For those growing tired of my ramblings on the bathroom remodel, feel free to skip this post. Move on. There’s nothing for you to see here.
But I’m having second thoughts.
Until Friday, I’d never actually made it over to a particular tile store very highly recommended to us. They aren’t open on weekends. Or, as far as I can tell, any time a woman with kids could possibly visit.
On Friday, however, Scott took the day off so we could knock out several during-business-hours-only errands and he insisted I go to the tile store. To be honest, I didn’t want to. Even if this store carried white beveled subway tile, the chance of its being less than $2.13/SQFT was slim to none. Waste. Of. Time.
But seeing as I’m still maneuvering for an advantage in the War of the Tub, I made it a point to play along. No sense in uselessly antagonizing my opponent, right?
As far as it goes, I was sort of right. They had no white beveled subway tile. It may still be proven to have been a waste of time, but only because I’ve suffered a massive setback to my ideas of how to make this bathroom beautiful on a budget. This store had such incredibly lovely and unique tile, I’m still trying to recover.
If you think I’m crazy, take a look at this supplier — just one of several they carry. If you don’t fall in love at least once, you might as well stop reading my blog forever. We have nothing further to say to each other.
True to form, I managed to pick out the most incredible marble mosaic I’ve ever laid eyes on. The owner finally agreed to give me a price quote after I signed a waiver to release the store from any liability should I pass out on the (gorgeous) showroom floor. It didn’t exactly surprise me to find out the continuance of my new romance would cost $150 a square foot.
But I was still destroyed.
After a little grief counseling, the owner found a few options closer to my price range. But now I’m torn. I’d settled on the Brazilian Black slate, but it may be because I couldn’t find a true gray marble anywhere. My new enabler has found me Nordic Grey:
…and Ice Grey:
Not to mention endless possibilities of white and gray marble mosaics.
What’s a girl to do? Between spells of guilt, that is, because I’m feeling pretty silly being totally absorbed by such superficial and globally-insignificant questions as:
- How much marble is too much marble?
- Is black too dark to complement white marble counters, white subway tile wainscoting and white cabinets?
- Is marble too much maintenance for a bathroom floor?
- Do I have to hire an installer for marble tile or can my beleaguered husband do it?
- Why do I have such expensive taste?
- Is having expensive taste a sin?
- Lord, if it is a sin, will you forgive me for my expensive taste after I finish the bathroom?
- Is $15,000 too much for a bathroom floor?
- Can I sell a kidney to pay for the floor tile?
- Would that be a sin?
The preceding program has been a dramatization of actual events. No housewives, husbands, bank accounts or understanding of the theological truths of Sin and Forgiveness were harmed in the course of this dramatization.
It just feels like it.
(By the way, if you need a kidney, my blood type is O-negative. Please call me.)
Aimee says
Cracking me up!
I, too, have a tile obsession. So much so that I ordered white pinwheels (was trying to be true to the character of our 1940s Cape Cod) and the inserts from two separate companies. Why, you ask? Because there was only one company who sold the exact shade of greeny-blue I was so desperate to have.
As you’ve probably guessed, we had serious issues. The inserts were at least twice as thick as the pinwheels. As a result the contractor had to do unnatural things to make it work. It was beautiful, though.
We also used white subway tile – gorgeous and classic.