Sorry about the loss, cyn, but good grief, what a game!

Not too happy that Mr. Bundchen & Co. have to play at Mile High - no air up there. Another Bundchen/Manning matchup.

Hope my kitchen pics won't be too long now. I'm fed up and want my house back and all the tools and materials and mess gone!

Hm, if I may weigh in, I think it is too pink (and I can't get the spam out of my head anymore). Something a little less bright and more into the yellows/oranges may be the way to go. Personally, I like the smoke stack with your counters, floor, and cabinets.

Well, that is excellent, NSM, because I went to Cranston this morning and exchanged the English Pub for the Smokestack, and I am so glad I did. I love the smokestack! It is exactly as you say: a little less bright and is warmer, more o fa rust color. I'm glad I love it too, because they have signs everywhere saying, "Absolutely no refunds or exchanges", but they made an exception for me (probably because it was such a tiny order) ,but they did tell me this is it, I may not return these.

So, Smokestack it is!

I also got a lighter mortar, a very light gray, almost white.

Cant wait to see it installed!

me too, me too!!!

Can't wait to see it!

I think you were correct in trusting your 1st instinct and going for the smokestack.

Counters, cabs, and floor look fabulous!

Yay, I can't wait to see :)

Three cheers for Smokestack!

Looking forward to seeing your finished kitchen :-)

When does it get installed? I also think you made the right swaps for brick and grout.

Are you done yet? Can't wait!

Yay! Can't wait to see the pics!

"sprtphntc

me too, me too!!!"

Ditto!

Lol.

Ghostly, I'm doing the install myself and will get working on it tomorrow. I have to buy some wood shingles to use as shims, since two of the walls are not square, but I don't need a huge load of shingles, so I've got to look around at places and hopefully I can find some place that will sell me just a small bundle. That part will be challenging! I swiped my father's portable tile saw, and hopefully I won't break it...or lose a finger...or two.

But yes, I keep looking at the Smokestack and find I smile and am w/o any doubt at all, so seems to be a winner. Of course, I just got home and having put it up against the wall yet, so...lol.

Wish me luck! DIY...eek.

And hey, I stained and sealed those counters myself! One blippity-bloo, but as everyone says, "It gives them character." Lol.

I thank everyone for weighing in, but I think I owe Jen a particularly emphatic thanks for the Spam visual, as that really helped me make this decision. Thank goodness, Smokestack does not resemble any processed meat product, at least that I can think of.

Well, I think you knew it all along.

Why is it taking so long? Pictures, please! I hope you've been busy tiling :)

diy is so satisfying!! glad you made the exchange and are ready to go!!

I've been very busy procrastinating! Haven't been home for a couple of days either, had to exchange the brick yesterday, and I'm nervous about it because of the bowing of the two walls. But, I'm off now to the lumber store to get shims, so I should get started on this today. I am giving myself until Sunday to have it finished, since there's no way I can get my electrician in here until at least next week anyway. Next pics will be of the finished kitchen. Again, don't get too excited. It's really only going to look like I lifted stuff out and put new stuff in, which is basically what I did. All new wiring, though, added new wall board, patched holes where mice, etc., were getting in, counters took a long time because of the time needed between stain and seal and coats of seal....

Btw, I think I want colored wall outlets over the brick, not white or cream. Both the outlets and the plates.

Any suggestions?

Any progress to report?

What kind of outlet color were you thining about, rustic metallic or something something like the cabs?

The procrastination is proceeding beautifully! Love, love, love the Smokestack even more since I put it against the wall. It is darker than the English Pub, so I'm very glad I changed the grout to a light grout as well. But the Smokestack is perfect.

I got the shims today and a light went on and I figured it out, so I'm not as intimidated as I was: I also bought a piece of luan board, so I'll shim the wall and then put the luan board over the shims so that I have a solid surface on which to glue the bricks. The luan will make this job a lot easier, I think.

But because of the permanence of a project like this, I tend to move slowly to getting started. Feels daunting in the beginning since it can't be undone.

I can't believe you are doing all this yourself!!!

Ha! It's called being poor, ellendi! I have no choice but to do what I can myself. the guy who installed the floor wanted $1,000 to install the backsplash! Fortunately, there really is that much-talked-about sense of pride and accomplishment when you do it yourself.

I did the demolition myself, the patching of the walls, installation of the new wall board, painting, staining and sealing of the counters, and now the backsplash myself. I figure it saved me @ $5k.

I wish I could remember who it is, but someone here is doing their bathroom< I think it is, entirely themselves, electrical and everything! Mucho impressive! I would never dare do electrical myself! But she did the flooring, electrical, plumbing...all of it herself, she says. She's got me beat by a long mile.

Btw, if anyone thinks the Smokestack looks like some form of canned, processed meat - once you see the pics - please keep it to yourself because once they're in, I can't take them out, so I won't want to know that it looks like Jimmy Dean Sausage...or whatever.

Ha ha, we are going to like them, Tib, we are going to like them a lot!!!!!!

Beef jerky? Messin' with Sasquatch with a Slim Jim?

Nah, it's going to be perfection. Can't wait to see it!

Darn. Now I have to start a petition to get Auntjen banned. And I liked her so much. :-(

Oh! And I cut out and framed the recessed shelf myself too! Clap, clap.

Had fried Spam just the other night. With rice and scrambled eggs, it's a (fatty) treat at our house! :) Don't knock it til you've tried it. Can't wait to see the big reveal Tibbrix!

LOL, Tibb!

I'm having a flashback! We used it back in the '70's on the kitchen backflash~it was our first build. I had no idea it was still available. Looks good tib! I remember when it was finished taking a bit of black paint and rubbing just a smidge on various tiles in different areas. Helped to keep it from looking so flat.

Canned processed meat.; so appropriate in a kitchen. LOL!

Mr. Blandings Builds His Dream House was on tv the other night, and I thought of you, Tib: "If you ain't eatin' Wham, you ain't eatin' ham!"

Look at what you've started, Jen! Now when people say, "Oh, I love your brick backsplash!", I'll have to say, "No, that isn't brick! It's canned processed meat!"

Spam, Wham, thank-you, Ma'am!

;-D

Tib, love the smokestack! Can't wait to see pics!! I am sure you are eager to finish as well...

Thanks, theclose. I think the Smokestack is going to look great, even though it's darker than the English Pub. I think using the light mortar, therefore, will be key. And they told me to get two boxes of corners w/o ever mentioning that they're for outside corners, even though I told them I was doing a kitchen backsplash! Aargh. I'm going to hope I can do it with what I've got and just eat the second box of corners. I can use a few from one box for the recessed shelf, at least.

I am very eager to finish, but I'm in the process of building areas of the wall out, which is not easy! And I"m trying to do it w/o damaging the counters, which are still curing. Adding a second layer of sheet rock in a couple of spots, and then I have to feather joint compound where the sheet rock ends down to the existing wall. Ugh, ugh, and ugh.

If only I could fit one of your daughter's gorgeous beds in my kitchen, and it would really be perfection!

Ascorsonelli, I ate Spam as a kid, fried, I think she when my folks were particularly short on funds. But I really liked it. I wouldn't touch it now, though.

If your floor is brick, then I would go with tile on the backsplash. Please don't overdo the brick, a little goes a long way in terms of charm and beauty. Look into tile before you order the brick. I think your backsplash should be a more neutral feature given the wooden counter and brick floor.

Tib, just get rid of your appliances and I'll ship you a bed. Who needs to cook?!

Floor is porcelain tile, and I've got the boxes of brick here ready to go. No turning back.

the close...me! that's who'! Boy am I sick of the little hot plate, fridge in the dining room, dish washing in the bathroom sink...not to mention the MESS!

But yes, you scored a huge home run with those beds.

Tibbrix, did you get your brickwork done?

lizzie, brick is up, although I think I want to replace about five pieces, and I still have to put the mortar on. Getting the right color mortar has been tricky. I'm going with white, so I have to buy it, but my schedule along with the weather is not cooperating with my ability to do that. I'm not home right now either. Electrician is coming on Wed., though, and plumber will follow, so the kitchen is finally about to "go live"! Still love, love, love the Smokestack brick. Very glad I made the change.

I am happy to hear that smokestack worked out. :-). Please post pics when you're done.

Will do. The backsplash started out so easy and went downhill the next day. :-(. I had to "jury rig" it in a few spots, most of which are hidden behind the range (or will be, once it's in) or under the cabinets, which was deliberate on my part. Not easy because the walls in there are so uneven from every angle!

Tibbrix - how difficult will it be to remove the bricks?

Since I haven't put the mortar on yet, not very. I just use a wonder bar and a hammer to pry them loose and they pop right off, usually breaking in the process. I had three bricks left when I finished! (but I also have a lot of corner bricks which I can cut into flats If I have to).

Why are you removing them?

The space between them and the row beneath them is too wide. It's the section behind the sink and under the window, so it's just the two rows. But I decided that, before I mortar it, fix it. I could get away with it probably, but might as well get it right. Like I said it was very hard to keep the lines and spaces even because of how these walls "Move", but this section is dead-on in front of you when you walk into the kitchen, so it probably should be done right.

You are going to be so glad you took the time and did it right. Can't wait to see some pictures.

My head is spinning after reading through this entire thread again, but I'm glad that the brick backsplash will be finished soon, Tibbie. So, once that's finally done, what else has to be completed before you can move your range and everything back in and start cooking in that beautiful kitchen? BTW, I love the cabinets!

Nothing, Linen. I'm not home right now, so I can't get the mortar in and the replacement bricks in until I get back, and that may depend on the weather. I may be stuck in Boston until Thursday. But my electrician is coming on Wed., whether I'm there or not, and he'll get the outlets in and the kitchen fired up; then comes my plumber, who is a neighbor, to get the plumbing hooked up and going, and then it will be done! Only thing left for me will be figuring out where best to put everything in the new cabinets. I'm going to try to make a clever cutting board holder hanging off the end of one of the cabinets so that they are easy to get to. I'm a bit nervous about doing it because I'll be doing mitered corners and routing out the frame, so hopefully I won't destroy the under-trim of the upper cabinets when I take it off, which I have to do to make this. If it doesn't work, I'll just put the original under-trim back on - if it isn't destroyed! I should definitely have pics up next week, of not sooner. Depends on when my plumber comes. He puts the dishwasher and range in.

I'll be so glad when this is done.

I can imagine. Well, stay safe and warm and not on the roads if the weather gets worse. I'm anxious to see pics of your finished kitchen someday soon.

Thanks. Storm so far is a bust in Boston, but I just heard the Cape has gotten 8 - 10 inches of snow so far. In Boston, regardless, until at least tomorrow night.

Can't wait to fire up the Subzero!