoon inducing, Slush. Sighhhhhhhhhh. The arabesque backsplash looks terrific in your kitchen. Congrats on a wonderful space! |
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| Thanks Slush for the pics and details. I can't see the etching at all. Beautiful slabs and love your black island. Can't wait to see the final reveal. I'm in S CA and have experienced the same about the same bias against white kitchens. Allowed myself to be talked out of it in 1999 but not this time around. However still makes me nervous about working with someone who hasn't done many even if they are highly recommended. Don't want to end up with that "cheapo apartment" look you mentioned; I know exactly what you mean. Also since you're in SoCal can you please tell me where you found your quartzite? I haven't seen it here, but would be willing to travel to find a selection to gawk at. Thanks! |
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| Island - it was at Color Marble in Alhambra. They had several slabs honed and polished. I saw it at a few other places too but of course now I can't remember where. Like I said though Color Marble had it labeled as Moon Night Granite...where other places had it labeled as Super White Quartzite. Good luck! |
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| Thanks Slush, into my resource file it goes! |
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| Oooh that tile is gorgeous!! A perfect fit with your pretty counters and cabs. Just beautiful! |
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