Living Room Renovation: Step 1

As promised (a few months ago...) it's time to start showing off some of the work that we've been doing in the house!

We decided to start in a room that we're knew we'd be spending most of our time in - with each other, family and friends. After shampooing our living room carpet (multiple times) it  became pretty clear we weren't going to get the dark, dirt embedded square out of the center of the room and it was time to replace it, open up the entry way by tiling it so people aren't walking in on nice carpeted floors, and it could use a real good paint job (the trim is next on the list for painting, but for now, we're trying to enjoy the last of our warm weather!). 

Materials:

- Ceramic tiles

- Cement backer board

- Thin set

- Drywall screws

- Grout mix 

- Spacers

- Mixing bucket

Tools:

- Power drill

- Trowels (2)

- Tile saw

- Sponge

- Rubber grout float

This project took about two weeks - not because it was real grueling, but on days that it rained we focused on inside work and of course once we started this project, the beautiful weather kicked in! We looked at a few different DIY tutorial and talked with my dad who just finished some tile work at home too - this was the DIY tutorial we followed most closely:

http://www.thisoldhouse.com/toh/how-to/step/0,,221776_156354,00.html

Here's the step by stop process in photos:

Previous carpeted floor

Our nice surprise!

Tile lay-out process

Tile lay-out process

Spaced out tiles

Finished product... Could not be happier with it! Especially with our fresh walls, new carpet, and decor! --- That post will be next ;)

 

Our "to-do" list is still about a mile long, but this project was great to do together and I am so looking forward to turning the rest of our house into our "own" with the help of our family :)

enjoy

e.l.l.