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Design tip: Cabernet in the Kitchen

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Solana Glass Mosaic Tile Blends 1 x 1 in Cabernet

Solana Glass Mosaic Tile Blends 1 x 1 in Cabernet

Our new Solana Glass Mosaic Tile Blends in 1” x 1” have been a hit so far with our customers and we appreciate all of the support. We find that our clients play with the different color combinations available and come up with some fantastic uses for these glass mosaic tiles that we never would have thought of.

The Cabernet color we are finding works well in a number of scenarios and we thought we would offer some suggestions to help in any remodeling project planning. For those looking to add glass mosaic tiles where darker cabinets might be involved, for example lets say a rich mahogany color or a dark walnut, the cabernet blends color would be a nice kitchen backsplash color in a kitchen that has a lot of light. The darker color in the cabernet blends coordinates well with brushed nickel or bronze fixtures and lighting accessories.

For those with lighter cabinets the cabernet would be a nice choice in kitchens containing an accent wall or fixtures in a dark charcoal, steel grey, or maroon color. The cabernet in these scenarios would coordinate well with the colors mentioned and would also add color in the form of the wine and maroon color that is featured prominently in this blend.

Give our staff a call anytime if you have any questions about any of our products and how they might fit in with your remodeling plans.

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Elements Ceramic Tile a great choice for Accent tiles

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Elements Tubac tiles

Elements Tubac tiles

Our Elements ceramic tiles collection is a great choice for accent tiles and they come in several wonderful patterns that will add some visual spark to any room. Choose the ever-popular Clifton or Tubac design with a ceramic tile or a glass tile to give your room more depth and a design focal point.

The Elements ceramic tile collection are all hand painted by ceramic artists and then fired on to our proprietary ceramic bisque to ensure their durability and long lasting finish.

Order the Elements tiles from the AnchorBayTile website today.

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Emergency Shelter or Sustainable Living??

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Japanese firm Daiwa House has designed an emergency mobile home called the EDV-01 and is designed to generate it’s own electricity and water for two adults for an entire month. Perfect for relief agencies in the cases of natural disasters and crisis situations, this emergency home design would have been perfect for the FEMA folks to deploy in New Orleans following the Katrina hurricane.

The stainless steel container is 18 feet long, 6 feet wide and 6 feet tall. On demand from the home’s owner, flip a switch and a hydraulic pump raises the walls to form a second floor with fold-away beds and an office space. The ground floor holds a shower and bio-toilet, as well as a kitchen that cooks food with induction heating.
Equipped with a rooftop solar system and a fuel cell to generate power that’s stored in lithium-ion batteries, the emergency house can also pluck enough moisture from the air to collect about 5 gallons of drinkable water per day.

If this emergency home functions as advertised it will be a big draw for governments and communities around the country as an option for deploying in disaster situations.

Tile Moldings add Style to any Project

Posted by admin in Bathroom Design | Design | Kitchen Design ideas - (0 Comments)

Cottage Lane Subway Tiles Chair Molding 2 x 6

Cottage Lane Subway Tiles Chair Molding 2 x 6

Our customers are passionate about their ceramic subway tiles and we do our best to keep our clients happy by updating our ceramic subway tile choices regularly. Each of our ceramic subway tiles comes with a full selection of trim and edge pieces as well as a nice selection of decorative liners and border pieces.

For those in the planning stages for tiling a kitchen backsplash or a bathroom shower take note of how you are going to finish edges, corners and areas where you will not be tiling to cabinets or ceilings. In the case of edges where you have an exposed edge that needs a finish piece, a trim piece such as a quarter round or bullnose trim piece works perfectly. In many of those cases where you will not be tiling to just under your cabinets in the kitchen or the ceiling in the shower, you will use a tile liner or border piece to finish and complete your job.

We have quite a selection of tile liners and borders both for our Cottage Lane non-crackle glossy tiles as well as for our Cardiff crackle tile series. Check in with us for each of our ceramic subway tile choices to find the decorative molding pieces that makes your tile project “pop”.

Give us a call or send us an email if you have any tile project questions that we may be able to answer. We would be happy to help.

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Subway Tile in the Kitchen

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Subway Tile Image courtesy of Apartment Therapy Design Blog

The folks over at design blog Apartment Therapy had a nice post this week about using subway tiles in the kitchen. The post highlighted some of the different looks that one can have when incorporating subway tiles in to a kitchen with links to several photos to illustrate the point.

We love the comment from one loyal AT blog reader which said:

The subway tile backsplash was the least expensive part of my kitchen reno (compared to appliances, cabinets, and countertops) but it is my favorite feature that just ties the whole room together. If you are doing any renovation please don’t cut costs by skipping the backsplash. It really is the most bang for your buck!

We share those same sentiments and given that the kitchen backsplash is the visual focal point in any kitchen, spend wisely on this area and choose a material that you really want because your backsplash will be front and center for all of your family and visitors to see.

Jump on over to the AT blog to have a look at the recent post.

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A new perspective on Subway Tile installation

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Subway Tiles installed vertically

Subway Tiles installed vertically

We’ve had a few questions recently thrown our way on what can and can not be done with the installation of subway tiles. When we get these questions we always try to be honest by saying there really are no hard and fast rules on installing subway tiles. That being said, the “traditional” look and how probably 95% or more of subway tiles are installed is in the running brick pattern which we are all so familiar with.

The running brick pattern is ubiquitous in subway tile installations. It doesn’t matter whether the tiles are ceramic, glass, marble, or some other stone subway tiles most folks will opt for the traditional look for how they want their tiles installed.

We do however see a few subway tile installations that actually come out quite well where the tiles are installed vertically rather than horizontally. As we said, there is no right or wrong way to install subway tiles but installing them vertically gives a space a different look and a new perspective on subway tile installation. Have a look at some of the vertically installed subway tile photos that are out there and you just might like what you see.

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Cork Mosaic Tiles and Kaguya Bamboo 2 x 4 Tiles upgrade a client Bathroom in to a “Green” haven

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Cork Mosaic Tiles & Bamboo Subway Tiles

Cork Mosaic Tiles & Bamboo Subway Tiles

We love the look of our client’s new bathroom where she kindly chose several products from our “green” line of tiles including our Cork mosaic tiles for her bathroom floor and our Kaguya Bamboo subway 2 x 4 tiles in the Kansai color for the bathroom walls. This was mostly a DIY project where the homeowners did the work themselves and as we can all see the project came out great.

The client sent us some very helpful feedback on the installation of the two tile materials since the client kind of “learned as they went” due to the fact that they were not professional tile installers. As we write in our installation instructions on the AnchorBayTile website for each product, the client learned that it is really important to protect the material before and after grouting by applying a light coat of water-based polyurethane to the material which makes grout clean up quite a bit easier.

In the end, the client got the hang of the tile installation as the project progressed and we really do think that they did very nice work.

We hope that our cork mosaic tiles and our bamboo subway tiles together look enticing enough to our blog readers where you would consider using each of the two materials together in your upcoming tile project. If this is the case, please do give us a call since we would be willing to provide materials discounts to you in exchange for project photos.

Please give us a call at our office if you have an interest in our offer.

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Traditional Design and Subway tiles

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Cottage Lane Beveled Subway Tiles

Cottage Lane Beveled Subway Tiles

We were reading recently where traditional design is the most popular design style for homes in America. There are different styles within traditional design and collectively those styles represent much of the design focus of the American homeowner. Within traditional design one would also include design styles such as classic, colonial, and country to name a few though there may be more. Subway ceramic tiles are timeless and are a great fit with design plans that call for a traditional design.

Traditional design has evolved over the years to include some elements today that may not have been as prominent in homes from years past. The use of fabrics and texture today as design elements is one example of how traditional design has evolved over the years.

Subway ceramic tiles on the other hand have been around in the American architectural and building world for more than 100 years now and the look remains as “fresh and timeless” today as it did when it first appeared in homes around the turn of the century. This was mostly in the early 1900’s Arts & Crafts movement made popular in the east and Midwest at the time.

Subway tiles provide a beautiful visual focal point for any kitchen backsplash or a clean and timeless look for a bathroom shower in today’s American home. The typical subway tile installation calls for the brick shaped 3 x 6 or 2 x 4 tiles to be installed in a “running brick” pattern that has gone unchanged since subway tiles were first introduced. There are folks who may take liberties with the running brick pattern to better suit their tastes and install their subway tiles vertically instead of horizontally (for example) or some that may install them horizontally but parallel and on top of each other one on top of the other.

Whatever works best for you always seems to work well for subway tile installations. Feel free to be creative with subway tiles and install them any way you like. We would love to see some of the more creative subway tile installations out there. If your home qualifies for a unique, creative subway tile installation feel free to email us photos that we can share with our blog readers on a future post.

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The Interior Designer as Educator

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We were having a nice conversation recently with one of our clients who is an Interior Designer in the Phoenix Metro area. We were speaking about some customers perception about working with a Designer and she brought up a few points that many folks don’t consider when deciding whether or not to hire an Interior Designer for their project.

Interior Designers do more than simply design a space to their customers liking. What goes in to any design is what counts and really is the nuts and bolts of any project. Designers are trained and are experienced to look for things that most homeowners might not think of when considering one material or another for a particular area.

For example, the slip resistance of different materials matters quite a bit when choosing flooring, especially when there are young children or older adults living in a home. Counter height may be an issue when remodeling a kitchen for Seniors, and selecting materials for a bathroom remodel is critical when one must consider ventilation, moisture, and plumbing issues.

When considering hiring an interior designer for your home or commercial remodeling project, don’t only take in to account what the finished project will look like. Take all project details in to consideration and remember how much goes in to planning before any finish materials can be chosen. An Interior Designer can shed light on the positives and negatives of any material choice which is the benefit one gains from your Designers years of experience.

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Designer Spotlight: Nancy Hugo of Nancy Hugo CKD

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Nancy Hugo of Nancy Hugo Interiors

Nancy Hugo of Nancy Hugo Interiors

Nancy Hugo, owner of Nancy Hugo CKD has been in the architecture and design field for close to 30 years and is still going strong. She is one of the most active Interior Designers in the Phoenix area and is well respected in her field. She is one of the few Designers we know (so far) who is very active on Facebook and Twitter and she encourages that two way conversation with colleagues in her field as well as her clients and customers. We had the pleasure of sitting down with Nancy recently to discuss her thoughts on Interior Design and anything else we happened to discuss during our meeting.

Please tell us about your design firm Nancy Hugo Interiors. Do you specialize in Residential or Commercial, and Remodels or New Construction?

I have always specialized in New Construction and whole-house remodels. In this economy, of course, we are seeing more remodeling of kitchens and baths than new build homes.

How would you describe your Design style and how does your personal style influence your designs?

The photo gallery on my website shows designs in all styles, which is why my job is so much fun. My personal style is contemporary. I have noticed in the last 5 years, Contemporary designs seem to have gained in popularity, which excites my creativity immensely.

Who has been the biggest influence on you as a Designer and perhaps whose influence might show up in your work?

When I began my design career 30 years ago, I worked for architects who were extremely creative and innovative. Their style was very contemporary – clean, crisp and functional, so I can honestly say, they were the greatest influence in my design style. I am proud to say that I see a lot of their influence in my work.

Do you have a favorite material to work with and that you seem to always come back to that is versatile enough to be used in projects of many different design styles?

My favorite material is engineered stone and that seems to work with many different design styles from Traditional to Contemporary. I like the function and benefits of this material, and as a side note, Silestone offers a green line of engineered stone called ECO.

Can you tell us about some of the notable projects you have completed in the past year?

Some of my more interesting projects included residential projects for Chilie Davis, Charles Barkley, Matt Leinart and Ryne Sandberg. Perhaps the most interesting and “out of the ordinary” project I have worked on was an embalming room for a local mortuary.

For clients considering hiring an Interior Designer, what would you want to tell them about working with a Designer and how they might best prepare for working with you through the design process?

Remodeling can be fun and also nerve-wracking, at the same time. Having a plan will save the homeowner time, money, and stress. Once the homeowner has decided to go forward on a remodel, and I’m assuming all the monies are in place, collecting pictures of rooms, items, layouts and materials would be the next step. It is so important to have some idea of what they would like before they work with a designer. I give seminars for consumers in the Phoenix area who want to remodel but don’t know where to start.

Some fun questions for Nancy:
* Favorite travel destination: New York City
* Favorite color is: Black
* Favorite city where the design and architecture have left
a lasting impression: Rome, Italy
* Favorite food: Italian
* My first job was: Checker in a Supermarket

Design tip you can leave with our readers:

Call me before you start your remodel.

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