No, that's not a typo in the title. I am retiled (not retired).
I finally got together enough money to have my kitchen (a fancy word if this is one for a 5'x8' rectangular spit with a stove, refrigerator, and sink). But it doth have a floor. And the floor, after 25 years of living here, was rather manky. To the nth degree. To the point where you can scrub and rub and pour on bleach, ;you can hem and haw and scrub with baking powder, and it defies whitening and polishing. Its natural life is over. It begged to be covered with new tile.
I have been in love with the kitchen in the winter palace of King John of Portugal for 16 years. Or more. Blue and yellow. Cheerful. Of course, his kitchen was bigger than my entire apartment. It is good to be the king.
But what can you do. The heart wants what the heart wants. Mediterrean aura is not cheaply attained. It is not to be obtained for $.75 at area hardware stores. It is only obtained for $5.00/tile from specialty tilers which can offer Italian art on a tile in various colors. I chose what seemed to be a cheerful floral pattern of yellows, greens, and whites for my new kitchen. People scoffed. It was not practical. It certainly wasn't cheap.
But after 25 years here, it is likely to be the only retiling I will do in my kitchen. What matter the cost.
And the cost only goes up.
I didn't know about grout.
Not matter. Grout is by the gallon bucket and quite cheap.
Then the installation. And then the cost increases. Home Depot gives you a flat rate of $1000. Come on. A 5'8' space?
So I asked my local handyman, who promised me he could get it done for cheaper.
So I hired him. And the cost escalated. Sure, the cost of laying down the tile was $1000. Then, grout was additional. Then, new baseboards (well, how could I say no)? Then, a saddle to frame the room and distinguish it from the living area. Who knew--a saddle. Apparently, the old one was too manky to reuse. And I knew the baseboards were really manky.
The kitchen is a work of art. And that isn't cheap. The total cost, with tiles, grout, and manhours: $2200. Three times what I thought it would.
But it brings me joy to look at a kitchen and not think--manky, poor, keep out.