TileTramp

So I have previously talked about all the things I loved about my condo at first sight…crown molding, big bathroom, new kitchen, etc. But as with everything in life, it was not perfect. In fact, when my other half and I moved in, there was one thing that we both unanimously despised.

Our beautiful new home featured an electric fireplace, which is fine, but it was decorated with…wait for it…plastic logs.

Yes.

Plastic logs.

Plastic logs that light up when you turn on the fireplace.

See?

You really get a better impression of how hideous it is when the fireplace is on, but you get the picture. It should go without saying that my first home improvement project seemed pretty obvious.

It took us a couple months of debating whether we should replace the whole thing or not, but ultimately I decided I could save us some cash and fix it up myself by doing this:

Sorry for the poor picture, my camera was already packed!

The rock feature cost me about $10 (and an hour of my time) and I chose a grayish-purple paint color to warm up the space. It was definitely a vast improvement.

But, our fireplace woes were not over.

From the photo you can kind of see that the TV is set to the left of the fireplace, completely off balance with the rest of the space. We knew from day one that we were going to re-mount that sucker over the fireplace. Ergo, my paint is a temporary solution.

Since I work in a tile store, it seems only appropriate that we take advantage of a certain discount I receive.

The final effect I’m going for will be something like this:

My final concept

This concept includes a mix of porcelain (that looks like stone) and long, thin glass tiles. We want to keep it relatively neutral since we only plan to live here for another 4 years or so before re-selling, so I’m sticking with the stone tile in shades of gray with the glass accents in a blend of whites.

Here’s a close up of the material I’m using:

Recycled glass tile in a white blend with gray porcelain (made to look like stone)

I think it’s going to look spectacular when it’s all finished. I’ll definitely post photos of the completed project when it’s all done. Unfortunately, it might be a while since Europe may or may not have drained my bank account a bit, but we’re both anxious to finish it, so hopefully sooner rather than later!

What do you think? A good mix of materials?

If you would like assistance planning your next tile project, email me at tiletramp@gmail.com for a free consultation!