Windowdrama

It took four entire months to convince the carpenter that not having a backsplash was a viable option for the kitchen renovation. That's not four months for the project by the way, that took six months from the moment Contractor 1 mismeasured the windows to last Friday when Contractor 2 finally gave up trying to convince me that a windowsill four inches up the window was the way to go and put in what I'd asked him for on June 15th. To allay his fears over the whole water/wood issue I sent him up to the guest bathroom to see what three years of continuous water have done to the window in the shower - it looks as good as it did the day I finished the polyurethane coat - no damage at all. He still wasn't happy so I showed him my inspiration shots:

image by Caesarstone

image by Caesarstone

Eventually, after going back and forth for months with the countertop fabricator and much muttering under his breath he agreed to trim out what I wanted. And what did he say when he stepped back and looked at the work? "That turned out really well..."

new kitchen window

Terrazzo - hot or not?

Just as I'm making plans to take out another terrazzo shower base, this time in the master bath, I find that terrazzo is hot again. These days it's eco-friendly, made from things like old toilets (I kid you not) and 100% recycled glass bonded with coloured epoxy resin and turned into bright, shiny countertops.
Our old terrazzo shower base is made from crushed marble set in portland cement, the same as one we took out during the boys' bathroom remodel. It's not a look that I find appealing, more cement than marble and is the devil to keep clean. You might want to close your eyes at this point and surf away as the photo below is quite disgusting. This is what happens when the terrazzo gets cracked and you can't scrub it properly because the water will leak through to the foyer below. Yuk, ugh. I can't wait to take a sledgehammer to it.



The new terrazzo is supposed to be easy to maintain and they even have a product made from actual terrazzo and glass that's suitable for flooring - it looks like terrazzo but is cheaper, and easier to lay. I don't think it would work in our house as it's not scratch-proof. It sure does sparkle though.
I really want to update this house in the greenest way possible but I think that, in the end, I just find the new terrazzo too irregular for my taste. And I'm a little afraid that I might be letting back into my master bath the avocado and fawn beige toilets we took out of the other bathrooms. That's a step too far for me.

Girls' Bath Vanity

vanity with ivory coast
Originally uploaded by modernemama.

Well one big improvement today. The Silestone Ivory Coast vanity top arrived with the Toto basin, all in one piece. That means we are one step further to another fully functioning bathroom. we still need to get the faucet in and hooked up and there is a piece of trim that has to go back on the right hand side of the vanity to hide the tile edge but we are almost there. And the good news is that the colour of the countertop (difficult to tell in this photo!) is the same as the sample from e-counters.com, so I'm very happy.

Vanity countertop #2

The furniture maker had pre-selected another quartz sample for me, it's pretty close to the Caesarstone Copper Canyon: Camarthen Brown by Cambria but they don't have any in stock and it might take three weeks to get a piece unless they can find an offcut from somewhere. Choice #3 would be Silestone Mahogany, which is a little too terracotta or Kona Beige, which would mean going in a totally different direction. I've ordered the Cambria and asked them to rush it. Fingers crossed.
And on another tack, the landscaper informs me I have a break on the sprinkler line just where he's planting. That's the sprinkler line the guys fixed two weeks ago. It seems like everything that could go wrong is going wrong this week. I don't think I'm going to answer the phone or pick up anymore emails today because I can't cope with any more bad news at the moment.

Copper Canyon Shortage

Copper Canyon
Originally uploaded by modernemama.

Apparently there has been a run on this particular Caesarstone in New york and the 3/4" is unavailable. I got a message on the answerphone to that effect on Friday. This is the top for the floating vanity that will go in the downstairs bath, As I had picked the mosaic tiles to match I am a little tigged, especially as they were supposed to install the vanity today.
I have a choice: go with 1.1/4" or choose something else. The deeper top will make the vessel sink too high, so I guess I'm off to choose something else. Rats.