Setting sale

Last weekend we made our first trip to the January sales and found tiles we like on special offer. We didn't have our measurements with us so, having established that the prices were good for another week we went home. Our plan is to use the same, large (30cm x 60cm) tiles throughout the house, for the floors of the kitchen, bathroom, en suite and utility room, as well as for the walls of several of those, and the kitchen splashback. We were looking for polished porcelain in a cream sort of colour.

Yesterday, armed with the numbers we headed off to suburban hardware land once more. Our first call was at a different builders' providers as it was due to close early. Here they had a superb offer on solid oak flooring, with just enough of it left in stock to meet our needs. So we bought all 72 sq. metres of it, taking home the sample pictured. We had previously intended to go for engineered wood because of the structural nature of our floors, but it turns out this stuff just needs a foam underlay and not wooden battens as we had thought. The deal has saved us just over a grand on what was estimated for flooring.

Floors bought, we went next to the tile place where we decided that we didn't like the tiles we had chosen after all, so we left them. In the sale there we did purchase the sinks and toilets for the bathroom and en suite, so that's another bit taken care of.

Our last port of call was the fireplace and chimney shop near the house. We were looking for a small stove for the living room, and found one easily enough, though we haven't bought it yet. Hopefully all our future shopping will be as easy as this. Meanwhile, the tile hunt continues.