• I’ll be replacing the backsplash with white subway tiles. I still have to decide if I should go with white grout or maybe a light grey for some definition and to tie in with my counter. Given I’m planning on doing the tiling myself that decision will likely only be made after I’ve seen if I’m a good tiler or not – Ha!
• I’m updating my faucet with the Delta Trinsic faucet in Champagne bronze. Yes, I know every blogger has this faucet, but I like the look of it, so I bought it anyways.
• I want to update my kitchen hardware to something brass. We’ll see. I know it won’t be the ones in my mood board – these, the Mod-12 from Nest Studio Collection are $140 each. Since I need 17 these won’t happen which is really too bad as they’re so pretty!
• I need a new light. I have this West Elm Sphere light that I was going to put in my foyer, but it might work better here.
• I’ll need to inject some colour into the space, so I’m thinking about some art for the back wall, or maybe a colourful rug. I LOVE this piece by Leslie Weaver, but sadly it’s only 8x10 and I’ll need something bigger.

My mom was in town last week and she helped me get rid of most of the tile!!!  I want to say the space already looks so much better, but it truthfully looks a bit like a bomb went off. Therein lies some of the problems I alluded to in the blog title.
I mentioned in last week’s post that my unit had been ‘flipped’ by a previous owner and they had done the kitchen. As we removed the tile it became apparent that they hadn’t properly prepped the walls before adding the tile. I expected the drywall paper to come off. What I didn’t expect was holes to appear as I removed tile that was affixed to improperly patched drywall. I assume the holes were from running the wiring, and they weren’t properly repaired (in some cases they were just ‘glued’ back in place around the edges with joint compound) . Some of the holes are smaller so shouldn’t be too difficult to repair, but there’s one above my oven which is about 10”square so I’m going to have to cut more out to find a stud before I can repair it.

I'm not an electrician, but even I know that this isn't up to code.

Another issue which I have to deal with is the wiring itself as I’ve always known that it’s a bit dodgy. I don’t think anyone could look at the wiring in the picture above (this is what powers my under cabinet lights and is in the bottom of one of the cabinets) and think that it was up to code. Since the backsplash is already off I’ve decided that I should get an electrician in to take a look and repair as needed. This is easier said than done – electricians are busy. I’ve finally got one coming over to take a look on Friday, and hopefully some work can get done soon so I can proceed with repairing my walls. A plumber is also coming because, as luck would have it, my hot water valve has sprung a leak.

My last problem is self-inflicted. While removing the tiles I had one slice open my finger. Oh my god the blood. No, I was not wearing safety gloves so this is entirely my own fault. Learn from my mistake – always wear safety gear (gloves, glasses, shoes, etc) while doing any DIY.

This is several days after the top of my finger was sliced off by a flying tile. PSA - wear work gloves!

That’s it for week two. I’m hoping that my appointments with the plumber and electrician go well tomorrow so I can get started on repairing the walls and prepping them for tile. I’ve got tickets to go see Yakoi Kasuma: Infinity Mirrors at the AGO on Saturday so I’ll only have one day to work on the kitchen this weekend - hopefully I’ll be able to make some progress. Wish me luck!

Want some more One Room Challenge makeovers? Make sure you check out the 20 featured designers doing the One Room Challenge, and the other One Room Challenge Guest Participants.