{Let's Tile This Bar}

Alight ya'll...this bar has been tiled and she is looking mighty pretty.

Ya'll...for real...doesn't she look amazing?

We're proud...big time!

But let's start from the beginning!


We headed to The Tile Shop and picked out these three lovelies.



But the white stacked stone was the immediate choice in our book.

She called Sierra Vista...and she's pretty!

I've never been more at ease with a decision! 

We also wanted to install some shelves to hold wine glasses/bottles a-la Jenna Sue , so we started plotting that out! 

If you can see, very lightly, we took the tile and marked up the wall to see where the placement of the shelves made sense....roughly.

Then, so we could visualize, we taped them off. 

After figuring out how long we wanted them, and taping them off, we had an idea of what we were looking to build.

After thinking about how we {and by we...I mean Wendel} would build the shelves, I got the best idea ever...

Lack shelves from Ikea. 

For $20 a piece...we couldn't say no! 

It's funny, because the blue tape was how long we wanted the shelves to be, and the yellow tape measure is the length of the Lack shelf...pretty much exactly how long we wanted them in the first place! 

So we picked up all the tile the weekend of Memorial Day, but couldn't start installing until this past Saturday because Wendel had a super busy week last week with his summer master's class. 

So Saturday morning, bright and early {okay...more like 9:30} we went to grab the extra supplies we needed from the brother-in-law. 

He was the key to our tile installation! He owns a construction company, so he had all of the tools and toys we needed to do this project! We are going to babysit for them one night to "pay" them back!

Thanks again, Dan! 

Now let me just start this off by warning you...this is our very first time tiling. 

Ever! 

As I mentioned on Saturday, we took a tile class at The Tile Shop, and learned the importance of laying out...so that's what we started doing. 

I found my very favorite pieces and put them towards the bottom and middle, and took the ones with more imperfections at the top. 

There were four that had more issues, so we put them to the side so we could use them when we needed to cut in at different areas. 

I saw how important laying out was! When we started tiling it was so fast pace, if I hadn't taken the time to do this, we would have wasted to much time figuring things out! It made the actual tiling process run smoothly. 

Then we started cutting off the edges of the tiles that would meet up to the wall.

We knew all of these pieces had to be cut anyways, so we did this before we mixed up our thin- set...again...so happy we took the time to do this! We got on a roll and it was great to have those tiles cut and ready to go! 

Our first time cutting...we were pretty proud and super thankful to have this big daddy tile cutter to help us out! 

Then we had all of our edge tiles cut and we were ready to mix our thin-set! 

This mixing machine was just about the coolest tool ever. Again...thanks Dan! 

And we were ready to start tiling! 

These were our tools, but we pretty much stuck with two main tools. The little trowel on the right {it was the perfect size to get into the small areas} and the level. We wanted to be sure that we were always level, so every row we checked to be sure we were on track! 

And away we went! It was definitely easier as you went along, but I was pretty meticulous because this tile is heavy and we didn't want anything to wrong. 

This was actually "no sag" thin-set just so we were sure, but I took my pretty little time, making sure that the thin-set was perfect! 

And just like that...our first row was done! 

The second row was pretty straight forward...

Then we got to the outlets...ugh! 

But we measured, and measured, and cut little bits at a time, until we got it done! 

We ended up taping this tile because it kept popping out...slippery little sucker! 

And just like that...the third row was done! 

And then it was time to install the first shelf! 

It took a lot of measuring to be sure that it would sit perfectly on top of the most recent tile row, but we got it figured out! 

The next row was another tricky row, because we had to cut all around the shelf, but again...we figured it out! 

And the next row...

Then it was time to add the next shelf! This one gave us more trouble, but we got it all figured out! 

And again...cutting around the shelf...so annoying! 

And then we got excited and finished up the top two rows...because we THANKFULLY didn't have to do any more cutting...woo hoo! 

And then it was done...and we were in love! 

Here's a little side by side to see the progress! 

And here she is all done up! 

This is a pretty good depiction of the color, but there is a lot of shimmer in it that doesn't pick up on camera...unfortunately. 

And that's all folks...

Well...not quite :) 

Here's what we've got to finish before we cross this sucker off our to-do list: 

-Build in the refrigerator {like this}

-Install the sink 

-Add white baseboards

-Find a new light fixture that will be in the middle of the bar

-Organize the cabinetry 

-Maybe add new knobs/pulls

I put the fridge on a box so you can see what it will look like up a bit...it's going to be so so pretty! 

Now it's onto the sun-room...here's a peek as to what's going on in there last night. 

Just a tad messy, right? 

But tomorrow, we start installing the tile that is on the carpet in the lower right hand corner! 

So so flippin' excited! 

That's all for now friends!