My first tiled floor and building a built-in

We are into our third week of the Bathroom Reno and things are moving right along.

Dad, Keith and I spent a few days working on installing the tile for the floor.  I picked a 6"x6" tile and the homeowner, Ms. H. agreed.  Going smaller than a 12"x12" tile means more grout on the floor, which means better traction overall.

This is the tile, from Home Depot.  We needed 34 square feet.  It took several hours to lay it all down.  We laid them in a staggered pattern, to echo the subway tile that will be going in the shower.

 We ran them in straight lines, the length of the floor.  I think visually it helps make the space seem a bit larger.

 I chose Bone colored sanded grout, also from Home Depot.

Love, love, love how it turned out!!  Blends extremely well and the color will help hide some stains, cat hair, etc.

We let it set overnight and it's good to go the next morning.  Woo hoo!!

Then Dad and I set out to create the cabinets that would become the built-in, recessed shelves.  Dad did all the measurements to make sure they would fit into the space available, and taking into account the thickness of the poplar wood we used, made sure we would get as much storage space as possible.

 I had to wear my sunglasses because we were cutting these in Dad's basement and left all the safety goggles at the job site :-)

We used Dad's table saw, and under his supervision, I learned how to make good cuts, counter-sink screws to hold the pieces together, and they turned out beautifully!  We set them in the wall just to make sure they fit.  They do!  We'll wait until we move the old light fixture to secure them in the wall but it was great to see them in even temporarily!

The space right below the shelves is where the toilet goes. Once we are ready to install them, we'll prime and them paint them the same white as the beadboard and other trim in the bathroom. I cannot wait to see it all finished!!

Next up was to install a piece of beadboard paneling where the toilet will go, so we can re-install the toilet and turn the water back on.  We've also chosen trim for around the built-in, and a chair rail to top the beadboard.

Tired yet? ;-)

I am.
Thank you so much for reading!

Next post... you'll meet my new BFF.  Big, strong, reliable, and hard-working.  It's a tile saw from the great people at RIDGID and the Home Depot and boy, are we ever grateful.
:-)

XO,
Anne