How to tile the top of the bar? We were unsure of how we would want the top to look and went to the store with an open mind. Picking out the color of tile we wanted was easy. But do we want just one tile and a basic pattern? Or do we want to do something a bit more intricate? Since the bar is pretty much the center piece of our home downstairs, we wanted something that would stand out.
We picked up a bunch of 4 inch white stone tile and a few packages of small precut rectangular white stone tiles along with the light beige tile we chose. Our idea was to use a diamond pattern with a border made up of the precut tiles. My thoughts on diamond patterns: looks amazing but involves way too many cuts. The primary tile we bought was 12''x24'' so we had to first cut these into 12'' x 12'' squares. Since our tile saw is not a super duper big wet saw, these cuts had to be made with no guard. I was much better at the free handed cuts than Aaron so I cut the majority of the tiles needed for this project. Lucky me :)
When you cut tile without a guard, you have to watch the blade pretty closely. And of course your fingers :) This means the chips of tile might be thrown in your face and ultimately your eyes. Not cool! Even though I probably looked stupid, the only clear eye protective gear I could find at our house was a pair of goggles. Kind of like the ones we all used in Chemistry class back in high school.
Lots and lots of free handed cuts....
We picked up a bunch of 4 inch white stone tile and a few packages of small precut rectangular white stone tiles along with the light beige tile we chose. Our idea was to use a diamond pattern with a border made up of the precut tiles. My thoughts on diamond patterns: looks amazing but involves way too many cuts. The primary tile we bought was 12''x24'' so we had to first cut these into 12'' x 12'' squares. Since our tile saw is not a super duper big wet saw, these cuts had to be made with no guard. I was much better at the free handed cuts than Aaron so I cut the majority of the tiles needed for this project. Lucky me :)
When you cut tile without a guard, you have to watch the blade pretty closely. And of course your fingers :) This means the chips of tile might be thrown in your face and ultimately your eyes. Not cool! Even though I probably looked stupid, the only clear eye protective gear I could find at our house was a pair of goggles. Kind of like the ones we all used in Chemistry class back in high school.
Lots and lots of free handed cuts....
What a pro! :) The wet saw is quickly becoming one of my favorite tools.
Here is the middle portion of the top so far. We really liked how this was coming together!
Here is the middle portion of the top so far. We really liked how this was coming together!
For the border, we originally had the beige tile only but that lacked a certain bit of jazz that I was hoping for. So... we added some stone in the border. And wow! I love it!
The bar cabinet followed the same design.
And to remind everyone of what this looked like to begin with, here are some pictures of the pink square tiled top. Hmmm... Yuck.
Next post: completed project!