As I mentioned on Wednesday, the backsplash tile is installed. Just last night we finished it up with grout. But, here’s the uneven, ugly step before.
To get started setting tile, I opened and sorted the packages by color. All tiles are 4 inch by 12 inch Carrara marble from Home Depot. Indeed I am the crazy person sorting white tile by color. I’ll explain more in a minute.
Install went smoothly, but took a lot of cutting. Ben rocked it out in six hours though.
For detailed tile jobs, Ben prefers to use pre-mixed mastic to avoid making several batches.
Unfortunately, it also took forever to dry completely. Obviously that is an exaggeration, but waiting four days was a test of my patience. Pulling out the spacers took only a few minutes and then I cleaned the mastic off the surface.
Yesterday, Ben took a couple of hours to grout everything.
When sorting the tiles, I created 4 different groups. Group one was bright white with little veining, the second white with veining. The third group was pale gray, the fourth gray with heavy coloring.
With such color variation, we made a point to pull from each group to avoid blocks of similar colors.
Also, we chose to keep the trim on the windows, cutting tiles to fit around.
Same goes for the baseboard.
The only difference is for the crown, because the profile is thinner. We’ll add a thin spacer behind, then secure the crown, slightly overlapping the tile.
Weekend plans include replacing switches and outlets, building cabinet doors, painting window trim, and working on the office cabinetry. Hope everyone has a fantastic weekend!
ourhumbleabodeblog.com 
Very, very, very, very nice job done. So pretty!!!!
Thanks, Tamara! It really makes a huge difference in the feel of the room.
Looks fantastic! Evenly distributing the varying shades of tile really makes it. Did you pick that dining table specifically for the space? I love how the darker tiles pull together with the dark counter top and table top.
Hi Domesticphilosophy!
Thanks so much! I agree with the colors. We actually built the dining table several years ago, while we still lived in our first house. It’s kind of lucky that it works so well. 🙂
Thanks!
Amanda
Did you guys make your table? If so, what did you use as the base? I’ve been wanting a solid surface table to put up with the kids abuse but not liking the options out there. Yours is beautiful!
Hi Megan!
Yep, Ben welded the table. Here’s a link with more info: https://ourhumbleabodeblog.com/2010/06/28/adventures-in-building-a-dining-table/
You could also build a similar wooden base using 3 by 3 or 4 by 4 posts for the legs and 2 by 4s for the apron. Just face the fronts of the 2 by 4s with 1 inch material. 🙂
Thanks!
Amanda
It is completely transformed! You guys did a great job.
–Brittany
Hi Brittany!
Thanks so much for your sweet comment! It certainly makes a statement.
Thanks!
Amanda
WOW!! That is literally all I could come up with while looking at these photos! Do you just go into the kitchen to stare??? It’s really coming along so well!!
Hey Ashley!
Indeed I do! But I’m easily entertained. 🙂
Thanks!
Amanda
This turned out great! Smart to sort the tiles out, never thought to do that with ours!
Hey Gingerandthehuth!
Thanks so, so much for your nice comment! When I opened the boxes and saw the variation in colors, I knew I’d have to make piles to pull from. It’s the easiest way to keep even coloring throughout. 🙂
Thanks!
Amanda
This may be the single most beautiful thing you guys have done yet. I’m very impressed!
Hello herberleslie!
Why thank you! We’re thrilled with the results. 🙂
Thanks!
Amanda
That looks great!
Thanks so much, CC!! 🙂
I really like that you carried the tile all the way across!
Hey Esther!
If we stopped the tile at the counter, it would be off between the windows. Naturally, the easiest thing to do was carry it across the entire wall.
Thanks so much!
Amanda
It is beautiful! Good job. I wasn’t sure how it would go with your countertops but it looks great! Did you use the Tile Shop?
Hi Olivia!
Thanks so much, we’re happy with the results. The tile is actually from Home Depot. In my excitement, I forgot to add the info to the post. I’ll update it now.
Thanks!
Amanda