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Monday, August 29, 2011

Tile shopping: What would you do?

This fall will be a busy time at the casa de Cardigan Junkie, and our plans began to come together this weekend when N and I scoured Dallas area tile outlets for the right sample to redo our kitchen tile and extend it through our dining area, which is currently carpeted.  We also selected some unexciting Martha Stewart carpet to replace the old, worn beige carpeting in our living area and bedrooms. 

It's hard for me to get excited about this, mostly because our kitchen was redone by the previous owner and it's just not what I would have picked for us (light maple and slate).  However, it's well appointed, and was quite costly, so redoing anything beyond the flooring would be a foolish investment for a house that we only plan to live in for about 5 more years.  That means I need to get my head out of the clouds and make a smart choice, but I cannot bring myself to put down 12 inch square beige tile.  I just can't.

I came across this photo on Pinterest, and it looks very much like my kitchen, doesn't it?  I'm liking the wood floor with the cabinets and gray/steel hues.


And this is mine...


We found a long plank tile that looks like wood that would get us closer to the inspiration photo, and I think it looks pretty nice.  We're also kicking around the idea of bringing the tile into the living room so as not to create an island of carpet.  At first, faux wood sounded horrid to me, but after visiting a house where this material is in use, I quickly changed my mind.  It's durable and fairly affordable, and doesn't make that loud clacking sound you hear when people walk on laminate.  Unless you get down on the floor, it really doesn't feel like tile.  (And in case you're wondering, we live in a neighborhood full of 1960's era ranch houses where nice hardwoods are not common, and our house is already one of the nicer ones on the street so it wouldn't be a good use of our budget.) 


We also picked up a large neutral stone tile that looks like a larger version of what's already on the floor, minus the chips.  Boooooring.


So, now that I've overshared and potentially lost some of you, I'd love to know what you think I should do!  Any other tips now that you've seen my kitchen?  (That white wall will be painted eventually, you can be sure of that, but I haven't decided on a color.)
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14 comments:

  1. Danielle (elleinadspir)August 29, 2011 at 7:08 AM

    Both would look great! Pretty kitchen!

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  2. Alexandra Bee BlogAugust 29, 2011 at 7:33 AM

    I love the idea of the faux hard wood!

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  3. Megan HAugust 29, 2011 at 8:24 AM

    first one looks good! I bet if you used a small part of your budget on new hardware for the cabinets, your kitchen would look very close to the "inspiration" photo. Good luck with the project!

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  4. jillian :: cornflake dreams.August 29, 2011 at 8:59 AM

    i always go for wood floors, i think they look so classy. my parents have faux wood floors throughout their house and they look amazing and stand up to their dogs! xoxo jillian:: cornflake dreams

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  5. LilyAugust 29, 2011 at 11:41 AM

    I have hardwood in my kitchen which has light wood cabinets as well and much prefer it to tile !!

    xxLily
    goldandgray.com

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  6. AndreaAugust 29, 2011 at 11:46 AM

    We installed wood-look tiles in our guest bathroom when we remodeled it... It's still my favorite room in the house, and I LOVE how they look (and stand up to an 8 year old's water-flinging habaits! I've got a picture on my blog: http://thelotteryhouse.files.wordpress.com/2011/07/100_1361.jpg

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  7. Stephanie @ henry happenedAugust 29, 2011 at 12:14 PM

    I recently used a faux wood in a kitchen and it looked great! Much more affordable but still looks great.

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  8. Sam W.August 29, 2011 at 4:15 PM

    i think the wood option would look fantastic! love the inspiration photo.

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  9. RynnettaAugust 29, 2011 at 6:54 PM

    I vote for the wood floors! They would probably sell better than the other option with future buyers.

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  10. Amanda (ak)August 29, 2011 at 8:59 PM

    I say wood, love the inspiration photo too. Something that sorta stood out to me in that inspiration photo were the red knobs on that stove...maybe you can do some pops of red in your kitchen to warm it up along with the wood floor?

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  11. ROYAL WILDEAugust 30, 2011 at 9:34 AM

    i have tile in my kitchen and really wish we had run the hardwood from the rest of the apartment into the kitchen... tile is an even harder surface to stand on while cooking, etc. and it drives me nutso to have grout on the floor! definitely go for the wood. no one will be the wiser!

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  12. Leslie *Fresh Out of Lemons*August 30, 2011 at 2:27 PM

    Faux hard wood, totally! I think that the color will bring out the undertones in the cabinets.

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  13. hushAugust 31, 2011 at 7:05 AM

    Wood floors, but definitely keep them real wood.

    For future kitchen projects, I think your cabinets would look lovely painted. You should check out Ericka Powell's green painted cabinets in her own kitchen at the urban grace interiors blog.

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  14. UnknownSeptember 3, 2011 at 4:50 PM

    Thanks to everyone who weighed in! We just bought (and unloaded, ouch) 70 boxes of the wood tile option and ordered the cabinets to create a wine bar in an empty spot in our kitchen/dining area. It's going to be a busy 8 weeks at our house!

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