Solid Surface Materials

I've mentioned before that we took a loooong time planning for this house-fixing.  Two years for architectural plans alone.  I'm not naturally a patient person, though I'm working on that, so those two years were making me pretty stir-crazy by the end.  So I started picking stuff out.  I picked out all my plumbing fixtures, for example, LAST September.  And all the tile I picked just before the start of 2014.  You know, three months before we even got started.  

With the plumbing, it seemed my advance work served me well.  Everything was handled, and I didn't have to get stressed under a deadline.  With the tile, my impatience got the better of me.  I picked some stuff that ended up being outrageously expensive (5 times! the cost of the less expensive stuff I found to replace it).  I picked some stuff that came with a 10-week lead time.  And I picked some ridiculous stuff that I think no sane person would put in their house but that I love.

The problem with tile in particular is that it is so permanent.  Yes, you can take it out, but it's expensive, and messy, and hard work, as one of the tile guys likes to tell me every time I see him ("Trabajando duro, Señora.  Para usted."  Reproachfully.  I know!  I'm sorry!  I'd say I'll pick easier tile next time, but I hope there will be NO next time.  I've just started hiding from the tile guys.).

The other problem with tile is that a wee sample can look so different from a whole room full of tile.  So as the tile has started going in, I've been holding my breath.  I peek around corners, one eye closed, ready to hang my head and admit my failure in choosing a tile, ready to live with the consequences of my impatience for 20 years.

You guys, so far, so good, as far as I'm concerned.

Laundry room

Kitchen backsplash

Guest Shower

Guest

Master 

Master shower floor

Boy's shower nook

Girl's shower nook

Kids' floor

Kids' floor

So you really can't go wrong with white subway tile, as far as I'm concerned.  And I love that we've restored the hex tile that was originally in the downstairs bathroom.  And you'll just have to wait with me to see that floor for the kids' rooms revealed.  I think 99.9% of everyone who ever sees it will think I have lost my mind, but I think it's spectacular.  And the stuff in the Master bath just fills me with joy.  This floor is everything I hoped it would be, and I am pretty good at hoping high.

Seeing the tile go in feels like a reward for all of my patience, as well as a reward for all of my impatience.  Like everything in the house, it feels like a reward that I don't deserve even a little bit, but I'll enjoy spending the rest of my life trying to.