G’day ladies, checking in from a sunshiney & hot Sydney today…we had a warm and stormy weekend on the beaches and it looks like there’s more on the way by the look of it.
So, if you are part of the Beach Cottage Club and have subscribed to the newsletter, you’ll already have an idea of how the bathroom is going…there was a sneak peek of the tiled walls with this week’s edition.
So here’s a bit more on how it is going.
I had a few emails on subway tiles…one that didn’t I think they were too old-fashioned for a coastal beach decor look and the other on how easy it is to get them fitted.
Well on the old-fashioned look? Possibly. But then I don’t go for ‘fashion’ and trends in home decor…if anything I like to go the opposite way…nothing worse, to me, than that cookie cutter look you see in every other homewares shop. I like to collect vintage things I love and then work that into a coastal beachy look. So subway tiles for coastal-style? I think yep you can make it work for you.
On fitting them, we had about 5 tilers quote for the bathroom (we are co-ordinating the tradies ourselves for budget reasons)…one of them said no to the job because of the tiles, one of them had never worked with them and wasn’t too sure about it…the one we went with has been tiling for 30 odd years and hasn’t fitted a small tile like this for a very long time…he’s a great bloke and knows his stuff…so I guess you just have to get a few people in and ask them what they have worked with. I do know that all of the tilers we spoke to mainly these days work with a much much larger tile…a whole different ball game and they certainly don’t do the brickwork look I was after.
We brought the old lady in for a trial to see how she fits in her spot…not got a name yet, but I think I have decided on one…any more ideas for me leave them in the comments please ;-)
I am pleased we decided on this area for the bathtub…we had initially gone for the other corner and the vanity in this bit but I think this works well and separates the bathing section a bit, plus I will be able to have the window open and look out at the stars….and the neighbours ;-) …they already think I am a loony anyway so that’s not a problem
On the floor.
Well, this was the first tiling to be done and took the longest…I don’t know if you are thinking it’s a bit odd to one have a tiled floor and two to have drains in it…that’s how it is done in Australia…when we first came here we thought it was odd too…no overflows in the bathtub…the overflow is in the floor…
…and certainly no CARPET in bathrooms like in good old Blighty….I don’t think, before I moved to the Lucky Country I ever lived in a bathroom that didn’t have carpet…now that TOTALLY grosses me out, like big time…!
…so the laying of these floors is a skilled job…and we know to our detriment that if you get it wrong, it’s not good…the floor in our en-suite bathroom has not been laid properly and the shower will leak because the water does not run well…so on the top of our list for recruiting a tiler was one who knew his run-offs well…there was much talk of this, including the use of golf balls and how they run to get the perfect measurements…it’s all looking good.
So the colour, when it went down I did NOT like it at all, as he put it down I was like euuuuh, nooooooooo why did I not go with what I wanted??? That was more of the same on the walls but the floor version, a white vintage style tile…but absolutely everyone involved in this project advised me against that floor for a few reasons, firstly that its main users will be children and a white floor would show everything at any given time and secondly that there would be a lot of lines in there..
…the third reason was actually mine…this is not an old Victorian cottage, if only and I thought that bringing in a pebble grey would add a coastal feel and would balance the reality of what we are working with (in the 80′s extension to the cottage), with the vintage feel that I want…
So I looked around for grey inspiration and I took in a pebble found on the beach that I loved…there were a few colours that I liked that run through it and I tried to replicate that in the choice…it was tough because there are a lot of tiles out there at the moment that are a dark slate grey with no colour variation and a lot of them are in the more fashionable large tile size..
What do you think?
And do you have any tips on tilers and tiling for any Beach Cottage readers? I think this makes or breaks a bathroom…must say I have seen some hideous tiles in my time…worst ones were our best friends first house…they were like a bottle green with a black pattern, very 70′s and not in a nice way with some orangey/gold touches in places..that girl cleaned those tiles a million times and it always looked gros lol
Our rental in Australia was pretty horrid too…brown mosaic…60′s brown…I bleached the life out of them, but really, they never felt clean…
Love to hear your tile stories today! Are you living with the yuckiest tiles on the planet? Been there, done that, got the t-shirt baby
See you another day, I am off for coffee at the beach..
Sarah
The bath is coming along nicely Sarah! Personally I love…..the subway tiles and think you made an excellent choice. I agree with Carin Dorothy is spot on for your tub. I know how you have missed it in a bathroom. Happy day!
Hi Sarah,
Love the tiles, I have them in bathroom and kitchen, laid by my favorite tradie my man about the house. We also have a chandelier in the bathroom, a pretty pale blue one, one would look great above your fab bath, the floor tiles I chose are big square sandy stone ones with a shine that don’t show any dirt with a stone coloured grout, this is the trick match the grout so that it blends in. I look at all the tiles in my house with love, every day and never tire of them, you will too. To finish I found a round Villeroy & Boch flower shaped bowl on Ebay for 99 cents which now sits atop of cedar cupboard in my white ensuite. Maybe not so pratical but gorgeous. Recylcing is great for the budget, creating your own style not to mention helping out Mother Earth.
Hi Sarah, love the ‘subs’ and also the pebble grey floor tiles. Are they 300 x 300? I keep getting steered towards much larger tiles but I am worried the bigger tiles are going to make small rooms look even smaller. Can you give me the name or code of the floor tiles so I can find them too? Thanks heaps. Love your blog..
Subway tiles are growing on me as well… Really couldn’t care less about their “old-fashionness”… I love how your bathroom is coming to life… And really enjoyed the explanation about how plumbing is done in the other part of the world!!! But nothing comfortable to put your toes on while you pamper yourself, how can you survive???
Looking fabulous so far!
Not sure what happened, but I have subscribed to the newsletter, but haven’t rec’d any yet? Are they available online?
Just to defend the Old Country and say that I live in Britain and don’t have carpet in my bathroom!! ; )
We have the tiniest bathroom you can imagine – think the length of a bath and the width of bath/toilet/basin. My other half designed the tiling (mini palest blue mosaics) so that we have curved corners – looks great and always gets a comment from new visitors. Somehow you forget that the room is so small. Having a glass basin with no pedestal helps too – when you can see more of the floor you get the illusion of more space.
it looks clean and fresh
Looks fab…………….. oh and I like how when you interchange the word “vintage” for old fashioned it becomes cool! You found that out in the op shops right? ROFL.
We r doing a new build but as owner builders we have chosen all our materials based on the non-cookie cutter route…..I am always being told that what I choose is not in fashion…..and that is when I know I have made a good choice!!!!!
we’ve just had our subways done in our kitchen………they are smaller at 150×75′s and they look the bees knees..I’ll e-mail u a picture when all done….
Just for readers who might want white grout in kitchen we were recommended to not use grout but to get tiles “grouted” with epoxy (only a few tilers do this)……epoxy does not stain as white grout does…
We then got the 300x300s in our pantry and in the laundry……brick pattern too….
Can’t wait to see your reveal…………
Hi Sara. Your bathroom is gonna look great. That sort of tile is to me, timeless. I’m surprised your tiler hasn’t done any in a long time. I wanted to go with them in our still unfinished master bathroom but we have alot of iron in our well water and they’d be brown after the first shower. So we went with a 12×12 putty (and I know how you love putty) colored tile in a sort of corridor shower. It’s not the look I had invisioned but a small thing really in the great scheme of things when I think about it. Sooo… I’ll just enjoy your light airy beachy coastal vintage style bath. Small thing, small thing, small thing. Im convinced now? :)
Good golly, Miss Molly! What a bathroom! LOVE those tiles! My sister used them in her BATHROOM , but only in the shower. What a big job, but it already looks amazing. Can’t wait to see the finished room!!!
m ^..^