Change In Plans....

Ok, so scratch what I said in my last post about re-using the left over slate from the floor and here's why:  The brick pattern of the slate on the floor is laid out horizontally.  If we were to put it on the counter top and back splash, it would be going vertically.  I didn't like that at all. We came up with all sorts of other ways to lay the tile hoping one of them would work, but at the end of the day I wasn't sold on it.  Boooooo..  So, that meant going out and looking at tile options for the counter top and back splash.  HH had already ripped out the sinks and old counter and put the Hardibacker tile board down so we figured we might as well see if we could find an affordable tile solution.  After bringing home about 7 samples of different looks, I was still undecided.  I thought about biting the bullet and getting the marble slab top but I really didn't want to spend the money on that (about $1,200.00).  The tile options were going to be around $200-250 so that was better but then I would have to rent the tile saw on top of that which would be another $90.  I was determined to get this bathroom done and make it fabulous without spending that much.  Then, I decided to go back to the Habitat for Humanity Re-Store with my slate floor tile sample and see if they had gotten anything interesting in.  Here's what I found.

I took several picture of this tile and the colors are just not translating well.  It's very similar to the colors in the  marble tile below except that the one I bought is not polished. I like this tile because it picks up the gray blues of the slate and at the same time is very light because it's not polished.  It also adds just enough unsaturated color to be a contrast to the white sinks and cabinets. 

The good thing about this tile is that it can be used as the counter top surface and the backsplash.  Also of note, I don't have to rent the tile saw for this which is a savings of $90.  Another good thing about these mosaic tile sheets is that they were $5 each.  I purchased 20 sheets which came out to $100 plus tax.  I feel like it's a wash really since I don't have to rent the tile saw.  I am also going to use the same grout that I used on the floor so I will not have any additional expenses there.  I put these on the counter when I got home and they look awesome.  Everybody gave a thumbs up and so we're back on track so to speak.  This should be completed this weekend and I can't wait to show you how it looks completed.