Sometimes you have to compromise and sometimes you push the envelope. This is one of those times, but I haven't figured out which one yet. After my post yesterday, I started thinking about "settling" for wainscotting or a faux finish (not that either are bad options) and I began speculating on the cost of getting marble for the entry.
I measured the room this morning before work and found we need abour 25 square feet of marble. When I got to work, I googled "marble fabricators" on the sly and made a few phone calls. I got one quote over the phone for 3/4" marble at $35.00/per foot installed. That didn't seem to bad really.
Then coincidentally, I was arranging for cleaning/restoring of the marble slab in our office entryway as we are currently sprucing up our office (I can't escape renovation wherever I go) and I asked the guy if he could handle a job such as ours.
He's going to come by and look at the room and see what we need etc... He seems like he might be reasonable and he's been in business for 40+ years- a good sign. His son is taking over the business now, but he "helps".
I would just love the marble and we have so much wood everywhere already, in particular oak. Marble would be so classy and so classic Chicago to have in our entry way. As you can see I'm off to the races and contemplating sacrificing some hard earned savings for this project.
Also, the idea of getting the marble makes me very happy as are most people when they get what they want. :)
Change of subject, here are the 2 lights we are considering buying for the entry from (guess where?) Rejuvenation: the Weston or the Jordan Valley
We tend to select more transitional craftsman/mission fixtures as our house isn't craftsman but it does have some features that relate.
I don't care for when people put straight Mission-style fixtures on houses that are way far away from Mission. That's just my personal taste. I know Mission was kind of trendy there for a bit and I have seen those types of fixtures on all periods of homes.
Anyway- thanks for the comments. Not sure what we will end up doing, but I think I owe it to myself to at least price it out.
13 comments:
Yea Marble! I have it in my bathroom and love it. I’ve never lived in an older, large city so my only experience with marble vestibules is in St. Petersburg, Russia. That city has just a spectacular old downtown area. Filled with dozens of canals, great bridges, and 18th and 19th century buildings. Almost every building has a marble vestibule with marble steps leading up to it. Many had great marble fireplaces in them. Just wonderful. I’ll never forget that on some of the older buildings the marble steps were worn away with a gentle cupping in the center of the steps form the thousands and thousands of feet that have passed over them. Have you checked salvage yet? I remember there was a salvage yard in SF once that had large marble slabs that had come out of a downtown office building that had been remuddled. Might be worth a look.
Hmm...not a bad idear. Salvage prices here can be ridiculous though- but there is always the chance of a bargain. I will certainly explore that possibility.
We just went for a long walk to see how other entries with marble were done. Some better than others of course.
That sounds really neat- the worn steps in Russia. You know you're an old school renovator when you catch yourself saying, "look at the patina on that."
Are you sure that isn't 1/4 inch tile?
12 inch marble tile will cost between $2.00 and $9.00 a sq. ft. to buy. Our coral bathroom wall was done with $1.97 each "Home Depot special", cheap, made in China tile. The mortar was about $20.00, the grout was $11.00 and the trowel was $3.00. The total cost of all the tile in that bathroom which is about 16' X 12'x 9' high was less than $1000.
You are looking at putting in 25 tiles which should take an hour or so to put up after mixing the mortar. Wish I lived closer, I would do the work for a $700 profit for two days at about 4 hours a day! Actually I would do it for much less!
Hey Gary- actually that price is for marble slabs/sheets not tiles. I love marble tile, but the style in Chicago entries is all marble slab and that is why we were going that way.
I don't think marble tiles on the walls won't look right, though that price difference makes it awfully tempting to consider!
If you are looking at slab then check out a tile store or a kitchen counter fabricator. I have to pick up some slate tile that I ordered next week. I will check the price of marble slab for you at Ohio prices! Straight unpolished cuts are the cheapest. You could still install it yourself and save $300. All you will do is put some tile mortar on the wall and press the slab firmly against it. I am assuming that you are looking at white Italian marble.
I don't know the space at all, but I prefer the Jordan Valley. Good luck with the marble (sounds expensive).
The marble sounds beautiful. Did you take any pictures of the other entryways that have tile? I like the sound of the guy from work- it's always nice to have a connection somehow.
Wow that's going to be georgous with the slabs of marble and doesn't sound too outageous. I like both lights but I think it depends on what much else you'll have in the entry. The Weston seems busy and the Jordan is less obvious. We've learned the hard way to buy lighting fixtures at the last minute.
I love marble, too. Good choice! We have an end table with a marble top we inherited. To clean it, because the eventual build-up of grime seems to elude soap and other cleaners, I use baking soda, and that never mars the surface. Do you approve? Or shouldn't I even be using that?
I like the Jordan Valley light, myself.
Have you seen their "bat light"? It's waaaayyyy essentric and cool.
I vote for the Jordan, too. It's more subtle.
great work..keep it up! :)
I was leaning towards the Jordan myself- you guys are making the choice there really easy. If only it was all that easy. Thanks!
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