Jarrah Jungle

Laundry Renovation - Tips For Picking Out Flat Pack Cabinets

Powder Room Renovation - Basin and Vanity: Take Two

Laundry/Powder Room Renovation - Tile-O-Rama

Splash Back Choices - Be Brave Or Play It Safe

Laundry Renovation - Let's Go Mosaic Tile Shopping

Laundry/Powder Room Renovation - Demolition Success

Linking up with:

The Dedicated House - Make It Pretty Monday
Savvy Southern Style - Wow Us Wednesdays
Home Coming - The DIYers

For exclusive extras and daily updates ... follow Jarrah Jungle on Facebook and Instagram

[All images my own]

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Friday, July 11, 2014

Laundry/Powder Room Renovation - Tile-O-Rama

After the demolition and plumbing work in the laundry and powder room it was time to put the room back together and to do this the new floor tiles need to be laid.

We try to do most of the work ourselves on these renovations but decided to call in the professionals for the tiling because we want a quality professional finish and we just don't have the time to practice tiling ourselves. So we handed the tiling job over to the tiler who did our bathroom tiling and after bartering on a price we settled on $1200 which isn't too bad for the number of days they had to come back and do the work.

What we thought would be a 4 day job has turned into a 2 week turnaround because Winter's cold, wet, weather means that everything has taken longer to dry and set. This also means we lost a weekend of being able to renovate and get everything ready for the plumber this weekend - so we have been DIYing in the evenings this week to get it all done.

It just goes to show no matter how organised you are, always allow for changes in the schedule because nothing ever goes perfectly to plan when renovating!

On Tuesday last week - Two tilers came to screed the floor. They filled the laundry and toilet floor full of sand, stones and concrete and then screed it flat. They were in and out in under 4 hours.

Because we dug all the floor up to do the plumbing, the concrete was laid quite thickly and instead of them coming back the next day to do the waterproofing as planned, they had to leave it another few days to dry completely.

In the meantime as this is the only way into the backyard to Lexi and the toilet in the Granny Flat the tiler laid some tiles down as stepping stones for us to walk on.

So there I am having to carry my fur baby Lexi all 20kgs of her inside and outside while skipping on the stepping stones. It's this kind of thing that has you laughing afterwards but at the time it's like .... you've got to be f**king kidding me!?

On Thursday last week - The tiler came back to water proof the entire room. Being a wet area this protects the floor if there are any spills and water gets under the tiles. We then had to leave it to dry for another few days.

Because this is like a sticky paint, we couldn't walk on the floor for 24 hours. This meant the only way into the backyard was to bungee jump out the french doors balancing on leaning slabs and landing in soft muddy sand, usually in the pouring rain with gale force winds just to make it even more exciting!

Not to forget our fur baby Lexi had to be lifted up over our heads and in through the french doors, which meant sometimes she had to stay outside making sad doggy cries until Mr P came home to lift her in because I wasn't strong or tall enough to do it oh yes fun and games for the whole family!

On Monday this week - We were ready to get some tiles on the floor, and the tiler laid all the floor tiles in about 4 hours.

For our floor tiles - we picked out large 30 x 60 tiles in a modern grey. They're the same brand name and very similar to our bathroom tiles ..... except half the price!

We bought the tiles months ago but I had to go and buy another box of the floor tiles last week as the tiler said we didn't allow enough and he was right because there's just 3 tiles left over after he'd finished laying them all!

On Thursday this week - The tiler came back to grout the floor. Now the floor is completely done it can be walked on and is looking like a proper floor again! The grout is still wet in these photos and I'm hoping that it lightens up as it sets because I'm not completely happy with the dark colour right now :(

Phew so that was just getting the floor in! You don't know how good it feels to not have to stand on dirt and rubble inside the house, we've had some messy, sandy, damp and chilly weeks lately!

The next step is for us to get the the flat pack cabinets, bench top, toilet and vanity and sink in, which is the plan for this weekend.

Then the tiler will come back and finish laying the white kick tiles - this is so he can tile around the toilet and it also means our cabinets will sit flush against the wall without the kick tile being in the way.

He'll also lay the mosaic and tile splash back in the laundry and powder room and finish all the grouting and then it'll be done!

It is looking really good so far and those yellow and cream mosaic floor tiles are just a distant memory!

You can see all my Laundry/Powder Room renovation progress posts here:
Laundry/Powder Room Renovation - Plastering, Sanding and Washing
Laundry/Powder Room Renovation - Changing The Plumbing

Laundry/Powder Room Renovation - Demolition Weekend Plans

Laundry Renovation - Tips For Picking Out Flat Pack Cabinets

Powder Room Renovation - Basin and Vanity: Take Two

Splash Back Choices - Be Brave Or Play It Safe

Laundry Renovation - Let's Go Mosaic Tile Shopping

Laundry/Powder Room Renovation - Demolition Success

For exclusive extras and daily updates ... follow Jarrah Jungle on Facebook and Instagram

[All images my own]

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Friday, July 4, 2014

Let's Go Shopping .... Mosaic Tile Splash Back

Last week I had a change of heart about the splash back we had picked out for the laundry and powder room renovation.

I was going to be thrifty and reuse the leftover mosaic and white tiles from our bathroom renovation but after much deliberation, magazine reading, Pinterest trawling, internet browsing, and finally a day of shopping I have found the perfect splash back mosaic tile with the wow factor I was looking for and I'm much happier with my decision now and more than ready for the tiler to lay the tiles next week!

http://jarrahjungle.blogspot.com.au/p/bathroom.html

The white tiles and mosaics from our bathroom renovation we were going to use

The main reason I changed my mind is that I don't have enough of the silver mosaics to do a large feature stripe on the laundry splash back between the white tiles - I really like how we used a wide stripe of the mosaics in the bathroom and want to create the same sized feature.

There would only be enough for a thin mosaic feature stripe

I played around with different layouts of the leftover tiles we have, even using the wood panel wallpaper I bought, but just didn't think that any of these will work. Check out my photo editing anyways using our actual tiles and new vanity and sink.

Playing around with my tiles and wallpaper

So I took myself on a mosaic tile shopping mission !

Decor8 mosaic tile at Bunnings for $16.50 a sheet - This was the first shop I went to mainly because it was open late at night when I could shop after work! I really love these rectangle mosaics, the different shades of grey, and the mix of materials used glass, stone and tile.

But Mr P wasn't too impressed with the tile sample I bought home and wanted something with more colour ...... so the tile hunting continued!

Johnson Aqualite tile at Bunnings for $11.75 - I like the punch of blue and grey tones on this glass tile. But there wasn't enough of these tiles in stock and all the ones they had were scuffed and scratched because there was no protective film on them. Also because of the size I'd need to do a double row to get the thickness I want which would cost twice the price. If I used these around the vanity, I'd need to use some of the white tiles as well as these because I couldn't do the whole feature in just these tiles it would cost a fortune.

Gem mosaics from Masters at $20 a sheet - I like the colours of the blue/green tones but the tiles were made from really thin glass and a lot of the samples were chipped which wasn't a great sign. Also they didn't have the net on the back of the sheets to hold the tiles in place, they are stuck to plastic and you put the tile on the wall and then peel off the plastic front. It seemed like it would be a bit fiddly to install and the risk that the mosaics would be crooked once the plastic was removed meant this tile lost it's appeal to me.

That same day I found an identical tile at a fancy tile shop Ceramo in Osborne Park and they were $220 each for what looked like the exact same tile ..... Although there was clearly a $200 difference, I just couldn't see what it was!

These oval mosaics from The Tile Clearance Centre in Osborne Park (the warehouse of Osborne Park Ceramic Tile Centre) at $15 a sheet - I fell in lust with the shape, style and changing colour of this tile. It had a rusty water mark pattern which changed colours in the light and they had them in blue and black. But they didn't have enough in either colour to do the job and there would be no allowances if the tiler made a mistake. I also thought the round shape of the tile might clash with the square basin and vanity and tap mixer.

Eventually I talked myself out of these ones after debating with myself for a few hours and calling Mr P a dozen times to see what he thought .... Oh and get this Mr I Want More Colour said "I hate to say it but these might be too colourful!" you've got to be kidding me!!

I liked these tiles from Craft Decor but they were $30-$40 a sheet - Which was more than double the other tiles I found. They were nice but not that nice to triumph my other choices!

I find it really handy to use colour chips so you can see how the mosaic will look with the cabinets, bench top and other tiles and most tile shops have samples in store you can use.

So in the end Mr P changed his mind and said he quite liked the different tones of the silver mosaics from MY VERY FIRST shopping expedition.

This could have saved me a day of shopping Mr P but I guess all future design questions should only be asked whilst offering a beer and not after 10pm at night when we'd both been working all day and then come home to plaster up the walls ready for the tiler! Oh the joys of being a working renovating couple :-)

The price is fantastic at just $16.50 a sheet we can afford to do all mosaic around the powder room sink instead of just a stripe of mosaic. Plus my large feature stripe on the laundry splash back.

We also don't need to stress if the tiler cuts it the wrong way and needs spares, we can go and get another sheet as there's plenty in stock and Bunnings is open until 9pm every night if we need to do a last minute dash for supplies!

The tiling commenced this week but because of our cold winter weather the concrete and water proofing has taken double the time to dry, which means the floor tiles that were meant to be laid today are being laid on Monday.

We are making progress which I'll share with you on the blog next week! For tiling and renovation action as it happens follow me on Facebook and Instagram.

You can see all my Laundry/Powder Room renovation progress posts here:

Laundry/Powder Room Renovation - Demolition Weekend Plans

Powder Room Renovation - Basin and Vanity: Take Two

Splash Back Choices - Be Brave Or Play It Safe

This Silly Girls Life - Lovely Ladies Link Up

Linking up with:

Home Coming - The DIYers

The Dedicated House - Before and After Wednesdays

For exclusive extras and daily updates ... follow Jarrah Jungle on Facebook and Instagram

[All images my own]

Pin It Now!

Friday, June 27, 2014

Splash Back Choices - Be Brave Or Play It Safe

With each room that I renovate in the Jarrah Jungle house I get braver and bolder with my colour and design choices and because the laundry and powder room is the last room to renovate inside the house I feel that this is my last chance, it's now or never to make daring decisions!

So as the tiler is booked in for just days away I'm now starting to question my splash back tile choices for behind the powder room vanity.

The powder room vanity has a white cupboard and white glass sink which looks modern and stylish, I'm really impressed as we took a chance and purchased it online without seeing it and even though a 7-10 day order turned into a 2 month turn around due to delays in the factory and unknown to us it would be made overseas, but we received it just in time (this week!) just days before the Plumber is coming (this weekend!) to install the plumbing and pipes as we convert our toilet into a powder room.

Our compact vanity and sink to convert our toilet into a powder room

But when it comes to the splash back tile behind the vanity and sink I think the large white tile left over from our bathroom renovation that we were going to use may look a little boring on it's own.

Plus the white tile against the white glass sink and white cabinet may bring on a clash of different whites .... yes I have a thing about different whites clashing!

Our bathroom - Reusing these left over white wall tiles

We do have some of these left over silver mosaic tiles again from the bathroom renovation but I think these will only stretch as far as a feature stripe between the white tile splash back above the wooden bench top in the laundry.

I really like the idea of using this combination of white tile, silver mosaic and wood bench and it will create interest without being over the top or playing it too safe.

Our bathroom - Reusing these mosaics for a feature splash back in the laundry or powder room

Picking out our wooden bench top for the laundry

So I'm trying to get splash back ideas for the powder room and toying with the idea of laying a vertical row of the grey floor tiles all along the back of the vanity and sink from floor to ceiling. I'm madly searching my Pinterest for splash back inspiration and ideas ...

I've also noticed there are heaps of powder rooms where there is no splash back tile behind the sink, usually just paint or wallpaper which surprises me because the wall must get wet and water damaged over time.

How is your toilet/powder room tiled behind the sink?

You can see all my Laundry/Powder Room renovation progress posts here:

Laundry/Powder Room Renovation - Demolition Success

Laundry/Powder Room Renovation - Demolition Weekend Plans

Powder Room Renovation - Basin and Vanity: Take Two