How The Ardex Concrete Counters Are Holding Up

You folks have been curious about everything from how our concrete counters are wearing and how our refinished foyer grout is holding up to how our new blogging schedule is working for us. And since we are not consistently strong at updating you folks (blogging tends to follow an “on to the next thing!” pattern), here is a big ol’ rundown, which marks the third one in this series (here is our first one and our second one so you can check out if we covered other topics you’ve wondered about there).

Our Ardex-concrete counters: These folks have largely been excellent, and our sealer choice has made them even more durable than we expected. For example, we thought we’d end up with scratches/divots/marks, but after nearly two and a half months of use, there is not a one! Not sure if it is because we have not been chef-y sufficient (we tend to make fairly basic meals, and we hardly wield Top-Chef-sharp knives at all times) or simply thanks to the two large wooden cutting boards that we keep on the counter (they are where we place hot pots and slice things for the most part). We do hear that using the dark stain with the Ardex might show more scratches (we went au-naturale with ours) so that pointer might assist those considering that option.

As for staining, nearly everything we have spilled simply sits on the surface and can be wiped away without issue (like how water beads up on sealed wood) so we have only noticed a few splatters (perhaps citrus?) that sat long sufficient on the counter to soak in and make subtle dark spots on the concrete that cannot be wiped off (below left). They do not truly bother us since the counter has that industrial vibe going on anyway. I did place piping hot tea on the counter and a quite quite quite quite vague ring of haze appeared (it is nearly impossible to see unless you are a inch away looking at the exact right angle), so we are sure to use those cutting boards for hot things, and so far there have not been any others (below right).

The grout stain in the foyer: Still looks identical to when I applied this stuff back in early January. Even with semi-frequent moppings, muddy shoes/paws, and a whole lot of foot traffic, the grout is holding its own. And it was excellent to hear from folks who used this in spaces like showers many years ago who say theirs is doing simply as well.

The appliance paint we used on our fridge: Our bisque-turned-white fridge fairly much looks the same these days, other than having a lot more magnets on it thanks to Clara. The good news is that the magnets do not seem to scratch or peel the paint off at all, but we did notice a bit of a scraped area along the right side of the door. We think we were carrying something large like lumber and it must have brushed against that edge and scraped it. D’oh. So in summary: everyday use does not seem to hurt it at all (even on the handles where we touch it all the time – or the doors where Clara drags magnets around). Simply do not scrape heavy stuff along the corners and hopefully yours will be in good shape.

Our new washer & dryer: ENJOY it! We have been using these folks HARDCORE with a newborn in the mix, and we could not be happier. You can read more about how/why we picked them here, but so far the washer gets things especially clean and spins them dry a bunch so they are only damp when they go into the dryer (bonus: less dryer time, and more encouragement to sun-dry things since they are not emerging soaking wet). We also truly like crouching less thanks to the washer being a top-loader, which is surprisingly handy with a baby in your arms.

Our pantry re-org: This food-storage upgrade has been holding its own. It is not as perfectly organized as it was back in the day, but it is such a large step up from the old dark shelves and no-system-at-all issues it had before. We truly like having the microwave tucked in there, and the door organizer and the hanging bread baskets are the MVPs of this makeover. We gained a lot more narrow storage (read: nothing can fall to the back and get lost) and that has been invaluable.

The game closet: This is what our little “toy library” right now looks like after a newborn came into the mix. No, Teddy has not been playing with that stuff, but with a baby in my arms (or on my chest) most of the time, I do not spend as much time helping Clara put things back in an über organized fashion like I used to (well, most of the time). But although it is fully messy, all that mess is tucked behind that door – and for that I am eternally grateful. Clara miraculously still follows the one-thing-out-at-a-time rule, which explains why this chaos is not spread out all over our office or living room instead of being contained to this closet. So ultimately: this closet has been a lifesaver. Even if it is kind of a pit these days. And yes, that is my Kahleesi wig on the floor. Clara is obsessed. It is all sorts of hilarious.

Our fiddle leaf figs: There have been a lot of questions about these folks, so the answers are: they were $58 from Home Depot on sale, the red pot is from Lowe’s, and the little wheeled cart that it is on is also from Lowe’s. I simply water them once a week (deeply, typically around 20 ounces or so) and they seem to like indirect sunlight. The one in the corner of the office seems glad for the most part (below left). The other one seemed fairly glad in that other office corner, but when we got the shelves for along that wall I moved him into the dining room. BAD IDEA. Turns out he hated me for it. Not sure why (there still seemed to be indirect light in there, and I kept watering him the same way I consistently did). So yesterday I moved him into the corner of the kitchen (below right). It is like a fiddle leaf fig hail-mary. I hope it works.

Our organic mattress: This mattress is half a decade old, and we have been truly glad with it. We heard from others who had issues with dents from where their bodies are, but ours does not feel pitted or dented after all this use, and it is still pleasant and firm (we like a firm mattress, so we “built” this mattress to that specification).

Our Target hooks: You folks have been asking if we have used any of our hooks besides this picture hanger in our house. I put a mismatched group of white ones to use in the closet to hold all of the necklaces that were formerly tangled and crammed into a drawer in my night table. Now I in fact wear necklaces! Also: necklaces hypnotize Teddy.

Our white & stained kitchen cabinets: The white painted upper cabinets and wood stained lower cabs are still doing well. It has only been about half a year, but so far, so good. The white is not too hard to keep clean (I occasionally wipe down a drip if I see one, or dust the ledges a few times a month when I remember) and the stained lowers have been good too (they hide more dirt and splatters, but I cannot figure out if I like that or if that is a con, since at least with the white uppers I know they are clean and a big glob of syrup is not blending in). Nothing has chipped off or bubbled or anything, which is pleasant. We certainly recommend good prep work (sanding, deglosser, etc) and good primer/paint if you are going the painted route (it can scrape right off without those steps).

Our homemade terrarium: A moment of silence please. This guy is dead as a doornail. Womp-womp. Regardless of keeping it in the sun and using that supposedly helpful “activated charcoal” somehow this one went wrong. So let us file this under Black Thumb Petersik.

Our Expedit changing table: So far this has been strong. We have a big basket of diapers and the wipes are kept on top to the right of the pad. We both have been using it a lot (we even walk upstairs to change him there sometimes since it is more comfortable than using the ottoman downstairs, where we set up a little station). We have not switched to cloth dipes yet (tried them but they are still a little loose and I live in fear of blowouts these days) but I am looking forward to seeing how the changing table works for those as well. We will likely store the cloth diapers in the same basket where we keep our disposables, and line the white trash pail with a wet-bag and possibly move that into the bathroom so we do not have to bring diapers that we spray back into the room. Will keep you posted.

Our upstairs hardwoods laid with Elastilon: The hardwoods we chose and the underlayment choice of Elastilon have been excellent for the most part. Our wood floors themselves have not felt too soft or scratched/dented, even with a dog and a preschooler beating on them. As for how the flooring is laid, it has not appeared to flex or have any gaps or anything after over a year of use (through extreme heat and extreme cold). The seams look simply as good as they did when we laid them, and everywhere that had pleasant level underlayment feels especially solid and nailed down. In other words, you would never know it was a floating hardwood floor instead of a traditional nailed-down version in our hallway, our bedroom, Clara’s room, or Teddy’s room. BUT… (here comes the but)…

… there is one spot in the guest room where we think the underlayment was not level and we WISH we had known that so we could have fixed it because now that area feels a wee bit bouncy. It does not look janky at all, and guests have said they do not even notice it when I confess how much that spot bugs us, but it does not have that nailed-down especially solid feeling like the rest of the floors do. Boo. But for the most part we enjoy Elastilon, and our hardwoods. Simply a warning to anyone using it: unlevel subfloors might make things feel a little flex-y and less solid.

Our scaled back blogging schedule: We have been truly glad with our decision to slow down. As some of you have wondered, fewer posts have correlated to lower traffic and less income simply as we expected, but the change has felt truly good to us. I have never been a more hands on mom than I have been for the last two months, and I am so grateful that I did not miss out on those moments in the name of one more project or one more post.

Do you have anything that you’ve tried and ended up loving or loathing? Feel free to share the gushiness (or the warnings)!

Psst- In the “oops that was a bad call” arena, you can check out this post, this post, & this post. Sometimes the best choice is elusive, but there is something comforting about the whole if-at-first-you-do not-succeed-try-try-again thing.

*This post contains affiliate links to things we have purchased and enjoyed*