Wednesday, June 3, 2015

Our New Bianco Romano Countertops

Is it just me?
Acquiring new countertops was not a quick process. 
Bill mentioned in January that he wanted to redo our countertops with butcher block.


I would have loved that. 
We quickly determined that the butcher block from IKEA would not work. 


Our corner sink is just too deep for a standard countertop width.
We would have had to piece something together.
It wasn't what we wanted to do near water. 
Our old laminate failed at the sink and I didn't want that to happen again. 
We briefly thought about something from Home Depot but my designer friend thought we could get stone for the same money. 
She had the name of a stone guy. 
Unfortunately, after weeks of trying to contact him, he was retiring and moving out of state.  
 We finally got a name and number for another guy in March.
We called and about a week later the fabricator came and measured. 
He told us how many square feet. 
We went to a stone showroom and found a gorgeous piece of stone. 
Bill's Vivofit said we walked five miles that day looking at all the options. We made numerous trips up and down the aisles comparing our favorites. 
We were looking for something in a medium price range. 
The stone was price low, medium, high, high plus and exotic.



We found a stone we loved call Bianco Romano but it was already spoken for.
Fortunately, there were some slabs at a sister store in Dallas.
It took me about a week to get over and look at the two pieces Bill put on reserve.

I felt good about the whole thing until I saw this image. 


This had to be a distortion with lighting!
I stilled the panic that was rising inside me.
It took about two weeks for our fabricator to go pick up the stone. 
He came to make the template a few days later. 
Nine days after measuring the template he came to remove the old tile and install the granite.
  


It didn't take much time at all to pull the old counters off. 
They had trouble removing my DIY backsplash. That thing wasn't going anywhere. 
 There are a few holes in the drywall to repair.



To remedy the back splash situation I took some beadboard and ran it horizontally. 
It covers the holes until we can pick out tile. 
It has taken 3.5 months to get this done but it only took 2.5 hours to remove the old tile counters and install the new.
They are gorgeous. 



 

 






 They are more gray than the images of Bianco Romano that I found on Pinterest. That was what was scary about this process. We really didn't know how they would look until they were installed. Each slab has such a "one of a kind" feel that it is impossible to know for sure what the end result will be. 


We are thrilled. 
 

 I'm being so overprotective of these which I will explain in another post. 
  



10 comments :

  1. Oh honey, these are beautiful!!! Wonderful choice, what a difference!! Enjoy...

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  2. Gorgeous is right! They were definitely worth the wait.

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  3. It's gorgeous, Katie! Stone is so easy to take care of. the sink area looks so good. I'm so happy for you, beautiful update!

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  4. Katie, your counters look amazing! The color is perfect with your decor.

    You know when I look at your kitchen I see so many projects you've done all by yourself...or maybe with a little help from your hubby. You should be so proud of yourself!

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  5. Wow, looks amazing.

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  6. Those counters are gorgeous!
    I know your happy to have them...
    the temporary bead board is a great idea... until tile comes along!

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  7. gorgeous. it's like a brand new space. enjoy!
    b

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  8. Katie, the counters look amazing! It changes your entire kitchen. Great choice! BTW, I'll be featuring them tonight at Best of the Weekend!

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  9. Granite is one of those tricky stones that can dramatically change appearance in different lights. You did the right thing by checking the slabs first! Too many people incorrectly believe that their counters will be an exact match to a sample. I also have to say that I love that beadboard installation! It definitely gives your kitchen a traditional atmosphere.

    Debra Newman @ Unique Stone Concepts

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  10. With the right place to get building supplies and some patience, DIY projects became my favorite hobby. It is such a useful skill. I like making things, and I wonder how hard it would be to make my own butcher block? How well is it working out for you, do you like it? I think it would be both attractive and functional, not to mention space saving.

    Arthur Bryant @ Contractor Express

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