Wednesday, August 31, 2011

Tile Talk Newsletter - August 2011

Project Pick: Sculptural Relief Tile Medallion for Kitchen Backsplash

Sculptural Relief Diamond Medallion Tile for Kitchen Backsplash
Diamond Medallion Relief Tile for Kitchen Backsplash

Last week a customer who recently completed a kitchen remodel sent us some photos. Her kitchen is amazing! She shows how just a few of Avente’s Sculptural Relief Tiles create an eye-catching kitchen backsplash.

The Diamond Medallion Relief Tile is used as accents spaced along the backsplash. Appalachian Spring Glaze was used for this project. This large tile (10.5” x 7”) is shown below.

Sculptural Relief Tile - Diamond Medallion in Appalachian Spring Glaze
Diamond Medallion Relief Tile in Appalachian Spring Glaze

When it comes to decorative tiles, one of my mantras (and blog posts) is that with Deco Tiles: A Dab Will Often Do! A few weeks ago Interior Designer, Lisa M. Smith of Interior Design Factory, showed us how to Get the Most from Decorative Tile. And, now our customer in Wyoming really brings this point home.

This beautiful line of relief tiles is hand crafted in the United States. There are nearly a hundred different glazes available. So you can make these relief tiles work with any color scheme. Here's a few of our favorite Sculptural Relief Tiles and glazes:

Prism - Copper Patina Prism - Red Delicious Rosetta - Metallic Gold Mazzy - Sequoia
Prism
Copper Patina
Prism
Red Delicious
Rosetta
Metallic Gold
Mazzy
Sequoia


Tile Tip: Create a picture frame for your kitchen backsplash.

This traditional feature provides interest and works well above your range or cooktop. You can create a square or rectangular tile design bordered by molding very similiar to a picture frame. You should choose a style that relates to the rest of your kitchen in a similiar color scheme. You can do this using a mural, assorted field tile or and an accent tile that you really love. Here's a few of our favorites:

Sculptural Relief Medallion with Bead Trim
Sculptural Relief Medallion with Bead Trim


Fruit & Vegetable Tile Mural
Fruit & Vegetable Tile Mural with Twig Molding


Teruel Mural and Dots with Molding
Teruel Mural and Dots with Molding


Rosetta Tiles with Single Bead and Traditional Trim
Rosetta Tiles with Single Bead and Traditional Trim


Tuesday, August 30, 2011

Relief Tile Medallion for Kitchen Backsplash

Last week I received an email from a customer who recently completed a kitchen remodel. Her kitchen is amazing! She shows how just a few of Avente’s Sculptural Relief Tiles create an eye-catching kitchen backsplash.

Sculptural Relief Diamond Medallion Tile for Kitchen Backsplash
Diamond Medallion Relief Tile for Kitchen Backsplash

The large (10.5” x 7”) Diamond Medallion Relief Tiles in a stunning Appalachian Spring Glaze are used as accents spaced along the backsplash.

Sculptural Relief Tile - Diamond Medallion in Appalachian Spring Glaze
Diamond Medallion Relief Tile in Appalachian Spring Glaze

The email came from a customer in Wyoming and includes the three photos of the kitchen shown here. The email went like this:


"I said I'd send a few pictures of the tile I ordered from you once they were up. They are stunning in my kitchen. The green paint I used for the wall color really makes them stand out."

Sculptural Relief Diamond Medallion Tile for Kitchen Backsplash
Sculptural Relief Diamond Medallion Tile for Kitchen Backsplash
Appalachian Spring Glaze

The green walls really do make the tile stand out; but, so do all the other stunning features of this kitchen. This beautiful line of relief tiles is hand crafted in the United States. There are nearly a hundred different glazes available. So you can make these relief tiles work with any color scheme. To create a stronger pattern, try grouping the tiles as shown below.

Sculptural Relief Tile Grouping of Diamond Medallion in Appalachian Spring Glaze
Diamond Medallion Relief Tile Grouping in Appalachian Spring Glaze

When it comes to decorative tiles, one of my mantras (and blog posts) is that with Deco Tiles: A Dab Will Often Do! A few weeks ago Interior Designer, Lisa M. Smith of Interior Design Factory showed us how to Get the Most from Decorative Tile. And, now our customer in Wyoming really brings this point home.

Sculptural Relief Tile Medallion Breakfast Nook
Breakfast Nook

What a beautiful backsplash, kitchen and dining nook! Don't you agree? And, to our customer in Wyoming, thank you for sharing your vision with all of us! I love your kitchen and you made my day.

Tuesday, August 23, 2011

Your Floor: Two Tiles to Love

Note: This week's post is by Paul Anater. It first appeared on houzz.com earlier this summer. Paul Anater maintains a provocative blog that I highly recommend - Kitchen and Residential Design. He is also a social media expert. His Twitter handle is @paul_anater. In this article, Paul talks about cement tile and quarry tile. His clear explanation about the pros and cons of cement tile is wisdom worth sharing.

Tuesday, August 16, 2011

Cement Tile Home Tour - Tree House

Note: This post is second in an occasional series showcasing homes with cement tile. The previous one in this series is: Cement Tile Home Tour – Form & Function.

Today’s cement tile tour is a special treat! In this tour you’ll get to experience the vacation home of Oscar Imbert. The home is located in Punta Cana on the Caribbean island of Hispaniola.

Cement Tile flooring at the entry to Oscar Imbert's Tree House
Cement Tile flooring at the entry to Oscar Imbert's Tree House
Photo courtesy of Jorge Aguayo

Oscar Imbert is one of the Dominican Republic’s most renowned architects and his Dominican Republic vacation home is every boy's (and many girl's) dream. An almost whimsical place that immediately made me think of Swiss Family Robinson. However, the home is much more than that! It is classic Oscar Imbert because it showcases his trademark style: a daring melange of hurricane resistant and eco-friendly style based on native Taino Indian designs and peasant Spanish or campesino style melded with classic Spanish architectural heritage.

Oscar Imbert is noted for his high roofs, bright colors and tall wooden doors that only hint about what lay behind them.

Solid color cement tile in the lower level patio of Oscar Imbert's Tree House
Solid color cement tile in the patio
Photo courtesy of Jorge Aguayo

The architect embraces the use of Caribbean breezes for cooling his home and he blurs the boundary between indoor and outdoor living. Notice how sandy-colored cement tiles create a beach just a few feet from the water's edge and surround the hammocks?

Cement tile decorative accents with solid color tile in a hallway
The cement tile pattern from entry accents the solid color tile in hall
Photo courtesy of Jorge Aguayo

He is well known for bringing palm-thatched roofs back into fashion when designed the striking Punta Cana International Airport in 1983. He trademark is showcased here.

Special thanks to Jorge Aguayo of Aguayo Tiles who made this opportunity possible.

Tuesday, August 9, 2011

Get the Most from Decorative Tile

Note: This post is the second in an occasional series showcasing designers and hearing their unique perspective when they talk tile!


Today, Lisa M. Smith of Interior Design Factory shows us How to get the most from decorative tile. Lisa is a real live designer & acrylic artist. Her motto is do it once, do it right. Interior design is a vocation not a hobby, finish a room and move on. Her fun and informative interior design blog is Decor Girl and she tweets design wisdom at @TheDecorGirl.


Tile is one of those wonderful products which is both a building material and offers artistic appeal allowing for numerous designs and applications. Simply put it is functional and fabulous to look at. This is why tile deserves special consideration in a home construction or remodeling project.

It is a no brainer to put tile in a bathroom when indoor plumbing started tile was a given, practically no bathroom was without it. Walls, ceilings, floors tile covered every surface – because it performed but I won't go off on a tangent. Tile also functions well as a fireplace surround and kitchen backsplash. These are some of the most popular areas for decorative tile – regardless of a home's architectural style.

What happens when one goes to the tile store and after hours ogling the eye candy, falls in love only to learn the price seems too expensive? The beloved tile seems an extravagance and is forgotten (tears do get shed). This need not be the case. Here is how we turned this situation around in a recent bathroom remodel.

Using tile is often a case of value engineering: how to get the most bang for the buck. Before writing off any tile as too expensive, it is important to determine how much of it a project needs. A recent client was ready to forgo the glass mosaic they were in love with because of the price, $40 a square foot sounded like too much.

Of course who wouldn't love a whole wall of this but in a three sided shower we were looking at roughly 90 sqft x $40 = $3,600. We were already pushing the $50,000 budget, time to re-think. One idea was to run bands around the wall of the shower.

Nah, too ho hum though only $400 of the mosaic.

This tile begs to make an impact not be a tiny inclusion. Doing one entire wall in the glass mosaic and the other in the limestone would end up looking like we cheaped out and a bit boring. So… shower + water…waterfall… Perfect, allow the tile to appear as if it is a waterfall pooling onto the floor.

Not only did we modify the design (now only $280 of mosaic in shower) but in doing so the tile became even more of a focal point. Imagine how boring this shower would have looked without it. Yawnable.

This particular bath calls for a fair amount of tile and this wasn't something we would change. Tile covers the floor, side walls of tub enclosure and the walls, ceiling and floor of the shower.

In the end we were able to use the beloved tile even increase its use by further using it as a faux rug boarder in front of the vanity. With a radiant heated floor – real rugs which slide around and get dirty aren't needed but this helps break up the expanse of tile.

When it comes to using tile, especially decorative tile it pays to do the math. Work with a designer and contractor to value engineer the design to get the most for the money. In the end the homeowner is happy. They didn't overspend nor did they have to give up something they really liked and will end up with a very special master bathroom.

Tuesday, August 2, 2011

Leaf Imprint Tile Backsplash from a Reader

For me, there's nothing better than sharing a tile installation photo from one of our wonderful customers! I received an email about two weeks ago from some good people in Winter Park, Florida. They were kind enough to show us how they used Avente's Leaf Imprint Tiles!

The email started like this and included a photo:


Here's a picture of what we did with the Leaf Imprint tiles; they are beautiful."

Leaf Imprint Tile Backsplash
Leaf Imprint Tile Backsplash

The tile's stony matte finish accents natural stone beautifully. In this installation the Leaf Imprint tiles are paired with dark slate tiles. I really like the effect created by contrast here - the decorative tiles are the focus and command your eye. The variation found in natural stone works perfectly with hand painted tiles because each tile is hand colored and no two leaves are exactly the same.

You may remember we introduced the New Leaf Imprint Tiles for Spring in March. Pressed with real leaves, these decorative leaf tiles are hand-painted on an 8"x8" format and include a Maple Leaf, Ash Leaf and Ginkgo Leaf design. Our customer chose one of each new design to create a triptych for the kitchen back splash.

Here's the tiles they chose:

Maple Leaf Imprint Tile
Maple Leaf Imprint Tile (8"x8")

Ash Leaf Imprint Tile
Ash Leaf Imprint Tile (8"x8")

Ginkgo Leaf Imprint Tile
Ginkgo Leaf Imprint Tile (8"x8")

Our Leaf Imprint tiles are popular kitchen backsplash accents. We've had other customers share their installation using the 4"x4" format as discussed in a previous post, Leaf Imprint Tiles Make the Kitchen Backsplash.

Thanks again to our wonderful customers in Florida for sharing their backsplash installation using hand painted tiles. Are you looking for inspiration with hand painted decorative ceramic tile? Our portfolio of design ideas has installation photos and concepts that's sure to help you find a design that is just right for your tile floor, wall or backsplash installation.