Tile

 This weekend I still hadn't figured out exactly what I wanted to do with the stairs or floor. So I decided to work on the kitchen backsplash.

Tile work seemed appropriate since our bathroom floor tile has been pulled up almost completely in order to dry out the subfloor.

I put the rugs back down over the subfloor since my washer and dryer are back there and I don't want splinters in my feet when I'm doing laundry.

I'm doing a lot around the house because my husband is now using a cane to walk. MRI says torn meniscus. Among other things.

Then he spilled water on top of his c-pap machine so it wouldn't work. Thankfully we got that dried out and working again so we don't have to buy a new one.

He sees the doctor on Tuesday so we'll hear what can be done or get a referral to another doctor who can tell us what can be done. Hopefully it's fixable with PT and won't require surgery.

So doll housing was a little more of an escape than usual.

I made a cardboard template and got out my beads/tiles.

I tend to use Weld-Bond glue because it will make just about anything stick. Then it was row upon row of beads/tiles. 

Can't forget to leave space for the open shelving.

And then a dry fit.

Once the glue dried completely I needed to grout it. I tend to use drywall spackle for my grout because it's cheap, you can tint it, and it's easy to clean up.

Now for a dry fit with the cabinets.

I like how it looks with the cabinets and countertop. 

I plan to make the open shelving look a bit like live edge and the stain to match the window frames and flooring.

I ordered some tongue depressors and I want to do wide plank flooring that looks like this:

I need to figure out if I can match that stain with what I have. If I start with the weathered grey, apply a coat and sand it down, then put something like golden oak over it maybe that would work.

I ordered more tongue depressors so I'll have enough for the floors on both levels. Obviously we don't want wood in the bathroom but everywhere else...yeah. 

And the blonde tones to the wood will warm up the space too.  I'm concentrating on the dollhouse because I can't do anything to our bathroom until the insurance company agrees with the estimate the restoration company gave them.

So we're in a holding pattern regarding the bathroom at the moment.  We do know that we'll have to gut the space completely.

And since that portion of the house is pier and beam we figure we'll make it the way we want it. A walk in shower (with a bench) and higher toilet, double vanity, all those will make life a lot easier for someone who has trouble walking.  Pier and beam means moving the plumbing wouldn't be as expensive as anywhere else in the house which is on a slab.

Plus if we go with a stackable washer/dryer (since ours are dying) and replace the hot water heater with a tankless we'll have more square footage and we could conceivably still have a small closet back there.

So I have plans. And we've been saving up because we knew we'd have to do this eventually anyway.

I'm crossing my fingers that this can start up soon.

In the meantime... miniatures are a lovely distraction. 

How are all of you doing?