We’ve had a weekend of finishing little jobs in the kitchen. Ronnie has been moaning that I’ve been posting too much ‘girly stuff’ so we’ll start with some manly grouting, grrrr!
We chose Marrakech tiles from Tons of Tiles (whose image I’ve borrowed) for our kitchen splash back.
The tiling was done a while ago, but we’d not got round to doing the grouting, mainly because the tiles are made to look like nine small individual tiles, as there is terracotta ‘grout’ between the tiles, we needed a similar colour to avoid the actual grout looking screamingly obvious. We only needed a really small amount of coloured grout so sourced some powder pigment to mix with standard grout.
Once I’d mixed in the pigment the grout was more atomic orange than terracotta, I added acrylic paint until i reached a near perfect match, does that make the man-job girly?
I tried a couple of different sized spatulas to get the grout in, but found it was best to bite the bullet and get my hands in there.
Once done, we were able to replace the socket cover. Ta da!
We also put the new new blackboard up. Annoyingly, I’ve not taken any photographs of this project, but as I was unable to find a vintage looking blackboard at a reasonable price, I decided to make one.
I’d found an old pin board in the attic when we first moved in and it was about the right size, we took the board from the frame and used it as a template to have a sheet of steel cut to size, we then covered it in blackboard vinyl and popped into the frame. So we now have a magnetic blackboard for just a few pounds. I’ve since found a local company Chalkboards UK that does a similar thing which I may well have used if I’d known they were there! Perhaps I’ll get them to make me something for the Craft Room.
On a roll with blackboards, I hung this dinky Ebay unit on the inside of the pantry door, it’s really just for the shopping list etc. but quite handy with it’s little pocket and hooks.
We put a couple of hooks under the new shelves to hold our new mugs, in an attempt to reduce washing up we’ve both got an initial mug, and it’s against Lansdowne law to use anything else!
I’ve also finally got the fabric sorted for the kitchen sofa and bench seat, so we can now get on with making those! The heather linen will be for the seat pads, the rest will be for cushions and chair seat pads. The Harris tweed cushion was bought on our pre-Christmas visit to Edinburgh, I could do with getting a bit of this fabric to tie in elsewhere.
We also fitted the ceiling in the downstairs bathroom, the whole house now has ceilings, oh the luxury!
Lastly for this weekend, we attempted to fill a hairline crack in the craft room, guess what…the plaster fell off. I’d hoped those days were behind us but seems not, on the plus side, it’s interesting to see where the old and new parts of the house meet.
LANSDOWNE REVISITED 
I’m in love with your tile! Well done on the “manly” projects. đŸ™‚
Why thank you!
1- love love love those times. of course there would have to be a catch with it right? why would they do that without having the matching grout right there for you to buy. Here in homedepot they used to sell that color grout…in fact I think I have some in my utility closet I purchased years ago for a craft project and did not realize you need more than water to mix with it.
2- cute blackboard. I wanted to make one but the paint is so expensive here. $10 for 7 ounces. that is absolute highway robbery!!
3- love the cups and the lansdowne law LOL
4- I know people who would fight you over that fabric. lol very lovely
5. those days will NEVER be over. renovation goes on and on and on
Hey, I think the tile shop prob do offer coloured grout, but I didn’t want to buy a huge tub when I only needed a cup full, these expenses soon add up don’t they!
I later realised I left some of my fabric in the shop, how annoying! I love your table ‘tutu’ looks fab!
Thanks! The buying too much i why i am so happy te oaint companies make thise sample size paint. Why buy a quart when you only need a cup? We are on the same page wih that!!
I meant love the tiles not the times LOL so crazy
Everything is shaping up so beautifully — a truly individual space. As a side note: Isn’t it a drag when one item holds up an otherwise finished project? Hate that. Jo @ Let’s Face the Music
Thank you. Yes, it really is, though I’m finding its working out much more cost effective to wait and find a sensible solution, though my natural inclination is to get stuff fixed now, regardless of cost.
You’ve been busy bees…. ‘manly’ bees sorry! Ha! Love the tiles!!! I saw something similar the weekend paired with a terracotta gloss kitchen in Wren. It looked fabulous! X
Wren have some lovely things don’t they, I was given a very thrifty budget for the kitchen so steered well clear! X
Hmm. I know the feeling. Two Linda Barker kitchens caught my eye. We didn’t actually have drawings done and the kitchen costed, but they gave us a rough estimation off another plan we’ve had done elsewhere. We’re looking at around three/four times the cost of the Halvanto kitchen I’ve been planning on having from a builders merchants. As much as I liked them, like you, the budget doesn’t allow for it. I’ve got the Halvanto book out and reminded myself how much I love the kitchen and I’ve decided to get a grip!! Haha! X
Totally, we had a cheap Ikea kitchen but upspecced with handles and worktops from elsewhere, and it looks like it cost a lot more than it did, or at least it will when we finally finish it! X