The Last Project: The Paradox Pattern

This past weekend Several weeks months ago we began to tackle the last major project on our house. That doesn't mean that we are finished with the project house. It means that at this moment I think we are finished, but I'm sure I'll realize something else that needs to be done sooner or.... Oh, I forgot about the basement - it is a huge project in itself! Oh, and I forgot that we still need to sand the porch floors and repaint them. Oh... and... OK, so maybe this won't be the 'last' project! Darn!

We visited a few homes that were showcased in the builder's tour of homes and fell in love with the tile floor in one of the homes. I took a picture of it. We visited a number of tile stores but none had anything like what we had seen. Finally we went to a wholesale supplier. I showed the receptionist the picture and she barely paused to think before saying, "It looks like the Paredon pattern to me." We looked at various colors of tile, picked what we liked and ordered it from a nearby retail tile showroom.

The tile arrived and we began to tile our foyer. It is 130 square feet. When we ordered the tile, that seemed like a small amount - well, maybe it felt that way until we paid for the tile! When we were half way through the work 130 sq. ft. seemed immense! I'm so glad the foyer isn't larger!!!

Here we are.... ready to begin.

This should be a piece of cake!

Are we done yet?

The tile pattern is a bear. They call in the Paredon pattern. I have begun referring to it as the paradox pattern... because it is all a puzzle to me! Each box of tile has a diagram on it, thankfully. But trying to figure out what comes next makes my head hurt.... even with the diagram!

When we have worked on tile jobs in the past, my hubby mixes the mortar and makes the cuts. I lay the tile. As we began this job I think hubby began to wonder why it was taking me so long to get going. He came to help hand me tiles... and then he began to realize how puzzling the pattern is.

Here's hubby with "the map" trying to figure out what goes where!

Isn't there some sort of saying about people talking to themselves being crazy? Well, this must be driving us crazy because we are both muttering things like, "OK, if this is an 8"X12" going this way, then next to it we need and 8"X 8" and over here we need a long skinny one. No, wait. That's not right. The long skinny one needs to go here."

When I finished tiling the bathroom floor I swore I would never again tile anything using 16"X16" tiles. Well, now let's add this to the list of 'never again'. No more Paradox pattern!

But.... Ta daaaaaaa! It's finished!

We're done!

Well, maybe not... we still have to put in the baseboards and paint them. Arggghhhhh!!