Generic selectors
Exact matches only
Search in title
Search in content
Post Type Selectors

DIY

Slow and Steady Lays the Tile

March 24, 2014

Y'all wanna know what I've been working on lately? Shhh... it's a secret...

IMG_2042

Psyche. Not a secret. Everyone knows. Floors. Floors, floors, and more floors. As you can see from the above photo, Saturday we made serious progress in the great room. But, here's how my daily schedule breaks down:

7am: Wake up, get ready for work
8am-5pm: Work
5pm-11pm: Work on the floors
11pm-midnight: Shower (I'm usually covered in mortar from head to toe) and get ready for bed
Midnight-7am: sleep

Rinse, repeat. This is, by far, the largest renovation project we've taken on. Logically, I know the floors will be done at some point (and that point is this Thursday, fingers crossed), but I just can't imagine living not in the basement. I can't imagine having a couch to sit on, a table to sit at, and time to spend doing things other than these floors. But! As exhausting as this project has been, I love knowing our subfloor is in better shape. I love knowing the leaks and mold we discovered along the way have been addressed. And I especially love seeing the way these floors are transforming this house. It's the progress, slow as it may be, that keeps me motivated. And thank Heavens for the friends and family in town who have been eager and willing to help. There's no way we would get this project done before the baby's arrival without their help.

photo copy

Today, I'm going to finish laying all of the whole pieces. Tomorrow and Wednesday, I'll spend making cuts and finishing all the spaces. Thursday, grout. Friday, lots of cleaning, and we'll have our home back on Saturday. Once that's all done, we'll share a few more detailed posts on the process, and we'll all get to admire the beautiful flooring together, with our furniture back in place. One more week. ...one more week...

filed under: 
— Hide Comments
+ ShowComments
What do you think?

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

  1. They are looking really great! But I think you may have convinced me that I really want to hire someone to do my tile work! What a project....

    1. Haha! Yeah, even though the point of what we're doing is to, more or less, let people know they CAN do these things themselves, sometimes the outcome is more toward convincing them (and us) that hiring someone else isn't so bad. :)

  2. They look fantastic so far...and luckily the thrill of those beautiful floors should last much, much longer than the pain of installing them (though I can understand if that's hard to believe right now!). Keeping my fingers crossed that things go smoothly from here on out!

  3. Always feels never ending when you're in the thick of it, doesn't it? Gonna feel sooo good to be done and can't wait to see. :)

  4. You should feel proud of all that you've done! This time is stressful, but look at how far you've come.............. you can see the finish line!

    1. Right now I think I just have my head down and I'm focusing so much on what isn't done yet. But you're right, every so often (usually when I wake up and am just about to go to work) I look around the spaces we've done and think, "This is gonna be great." :)

    1. Tell Ryan I can save a couple hundred square feet for him when he's up here. No need to spend time with family when you can fly across the country to lay countless tiles in someone else's house.

  5. Looks great! Can't wait to see it finished! I honestly do not think I'd have the patience to do it!

What We're

Loving

Right Now

What We're

Loving

Right Now

Looking for our favorite things? A place to shop our home room by room, or just catch up on what Julia's wearing / loving right now? Browse the CLJ shop
Shop All

Love Stories

Love Where You Live

In an industry that often feels designed to make you discontent, we want this to be place you come for inspiration, ideas, and encouragement to make the space you're already in feel like home.
Read All Posts
let's break this thing up

BROWSE BY CATEGORY

01

Portfolio

Befores, afters, mood boards, plans, failures, wins. We’ve done a lot of projects, and they’re all here.
read more
02

Projects

We have a long-standing relationship with DIY, and love rolling our sleeves up and making it happen.
read more
03

Design

Even when you don’t want to rip down a wall, you can make that space in your home better. Right now.
read more
hello world!

looking for inspiration?

Lifestyle

Your Fall Home Maintenance Checklist

This post is sponsored by Neighborly, Your Hub for Home Services The beginning of the year we're always thinking "spring cleaning." But in fall, I like to cover our bases on home maintenance before we have guests or face colder weather. I usually like to split the tasks between things we tackle ourselves and things we […]
The Marcum family dressed as characters from the classic edition of Clue: The Game.
Entertaining

Our Halloween Family Costumes 2024: I'll Give You One Clue

It was Professor Plum, with the knife, in the Conservatory. Happy Halloween from Clue characters: 1986 edition! Shop Costume Inspiration Over the years, we've dressed as everything from dolls and monsters to Peter Pan, E.T. characters, and The Wizard of Oz. But in the last several years, one of our kids has usually chosen our costumes. If you look back, you […]
Wayfair Holiday Christmas collage round up
Decor

The Best Holiday Finds at Wayfair

This post is sponsored by Wayfair We bought this gorgeous, extremely realistic tree from Wayfair in 2019. It may be my best Christmas find ever because it has moved across the country with us, and it's the first thing we decorate every year (and that last thing we put away when the season is over). […]
product lines

Meet the New Chris Loves Julia x Loloi Pillows for Fall 2024

With the Chris Loves Julia x Loloi Rugs launch this season, we just had to add some new pillows too! For this collection, like all of our lines, we designed the pillows colorwise and pattern-wise to all work together. But there are some fun surprises too (including new floor pillows and a brand-new ruffle pillow […]
Learn With Us
Want to do what we do? Get the tools, mentorship, and training to be a Good Influencer professionally.
Learn More
Looking for Something?

SEARCH THE BLOG

We've been doing this since 2009 and we've posted a whopping 24145+ blog posts and counting. You might need a little help searching, huh?

Can We Send You Our Love Letter?

Another way for us to stay in touch! Joining our weekly newsletter gives you access to exclusive content, never-before-seen photos, your questions answered, and our favorite DIYs. Sign up below!

hello world!
Follow Along on Instagram
Welcome to our online community where we've posted home, DIY, style, renovations, and family since '09. Renovating our #cljmoderncottage in Idaho and headed for new adventures in Raleigh, NC. #cljfam #cljtransformations
© 2024 Chris Loves Julia, LLC
PRIVACY POLICYTERMS & CONDITIONSAFFILIATE DISCLAIMERSITE CREDITCOMMUNITY GUIDELINES