I now do not have enough fingers on both hands to count the number of inquiries I've had asking why we're getting rid of the tile in our house. So I'll attempt to answer the question here to save a dozen email answers.

I love tile.

Really, I do.

In YOUR house.

Six years ago when we built this house, we let the nice lady at the builder's showroom talk us into putting ceramic tile in the dining room and foyer. It wasn't cheap, but it wasn't a very large area and I thought it would be a nice touch. Amortized over thirty years it was only adding about .90 a month to our mortgage so I gave in.

I knew almost immediately that it was a mistake.

First, even though walking on cool tile feels nice in the summer, it also lends a pretty cold feel to a room. What it ended up doing was making sure no one ever wanted to eat in the dining room. The room became a repository for school books, a place for craft projects that were too messy to be done on carpet, and an overflow space for kids to sit during parties.

Second, I hate grout. It's an outgrowth of my hate of seams, crevices, cracks, anything that collects grime. I know, you'll have lots of ammunition for me on this one, but trust me...I've lived with the tile several years now and it bothers me.

Third, during the years when we had 15 people living in this house, two of the 12" tiles in a very visible spot cracked diagonally all the way across them. When I inquired about having them replaced, I about fell over. I could have the room re-floored for that!

And fourth, when I tried to warm up the room by putting a rug over it or carpeting over it, I ran into a myriad of problems that didn't make that practical either.

So, I resolved to have the whole thing ripped up as soon as it was financially possible. Having tile demolished is just about as expensive as having a new tile floor put in, but at least I'll never have to do it again.

And as for "Why vinyl?" I'll say that I am CRAZY about the vinyl we had installed in our kitchenlast year, and I just decided to extend it into the dining room and then we may use an oriental rug over that. We bought just about the best grade of vinyl flooring there is (my flooring man actually tried to talk me into a cheaper version and I wouldn't budge: I knew exactly what I wanted). It has a 15 year warranty, the best in the industry, and it is tough stuff. But it looks more like hardwood than any other substitute I've ever seen, and it's SO easy to care for. NO crevices! And people have walked in here many times and told me they love my wood floors. I quickly tell them they're not "real" but I appreciate the compliment...

So...being very happy with it, I also decided to use it in the downstairs bathrooms as well. Yes, same pattern. I want all the non-carpeted floors to be the same flooring, and I happen to think most of the patterns designed for bathroom flooring are pretty cheesy anyway so I'm using the same hardwood-look everywhere.



Hope that answers your questions. When I come to your house I'm going to LOVE looking at the beautiful tile floors. Here, I'm going to enjoy my hardwood-look vinyl and know that when John or the boys drop a hammer on it, it's not going to break. And nothing is ever going to get "stuck" between planks or in the grout.

As I write, the nimble workmen are scurrying around me, prepping and sanding and measuring. I'll have pictures soon :-)

Labels: Decorating