A few pics for the process

I'm about knee-deep in tile and countertop sampledom. I ordred a bunch of stuff and am anxiously awaiting the samples to arrive. If I knew at the beginning of the process what I know now, I would order lots of samples at the outset to make choices easier. But maybe I know better what I want and got a better selection because of that. Maybe.

First, the final drawing, except there will be no wine rack next to the dishwasher. That space will hold cookie sheets. I got my priorities straight there.

Oh, this is the kitchen before shot. Those cabinets are original (100 years old) and you can see the extent of my counter space.

If you're considering a remodel, it's pretty cheap to get samples of laminate and glass tile. I borrowed the samples of granite and quartz countertops, and they are really pretty. But after looking at what's offereed in terms of laminate, I'm going to save my pennies and do that instead. They can make the edges practically seamless, and the printing technology is pretty darn good, so it looks like stone, near as I can tell. 

Here are some samples of the laminate:

This one and the two below it are from Wilsonart. They let you order seemingly as many (I ordered 10) 8 x 10 samples as you'd like. I'm trying to go for the kind-of-interesting-yet-will-match -the-cool-glass-tile look. You can't really tell diddly from these, and that's why samples will be really helpful.

I do like the look of recycled pieces/terrazzo, too. The one below has that look. Pretty darn neutral. I want this perfect balance between neutral and something with some pop to it.

I ordered samples from Formica, too. I like the blue-green-ness of the one below. They can do a fancy or rolled edge as well. Formica lets you get up to 5 samples for free.

 And this one is called Grass. Pretty. Benign. But I realize that benign is OK, I just need for it to match the glass tile, right? Yes, I've utilized some of the design people, but have come to the conclusion that I need to see more choices than they reasonably have time for, and I like having the samples in my house, so ordering them on my own was the way to go.

OK, on to tile. Man-o-man there is just so much cool tile out there. One piece of advice from my contractor (who I really like) is to get what I like and not get the tile and countertop for the next people who will live here. I've got no plans to move any time soon, so my plan is to spend a bit extra for good, neutral cabinets, and then go my own way with countertops and glass tile backsplash. 

This one is pretty bright, but I like the iridescent tiles.

I have to say that this one is still my favorite. If I cut vertically, I can get three 12" strips that I can use with white subway tile or other cheaper tile. This is $35 a sheet, so I'd need to use pieces of it.

This one is cheap, and has lots of colors, which I like. Not crazy about orange or pink, but I keep seeing this in my samples and thinking, "not bad...".

This one is busy and fun. Smaller tiles, and I could cut it in strips. Goes with all the blue-green stuff I like, too.

Then this one is an example of a cool neutral that could go with a lot and if I wanted a dark countertop, it would go. 

Yes, lots of choices. I got 5 samples of tile for $5 (free shipping) from The Glass Tile Store, and paid $3 per sample (with free shipping) from Glass Tile Oasis. 

I'm off to continue to strip the paint off my front porch, which is becoming quite the project. Hope your weekend is productive and fun!