Last week I was in a bit of a funk. The kitchen floor tile revelation (ie the fact that I couldn’t find replacement tiles anywhere) hit me hard, and I was struggling to come to terms with the idea that we might need to expand the budget and scope of the renovation as a result. And so I complained about it in a post and half-heartedly asked for feedback…and you guys blew me away. I got SO many helpful ideas that have me feeling re-energized about the possibilities, and I’m incredibly grateful. Thank you!
Today I wanted to share back some of what I heard in case it’s helpful to anyone else who has faced this particular conundrum or more generally is stuck on a renovation issue and needs some words of wisdom. And then I’m totally going to take advantage of all your awesome creativity and enthusiasm to ask you for some more feedback. One of you wrote the following at the end of a long and thoughtful comment: “Sorry this was so long, its really your fault for making your commenters feel like part of the process.” Mission accomplished, and I will totally be taking advantage of that throughout this entire renovation process because in case you haven’t noticed, I have no idea what I’m doing and I need some help.
First up, the floors.
The advice broke out into five main suggestions:
Get creative about finding the matching tile. People suggested checking the back of the tile I’d torn up to see if I could find a manufacturer; going direct to the home builder to find the source; using the free shipping Home Depot offers on orders over $49 to order a bunch of tiles and see if any match; and using Builddirect.com’s 5 free samples policy to search for a match. Unfortunately there are no manufacturer marks and the house was built in the 1950s, but if I decide to stick with the tile we have then Home Depot shipping and Build Direct will be top of my list to try out.
Repurpose the tile from a place it doesn’t matter. A few people asked if I could steal good tiles from somewhere like a closet or area that will be covered in order to fill in the visible gaps. In my case I don’t have any spots like this, but one possibility is robbing from the small area between the kitchen, hallway, bedroom, and bathroom. I could conceivably tear up the tile there and replace just that area for much cheaper than doing the whole kitchen and sunroom, and if I can get enough intact unbroken tiles out could replace the missing sections. Here’s the area in question:
Do something cool with mixed patterns or even materials to cover the missing areas. One reader suggested embracing the gaps and designing a multi-substrate or multi-colored pattern to work around them. There are definitely some really cool concepts out there:
Sources: @kessara | House Beautiful | Design Milk
Granted my tiles aren’t as cool as the hexagonal ones in the top photos, but maybe there’d be something I could do that would look interesting!
Paint it. A few folks shared some really cool ideas for painting tile floors, suggesting that I consider doing this as a shorter term solution while I save up for new floors. Pinterest proves that this can look pretty darn awesome:
Source: Remington Avenue
Replace it! Since I don’t love the floor, it seems a little crazy to be going to so much effort to keep it. Many of you who have been through renovations encouraged me to replace it — either splurge for it now, or if we just can’t add it to the budget then save up for it and do it later on. A lot of you said you hadn’t sprung for this when you did big renovations, and really regretted it down the road when the dust settled (literally). Replacing the floor would definitely open up a whole new world of color schemes since my original plans were designed around contrasting with the pinkish brown tiles.
Source: HGTV
So what am I going to do? Well the truth is that right now I just can’t commit to another splurge in the budget. We haven’t done the biggest and most expensive part of the work yet (taking down the wall), so until we know whether that comes in on, under, or over budget I don’t want to decide anything final on the floors. So the plan is that I have a lot of great options to consider because of your feedback, and once we do the big demo in April (so soon!) we will be able to decide what path makes sense for us. Stay tuned, and thank you again so much!
And given that you were so incredibly helpful when it came to the floors, I need some more feedback: the bright blue counters! Do we keep them, or replace them?
Just kidding, the counters have to go. But I’m not kidding about needing feedback. My original thinking was to do white corian on the main “L.” I’ve heard great things about it and I like the look, but it’s also pretty affordable as counters go — it would be about $1,000 for that space, which is about as much as our budget can take. I’m planning to do dark cabinets (dark gray or maybe navy), so I like the idea of white counters to contrast plus I always find that light counters actually look clean longer — our dark counters right now show crumbs immediately and I’m constantly wiping them down.
Then on the island and coffee bar, I’d do DIY butcher block. I love the butcher block look and would love to do it throughout the kitchen, but I don’t want to be one of those high maintenance people who runs around after every guest, child, and husband scolding them for spilling, leaving standing water, putting hot things down, trying to use the counters as cutting boards, etc. And the idea of needing to reseal the counters on any sort of recurring basis that’s more frequent than like 5 years does not appeal to me.
Okay so maybe I am just trying to totally rip off the kitchen that Chris Loves Julia just finished?
Source: Chris Loves Julia
Though actually I know their counters are white concrete — but they seemed like a ton of work and still cost close to $1,000 so I’m not convinced that it’s a DIY worth doing given everything else we’re taking on. But I’d love to hear from you guys: am I right in my assessment of butcher block being too high maintenance for me on the main cooking surfaces? Are there DIY options I should consider? If anyone has ideas they’ve tried or seen I’d love to hear them! I’ll just sit back and let you guys do all the brainstorming work for me….
I completely agree about the light counter tops staying (and looking) clean longer. I don’t know anything about Corian or butcher block counters, but that Chris Loves Julia kitchen is beautiful.
Those blue counter tops. I’m just shaking my head.
What if I miss having the blue counters as a conversation piece? 🙂
My sister, who cannot have nice things because she and her family are total hobos who wreck/break everything, has IKEA butcher block counters. She only sealed them with the stuff IKEA sells. 3 years later, and they’re still in pretty good condition. Perfect condition? No. But people have used them as a cutting board, and put hot things down, left standing water (and juice), and done everything else you aren’t supposed to do but I’m quite impressed with how they’ve held up. She also has a tiny kitchen, so they’re being used/abused ALL the time (her kitchen is so small that NOBODY would install counters for her as the job would be a “waste of their time”, so DIY IKEA was pretty much her only option) and held up to all this.
I hope my comment makes sense, I’ve got a sick kid, barking dog, and meltdown other kid all at my feet while I ignore them and read my blogs. Motherhood!!
I’ve considered Corian for so many reasons, and always shied away from it because a friend of mine has had it in her kitchen for decades and I cannot stand the way it feels to my hand. This should not matter: you put things down on countertops, you wipe them off; touching them is not a big part of life in the kitchen, but it really puts me off. Your mileage will probably vary. I like the way butcher block looks (and feels) but the maintenance puts me off.
Very interesting, I’ve never heard this before! What is it about the feel? That’s so intriguing!
It feels sort of slimy to me. I didn’t know, until I read below, about the different finishes, but my friend’s must be a less shiny type.
Okay, here’s my 2 cents. Having gone through several renovations over the years,I strongly suggest you don’t work your color scheme around those tiles. They are dated, that pink tone smacks of the 80’s, you will regret it. You have put too much time, work, cash to settle and not be happy with the results.
For the time being treat the floor as a neutral, fact is, it’s not dreadful. I Love the inspiration kitchen from “Chris Loves Julia” so if you go with the white counters, dark gray or navy paint on the cabinet I don’t think the floor will be that big an issue. You can live with the tile for the time being, knowing that you will replace it down the road.
Can you find a similar sized tile and replace only those tiles that are broken and “faux paint” the new ones to blend in with the old?
or
What shape is the sub-floor in? If it is in decent shape you can remove the tiles now, put a coat of paint or polyurethane on it. Consider this prep-work done now for the future floor. If the sub-floor is awful consider covering it with a thin layer of plywood, perhaps luan, (future sub-floor) and poly it for now.
Good luck.
Love the combo! I’ve read about people sealing their butcher block with waterlox and the results seem to work. Or just embrace the worn farmhousy butcher block look. I have large butcher block-esque cutting boards and oiling them occasionally is really easy (and you can spot sand them if needed).
We installed butcher block countertops (ourselves) in our last house, and I LOVED them. We purchased them from Lumber Liquidators and then finished them with Waterlox. I miss that kitchen very much – the wood just added the right amount of warmth. Because of the Waterlox, they weren’t hard to take care of. At my office, we have butcher block in our kitchen area that hasn’t been sealed with anything other than oil (I guess… It’s definitely not sealed with poly or waterlox) and it is starting to show some wear and damage because nobody else really puts in the effort to clean up water and stuff. I think it’s up to how you seal them and how you clean up after yourself. The great thing is – you can always sand them down and refinish if it gets a burn or something!
That’s so helpful to hear. I’ve definitely read good things about Waterlox, so glad to know you loved them so much and it sounds like you’d do it again!
I think Corian is prone to staining. Consider plain white quartz, whatever brand comes out cheapest. Also, I’m rethinking formica — it is so easy to clean, and so inexpensive. If you got formica now, you could replace it when your budget allows something more substantial, and in the meantime you’ve got a really nice looking kitchen. I have quartz counters that have a busy pattern, and I miss my old formica counters which were much easier to clean.
On the tile floors, you should probably grit your teeth and go for the replacement. Tile, hardwood, whatever you really want. That way the entire kitchen is finished and it’ll look great. You’ll never be happy with patching that old tile. AND…if you replace the tile, you can get a color or pattern you really like and then the rest of the kitchen can go with it, rather than having the kitchen blend with a floor you don’t like.
Thanks Ann! I should definitely look into formica! And I think you’re right on the floors — it just seems to crazy to plan around something I don’t love when it’s already flawed.
Corian…I have it so here’s my advice: it comes in different finishes; if you’re concerned about having to wipe frequently, the shiniest finish will show crumbs quicker than a satin or matte but the shiny finish is by far the prettiest. You CANNOT put hot pots on it. It scratches fairly easily and the shiny will show those most. Though they say you can sand those out, you can’t without affecting the finish. If you go with the sink integral to the counter-top, know that you will be cleaning/removing stains from the sink frequently, and if you go with a white countertop, it will stain, too. The care of it isn’t that much different than the laminate you have now except that it is a solid surface & can be resurfaced (sanded & finished) when it gets too damaged. I’m going to be doing that on one of our bathroom countertops with integral sink this summer. I’ll let you know if it was successful in removing stains & scratches.
Thanks so much, Mary Ann! This is super helpful advice. I think I would steer clear of the integral sink because I’ve heard a lot of people comment on the staining issue, but the scratching and staining of the counters is really helpful to hear. Why can’t there be a magical surface that is beautiful and classy while also being totally indestructible and maintenance-free?
that would be pricey quartz
My daughter is over the moon happy with the plain white quartz counters in her new kitchen. She wanted marble in the worst way, got talked out of it, and is so happy she doesn’t have marble to worry about. The white quartz looks great, is very forgiving, doesn’t stain or scratch, is easy to work with. All good. Her contractor says all quartz is the same, so she went with the cheapest they could find, and it is truly beautiful.
I highly suggest you check out the blog Addicted 2 Decorating. This woman is the ultimate DIYer. Awesome pour in place countertops. Waterlox for butcher block used at her former condo. And just all around amazing information.
Thank you Carla, so helpful!
This is just a warning…..It hasn’t been mentioned, but there is a paint (Rust-Oleum) product for painting countertops. I have a friend who used it and it was a disaster. It smelled absolutely horrid and took twice as long to dry as the packaging said. She didn’t care for the look after it was dried either & she had help doing it. Anyway, it is an inexpensive alternative to replacing counters, but not worth the aggravation. Just wanted to let you know it isn’t a good idea, in case you come across it.
I concur with Deanna. I used that in my bathroom, and while I guess it looks better than the blue countertop that was in there, it does stink when you apply it, its practically impossible to apply streak/brushstroke-free, and it does NOT wear well…the coating reacts to whatever liquid gets on it and is now discolored and stained. I have a plan to redo that whole bathroom soon so I’m not very upset about it, but I would not recommend it for something as heavily used/visible as a kitchen.
Thank you Jess! Such helpful reinforcement for the idea that paint is NOT the way to go.
Thank you!!!! I have to admit, I started to look into the painting idea briefly, because it would be so inexpensive. But there are enough mixed reviews that I was uncertain. Sounds like I should definitely steer clear!
So I have only a laminate countertop, but its off-white with dark cabinets and I really like that color combo. I’m interested to see what you end up with, because I’ve been wanting to replace the countertop with quartz or corian in a white or off-white also. I can’t speak to durability of those materials nor that of the butcher block, but I personally am just not a fan of an entire butcher block counter surface. I think the possible porous issues, the fact I can scar it pretty badly (I’m not super responsible with coasters and trivets), and generally I just don’t like the look of wood as a countertop are the main reasons. But to each his(her) own, I’m just happy to get to see your decision process (and probably copy you).
Hahaha, glad we can learn from each other 🙂 I should really look into laminate, I do like the low maintenance aspect of it (not to mention that it’s affordable!). Hopefully I make a good choice worthy of copying 🙂
DIY butcher block! I bought a few pieces from IKEA with thick, fine-grained wood and did a bit of sanding before staining. It’s all well sealed and hasn’t required any special care. I’ve got a few large tempered glass trays in lovely florals and keep them in the areas where pots are likely to land. Easily cleanup, easy care, nice light look.
Great to hear! What did you seal it with?
I once lived in an apartment with IKEA butcher block counters. The “dry side” was great, but the “wet side” was beat to sh*it—black and swollen from water damage around the sink. We sanded down the counters and oiled and it looked much better but we couldn’t entirely fix the water damage. Granted, it was a rental and I’m sure you’ll take better care of your counters than the asshats who lived in that apartment before us…but I do like the mix and match idea.
Ooph, that’s a bold choice for a landlord to put in 🙂 That’s exactly what I’m worried about, and I hate the idea of another thing to be uptight about in my house….
In my kitchen I have almost exactly what you’re thinking of…. For the sink area countertop I have white corian, it’s impervious to water and is a ‘soft’ touch; i.e: I don’t like the way it ‘feels’ to set a glass down on a stone counter, the corian has a buffer-like feel to it and can be sanded out if I ever feel the need, I’ve had absolutely no issues with staining, softscrub takes up everything. In my work/prep areas I have butcher block, but I encourage people to use it like a gigantic cutting board. It’s sealed with nothing but mineral oil, I don’t care if it gets burned by pots, gets gouged by knifes, looks worked on like a grandma kitchen, if/when it wears out in 40 years I’ll replace it with another piece of butcher block, that’s what butcher block is all about.
tl/dr: impervious around the sink, and a forgiving workhorse around the prep areas.
Just my two-cents! I’m sure you’ll love what you come up with!
So helpful and encouraging, thank you!!!
I’m not sure what Corian is (it doesn’t seem to be sold here) but I did look at a load of different surfaces for my recent kitchen remodel. I encountered a product called Neolith here which sounds similar to Corian, and although it looks nice I really didn’t like the feel of it either – it felt like plastic to me, and I couldn’t see the advantage of that over much cheaper formica tops. The only downside with formica being water issues (our previous tops were formica and had bad water damage around the sink) and the fact that the joins and ends always look crappy.
I wanted a Caesarstone product that looks like concrete, but ended up getting a cheaper quartz brand, which they honed for me to remove the shiny finish and give it that concrete look (it’s a light grey colour). It looks awesome but initially EVERYTHING left marks on it (which I didn’t think would happen with quartz, and was one of the reasons I didn’t use actual concrete). Anyway, on the advice of the stone guy I sealed it with granite sealer and it has been great and pretty maintenance free since then.
We are still going to do a butchers block top on the island (no sink or stove there so should be safe) because I really love the two different top materials look that is so popular now.
I have to say though, that of the things that made the biggest difference with this kitchen remodel was replacing the ugly white blotchy tile we had with something we actually wanted. Totally worth it, especially if it affects your colour scheme!
Really helpful to hear what a difference the sealing made! And your encouragement to just go for the floor change 🙂
So for the floors, I just had this idea that I pinned years ago jump to mind: https://centsationalgirl.com/2014/02/diy-plywood-plank-floors/ … plywood. Seriously. I’m not sure how they’d do with temperature/humidity swings like you get, but even if they lasted a year or two you’d probably be able to save to get something else. I can’t get over how good they look!
For counters, I’m an all-or-nothing kind of girl… I intend to use quartz in my next house because it’s indestructible, but if I wasn’t doing that, I would be thinking budget-friendly laminate. I can’t believe how much better it is now!
Following along with your reno is WAY more fun than living through mine was 🙂
Hahaha, so glad you’re enjoying living vicariously 🙂 And I love those plywood floors, amazing!
I’ve read that you can stain ceramic tile. Could you patch the tiles with similar size and color and then stain the whole floor to a shade that works for your new design? You could conceivably stain each tile with slight variation so that any difference between old and new tile would be masked. A soft grey/white stain would dull the pink hues, I think. After staining, I think you’re supposed to apply a sealant, but better to Google it than ask me!
My real advice is to bite the bullet and replace the floor you hate. Time is money –your time spent running around for 6 floor tiles.
Thanks Molly! I think you’re right — if it were as easy as replacing the missing tiles that would be one thing, but the work and time invested to do something like stain and seal just to make the tiles work might ultimately just be better spent replacing everything. I’ll keep you guys posted on what we decide!