Well, no, they were both new builds. But I like to go from the general to the particular, so I guess I chose the paint first (general) for the general "feel" of what I wanted, and the benchtops (particular) last for the detailed finishing touches. With the painting done and the cabinets in, we grabbed about 8 samples of benchtop material, and it was very easy to pick the one that worked best - one just stood out from the others. I can't actually imagine going through a thousand iterations of either paint or benchtops, though. Life is too short to sweat the small stuff.

What a great job you did. So good that you just went with white. The concrete floor tile on wall behind the vanity would have been too busy after now having seen the finished product.

Hi Chris The cheapest option is Grind & Seal, but we usually recommend Mechanically Polished Concrete for inside of a home. This is by far a better option, if you were to go for a Matte or Satin finish it is less expensive than a higher gloss finish. Mechanically Polished Concrete does not have a top coat sealer requiring drying and curing time and does not need re-applying in the future which will save time and money in the long run. Because Polished Concrete does not require drying or curing time it can be used as soon as the process is completed unlike the Grind & Seal option. All floors are slippery when wet, a non slip agent can be added to a top coat sealer which would be the Grind & Seal method which we do apply in a shower area if there is not a shower base. Polished Concrete in Matte and Satin finish does have a very good slip rating, has no grout lines as with tiled floors where dust can get trapped therefore it is a wonderful easy to clean flooring solution. Hope this helps, I have provided some details regarding the 2 main processes below There are 2 different finishing processes / methods that are commonly called Polished Concrete, they are very different so it is important that you know the difference & which process/method you want and which is being used on your concrete Polished Concrete - 12 to 17+ step process During this process the concrete is ground to the desired level of stone exposure. After grinding the concrete surface, the Polished Concrete process begins. This process has a densifier applied in multiple stages that is absorbed into the concrete which hardens and strengthens the concrete. A Polished Concrete Floor is Polished in Multiple stages in a Refining Process using diamond tooling & resin pads. A penetrating sealer is applied in the final buffing stage to complete the process The "Polished Concrete" process has "NO TOP COAT SEALER" applied therefore there is no drying or curing time required so your space can be used as soon as the process is completed Grind & Seal (a 3 to 4 step process) This is NOT Polished Concrete. Grind & Seal is often referred to as Polished Concrete, this is the cheaper substitute that gives a "Polished Concrete Look" With the Grind & Seal method the concrete is ground to the desired level of stone exposure and a TOP Coat Sealer is applied such as water based, solvent based, urethane, acrylic or epoxy requiring 5-7 days to dry & cure

Hi Robert, first question, any fine line cracking in between grout or is it all the tiling/Concrete base pretty stable ? Paints and Sealers certainly can do the trick ? but there are other options depending on your budget and future plans. If you are handy type of person, you might consider ripping up the tiles and re starting with a nice Concreting grinding and sealer, these days grinding / Honing is done in such a way its not that slippery anymore, or do a Spray pave that does give you that Gritty feel to it but can leave you with a more difficult surface to maintain to keep clean..i guess it depends on your circumstances.. just a few thoughts to leave you with.Good luck Andrew