First flooring down!

Our little boy was sick today, so we didn't get to enjoy the 56 degree January day or get to the house in the daytime. But, since the tiling started in our master bedroom, I couldn't wait til tomorrow to see it. (Plus, I needed to confirm the set of the tile). So, off we went.

We don't have a lot of lights working upstairs yet--that will happen Wednesday, I think--so it was a good thing I had my camera or I wouldn't have noticed that our bedroom has turned into a tile store!

Here's a peek at our tile. It's Olympia Tile Monocuttura Reeds in Taupe. We really wanted Emser Strands 12"x24" glazed through body porcelain tile in Olive, but to cut costs, we went with the Olympia ceramic 13"x13"tile. The main difference (other than cost) is that the color of the Emser tile (and Daltile Fabrique is almost exactly the same, and easier to find) has color throughout the tile, and the Olympia tile only has color on the glaze. If the Emser got chipped, the tile would have the same color. If our tile gets chipped, the tile will show a pale gray. We had porcelain tile in our old house, and in five years, we never chipped the tile, so we decided to save money.

Olympia Tile Monocuttura Reeds in Taupe.

The backerboard used by Northport Flooring America is Wonderboard 1/4" Cement backerboard.

And now, some photos - taken in complete darkness:

I love how great the tile looks with the espresso cabinetry.

The room was blocked off, so we couldn't get the light on, but we could see how great it looks. Tim, the tile guy, called me to confirm the set of the tile. We knew we wanted all the tiles facing the same direction (reduces vertigo issues for me), with the lines of tiles pointing from tub to the closet. I wasn't sure about the grout lines, but as we talked about, I'm glad we went with the grout lines going from the water closet/tub to vanity. We really like the way it turned out!

So, they still have a little bit of the water closet and tub surround to set, as well as all the grouting, but it's a great start. It was really exciting for us to see this room tonight because it was the first time a room looked real. This week is going to be the most "house to home-becoming" week with paint finishing, floors going in, counters going in, appliances going in and lights going up.

Time to start packing up the apartment!