Floor done!

Well, I'm exhausted, my feet are killing me, and I think I've scrubbed 10 layers of skin off, but I got the tile all grouted today!  I do have a few little touch-ups I want to make, but those can wait for a few weeks. 

On Sunday Dale and I finished all the tiling.  We used leftover pieces to fill in where the dishwasher, stove and refrigerator will be going.  We did have to run out and buy 5 more diamond border pieces, I had that miscalculated, but at the same time, we picked up our sink, so it worked out.

I am really happy with the finished look!   And our official inspectors approved as well:

Persephone laid on the center support of the bench, she was really liking her perch overlooking the floor.  But Mercury was NOT happy she was up there, and he kept trying to knock her off.

Each of the corners has a different solution to the greek key turning the corner.

 

Hopefully they blend in enough -- although we can see them immediately!

Today I finished the grouting.  Because we used marble tile, we had to use unsanded grout.  I hate unsanded grout.  I hate the texture, the way it shrinks, the feel of it.  But that's what we had to use, so that's what I did.  I have a few low spots that need another layer of grout, but I'd like to wait a week or two so all the shrinking is complete. 

The grout makes it look so much richer - I used black grout, which is a complete pain because it's so dark and it stains my hands and the buckets and it takes forever to rinse off completely. But it looks awesome!

Here's what it looks like on the left before grouting, and on the right afterwards. 

So, now we can actually move some stuff back in!  (after the grout sets for 24 hours).  We want to get the appliances moved in, although that means we have a little bit of drywall to repair first --

We have guests coming on Friday, so it would be nice if we could at least get the refrigerator and stove out of the living room by then!

I'm glad this step is done - it's a really busy floor, but I think it's going to look great with the cabinets and counters.  I wanted to get the feel of a Paris bistro or something along those lines.  I'm happy with it!