Tile

Well, we don't know for sure what our kitchen will look like, but I ordered tile for it today, anyway.

I first noticed the tile in this kitchen, loved it, but, as the tile is Fireclay, it was pretty expensive.

Then, something similar began cropping up in a few kitchen remodels online. I tracked it down and voila, it's totally reasonably priced tile. The most affordable price I found was at Lowe's. Boom. Done. In love.

Here are a couple of photos of it in situ:

I hope it looks as good in person as it does online.

Now to decide white grout or black (hint: probably white).

Color Schemes

Oh. Forgot. New Kitchen Planner Lady gave me new kitchen colors to consider.

Cabinet Color 1 is too blue in the light in our home and Cabinet Color 2 too blah. I don't like the backsplash tile at all (something much better coming soon), but I'm starting to like the countertop a lot. Which is unexpected. I've always loved white with grey/blue veining, was not expecting to like something with a bit of taupe veining as well.

For Eric

Not to be sappy, but Eric is like... the best person ever. Bonus, he's a total hunk. BUT, fatal flaw, he's terrible at telling me gift ideas. And Father's Day is upcoming. I'm pretty sure he'd like some kind of gun, but I know nothing about guns. I also know he needs new skis and boots, but there is NO WAY I could figure that out, either. 

So, what do I know about him? He's tall and Norwegian. Likes to bike. Likes outer-space. Total nerd. Grill master extraordinaire. 

1 The Chart of Cosmic Exploration - He loves space. And I think he actually said he liked this poster once? 

2 Cycling Jersey - I messed up and bought him a black helmet (not hi-vis) when I got him one for his birthday last year; I'd like to redeem myself and get him at least *one* item of biking equipment that is hi-vis.

3 Grill Mat - He likes to grill; fairly certain he was looking at a mat at some point. 

4 We could really use a new weed eater and edger, but seems like a boring gift.   

5 The Office - We no longer have Netflix and we miss watching The Office. Either the box set or another Netflix membership? I heard Stranger Things 3 is coming out soon, too...

6 Norse Sweatshirt - He's Norwegian, therefore he obviously loves anything and everything related. Right? 

7 Lego Saturn V - Did I mention he's a nerd. A big, sexy nerd. 

8 Black Bear Art Print - He once owned bees? And I want this print. I fear this list may reveal how self-centered I am... 

9 Kuhl Shorts - He's so skinny, his old shorts don't fit. 

10 Cycling Shorts - See above. 

Wall Decor

There's a huge blank space on the wall above Lukas's bed that has been driving me nuts. What should I put there?

Observe these very poorly photoshopped images for ideas:

Thoughts? Ideas? Suggestions? Open to anything (reasonably priced) right now.

Another Plan?!?!

I went to another local kitchen store the other day. Just to see what cabinets they carried, and if they could compete with prices at Kitchens Plus. And the kitchen designer decided to GIVE ME ANOTHER PLAN TO CONSIDER. NOOOOOOOO. Here I thought I had decided everything, and now she's telling me I need to change it all around?? WE WILL NEVER GET A KITCHENNNN!!!!!

Anyway, here's the plan she suggested:

Good things about this plan:

1) In every other plan, our stove has remained in the same place (which has my back to the kitchen/dining). Putting the stove in the island would let me see the children while cooking.

2) Kitchen triangle is smaller than when the fridge is on the far wall.

3) That island is huge.

4) Feels very open - the walkway to the hallway isn't obstructed at all by fridge/pantry as in other plans.

Ok, yes, it looks nice and open, BUT there are several issues. Big ones.

1) The space between fridge & stove is only 53ish inches. A bit tight if one person is cooking and someone else (say, a small child who wants water) has to get into the fridge.

2) We would have to get a very specialized (read: expensive) oven and/or a very expensive hood.

3) This is probably the most important: the giant size of the island would shrink the width of the dining room to only 8.5 feet. That is not good. Recommended minimum for dining area is at least 9 feet. We have a narrow table and the room already feels cramped; add some people sitting at the counter and no one would be able to get through the space at all!

I'm going to sleep on it a bit, but I'm pretty sure that this will not be our final kitchen layout.

Probably still something like this.... with or without the island overhangs...