Gail's Kitchen Renovation: Flooring, Backsplash, and Countertops

Gail's Kitchen Renovation series is coming to a close. We've designed our kitchen layout, decided on a renovation timeline, completed our demolition, and set up a temporary kitchen. Now we are going to talk about picking out materials and finishes.

Flooring:

Gail's flooring with the first coat of finish

Gail bought her flooring at Reclamation Lumber located in New Haven Connecticut. Reclamation Lumber specializes in taking reclaimed wood and using it to produce custom beams, mill work, and flooring for clients. They are a green company and their showroom houses over 20,000 square feet of reclaimed lumber products and samples.

Typically when visiting a lumber warehouse you will tour the showroom, look at samples, and be able to get a price estimate. In order to get an accurate price estimate, you should bring the dimensions of your room so you can figure out how many square feet of material you will need. The price per square foot generally does not include finishing the wood or the installation. There are two different types of finishing, oil based or water based. Make sure your salesperson shows you the difference between the two and gives you the price for each.

Gail's German Shepard, Kota        The finished white oak flooring

Gail chose character grade white oak for the floors in her kitchen and family room. The look went perfectly with her historic home and white oak is a very hard, durable species of wood. Gail says that when picking out her flooring she decided on white oak because,"it looks gorgeous in the space and could withstand the many scratches from [her] German Shepard, Kota."

Backsplash:

Gail's finished backsplash

Gail purchased 2 x 8 white subway tile designed by California Art Tile. She chose this tile because it is hand-made so each tile has its imperfections. The pieces do not fit together perfectly and this adds the character and charm that is found in the rest of her historic home.

Generall,y when picking out tile, a customer will go into the tile shop, get a price, and choose what he or she thinks best fits the home. The tile installer is responsible for the ordering of the tile and the pickup and delivery. He/she will work with your contractor to decide exactly when everything should arrive and be installed. Remember to again bring the dimensions of your room in order to figure out the square footage price of your tile. Also be sure to ask about grout for your tiles. Gail chose white grout for her white tiles because it provides a classic clean look. White grout can easily be stained if it's behind a stove top however, since Gail has her stove top inside her island she does not have to worry about the cleanup.

Countertops:

The Galleria installing the Jet mist counter top

Gail purchased her countertops from The Galleria Stone and Tile in Middletown Connecticut. They offer 300 different types of stone slabs and thousands of tile options, as well as excellent customer service and professional counter top installation.

When visiting a stone and tile fabricator you will tour the showroom and decide on the type of stone you want. After deciding on the type of stone who will then pick out the exact slab you want to be fabricated .Your salesperson will tag the slabs you have chosen and set them aside until they are ready to be installed.

Gail taking her cabinet doors to color match the countertop

Gail purchased Jet Mist Honed Granite and Calcutta Gold Honed Quartz for her countertop. The jet mist is easy to care for and maintain. it has a classic look and works perfectly around the perimeter of Gail's kitchen. The Calcutta Gold has gorgeous color and markings, howeve,r it requires more maintenance. Spills need to be wiped up immediately and the quartz itself needs to be sealed often. This is why Gail purchased the stone only for her kitchen island. When describing her choices Gail says that, "it's worth it because she loves the look of the quartz and she's decided that she can live with a few imperfections."

Selecting your materials and finishes if often the most fun part of your kitchen remodel. Be sure to consult with your kitchen designer about the materials you want and the colors you are thinking of incorporating. You and your designer can work out every detail to create the kitchen that you have always wanted.

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