It's gorgeous. I'm happy to hear Fireclay intends to do the right thing. I'd wait too and see whether it bugs you still..you might find your reaction changing to very different as the time goes by I definitely see the difference..would it bug me? I don't know. Would it bug me to the extent of changing it? Don't know either. Might be not. It's your call..just give it some time Another thing..it might be that you'd put some jar or whatever with your cooking utensils there anyway..whatever bothers you when you concentrate on it only, fades away when there are other things around. It'd drive me crazy too, this mess up thing..yet it is still wonderful, in the end of the day. Always a good idea to send samples of the tiles you have already for when you order more. Actually we were advised by our sales person(wasn't Fireclay though..went with Ann Sacks) to do exactly that..since it's custom..so every time we needed some more( there were several..remodel issues lol)..she always sent one of the tiles to them even though the tile wasn't patterned. I must say she was pretty amazing at her job..I'll always remember her as one of the best sales people I ever dealt with (and other services too..I tend to remember people that highly impress me for years and years, even if I saw them for 10 min total..and she had to bear with us for months and months..))

and I see they used a Schluter metal edging on the curb. I saw one of pennyround at they did over the curved edges of a niche. beautiful job. i know it's prob asking wayyyyy too much of your tile guys to try curving the edges of the bench so they could do a wrap w/the tile..kind of like in these pics kind of a bench. you could do the same w/hex this is what I meant by doing a liner for a border. of course, this would be so much easier. I still can't imagine them not doing this. it's easier, cheaper and quicker. when I mentioned cutting larger sizes of your marble look tile for borders on the bench, I thought something like this:

thank you, melle, you're very kind..of course I have a great perspective..as we bought our house more than 4 years ago, moved in 2 years ago and I still feel DUMB))) it's a good house. it likes you. you like it. that's why it grabbed you. and now gonna slowly torture you..with a big kind smile on its face..)) because you care about these kind of things-cohesiveness, and all..and you liked the house because it talked to you..of course wouldn't happen without right neighborhood, location, square footage, etc, but also because it talked to you, it's your type of a house I agree with you, as I also went through it with our place-people remodel, sometimes it doesn't exactly correspond with the house's vibe, or is questionable a bit in use of space or materials, or else. And if you care, and you happen to care, and would care forums or not(I started remodeling before I even knew GardenWeb existed)-it might send you into this long and winding road..and that what happens to many people. I've friends..very talented DIY-ers..they save a lot on labor..but takes all their time..they're also on two years and counting, and they're not done, and they're tired as hell-and it's not a bad house, it's a good house,that's why they bought it. (we didn't DIY, and took us two years..well several months went into thinking whether we should sell the house back lol. And we're not done yet. And some things we did-this looks too cheap, because well it was, and this should be tended to and this doesn't look brand-new anymore, etc) you will love it, and you will worry about it, and that's how it goes. and it will love you back-houses appreciate us taking care of them. Actually my house reminds me of a very smart and naughty toddler as I think of it this very moment..albeit very lovable and all. Try to determine big picture..what just has to be done, when, what can wait, and besides money which is always more than we think-put your time and energy onto pedestal, these are the most important resources of them all, will suck you dry if you don't watch it. You want to be healthy and happy. Your family wants you healthy and happy. And interestingly, the house also wants you healthy, happy, all the jazz. Because. It wants you to continue to care...))

I suspect that a lot of that is sheetrock on a 2X4 framework. It wouldn’t make any sense for that to be a massive brick work underneath all the tiles. if you wrap on the tiles with your knuckles you’ll probably hear a more hollow sound rather than something solid. The asymmetry of the wall with that large area to the left suggests that a lot of the wall is a facade rather than structural. Not knowing how the mantel is mounted, I can’t explain to you the best way to remove it, but that would definitely show you what’s under the tile. The mantel could simply be supported by a couple of steel rods coming out from the wall, and even be pulled directly off with some effort; I just can’t say. Can you see any screw holes or wooden plugs in the two pieces that support it? As for saving the tiles, it would be much easier to get them off the wall intact if they are affixed to sheet rock. Regardless, it would involve a bit of work to clean off the back sides so they could be reused and made to sit flush with other tiles elsewhere.