With more remodelers than ever taking the Do-it-Yourself route in managing both small renovations and large projects this question is asked over and over when the decision is made to make changes to a space. Following are some suggestions and considerations to keep in mind when making the decision to hire an Interior Designer or not. Our belief is that if you plan to stay in the space for awhile and many of us plan to do just that given the nature of the housing market and the economy, it might be a good investment to spend a little up front to ensure that your project comes out exactly as you want it to.

There are three main questions we hear when customers ask us the question about whether or not they should hire an interior designer. Here are the questions and our suggested solutions:

How do I know that a designer’s design style will fit what I want to do in my home?

Start off by reviewing the design portfolio of interior designers you are interviewing to see first hand if their projects and experience are a good fit for what you want to accomplish with your project. As an example, you wouldn’t want to hire an interior designer who specializes in modern and contemporary lofts if your project is closer to a mid-level suburban home with a more classic or traditional look.

Locating and interviewing prospective designers

Begin your search for an interior designer by visiting the website for ASID located at www.asid.org or, better yet, visit the website for the local chapter of ASID in your city to get a list of members in your area. Many local ASID chapters are hosting “Meet the Designers” events this Spring where designers attend and show off samples of their work. You can meet the designers and see visuals of their work to see if that designer will be a good fit for you.

What will hiring a designer cost?

There is no standard wage scale for interior designers. Most will charge depending on the complexity of the job, the variety of materials desired by the client, and the designers projected time commitment to the project. Fees may normally be quoted in one of three ways:

* A Flat fee – what is covered should be negotiated between the client and the designer

* An Hourly fee – fee normally determined by the time commitment required of the job

* Cost Plus – instituted when the client desires the designer to locate and purchase materials on their behalf. The designer will place a percentage markup over cost as the fee for their materials selection services

With thousands of product lines and finishes to choose from, and technology that changes everyday, an interior designer can be a valuable resource to draw upon for those taking on a remodeling project.

Have a look at the newest addition to our collection of glass tiles as we welcome our first Penny round tiles to our online tile showroom. Our popular Kawaii Recycled glass tiles are now offered in a Penny Round size and come in fifteen colors which are all in stock and ready to ship.

Penny round tiles mostly in ceramic materials have been around for years and were in great demand in the early part of the 1900’s for residential construction projects in those days. They lost favor for a period of time among the home design set and have only recently in the last 5 – 10 years gained a following once again for mainly bathroom installations.

The fact that we can provide penny round tiles in our Kawaii recycled glass tiles series just makes this new product collection that much more exciting. Samples of any of the colors can be ordered online and ship out usually in 24 – 48 hours. Contact us anytime with questions you might have about these new tiles or any of the other fine tiles offered by our company.

For those considering subway tiles for the kitchen or subway tiles for the bathroom we often are asked whether combining traditional subway tiles with more modern and contemporary glass tile material will work in a residential setting. Look no further than the photo above to see both products combined in a beautiful kitchen that brings the two design elements together to complete a well designed kitchen.

Subway tile in the kitchen is a timeless design element that will never go out of style and is a sought after look for many of our residential customers. Most customers tend to install the subway tile on it’s own in the kitchen without any other features that may distract from the “running brick” look that is so special all by itself.

For subway tile in bathroom installations it is a little more common to introduce other design features because there are larger walls to work with. Often in these scenarios a design centerpiece might show well in a shower, or, a design feature added to a shower niche will also work to add some depth to a larger shower wall.

Feel free to contact our team at AnchorBayTile anytime to ask us how our customers use our products to upgrade, decorate and design their homes.

Our Bamboo Subway tile made from real Bamboo is now done, completed, finished and in-stock. The bamboo tile comes in three colors to start with a fourth color to be added in the next several weeks. The initial size of the tiles we will offer in the Bamboo will be a 3” x 6” subway tile size as well as coordinating trim and decorative pieces. More on the trim and decorative bamboo pieces later in the week.

The bamboo field tiles come with a backing for easy installation. Our installation instructions for the bamboo tiles are posted on our website located by clicking the installation specs tab on the bamboo subway tile product page.

This tile was designed by our in-house design team and took almost one year from start to finish. We have gone through countless product designs and numerous product versions until we settled on the final design of what you see today. Our bamboo tiles are made in the USA by our team in Arizona which allows us to keep the material in-stock so customers do not have to wait weeks for their orders to arrive. We are thrilled to finally get the product out to our customers and in to the marketplace and we hope our customers like our bamboo tiles as much as we do.

We expect to have our Bamboo tile ready to go in about two to three weeks so check the Anchor Bay Tile Blog often for updates or log on to our website and click the Wood tile link to be taken to the new product. In the meantime, Bamboo is truly a fascinating plant and there may be some interesting tid-bits of information about Bamboo that you may not already know about and which we wanted to share with our readers.

* Bamboo can grow up to 47 inches in 24 hours and as much as 78 feet high in 40 – 50 days. This compared to trees used for hardwood floors which can take 30 – 50 years to re-grow and are associated with all of the problems cited with clear-cut harvesting.
* Bamboo plants absorb almost five times the amount of carbon dioxide and produce up to 35% more oxygen than hardwood trees
* Bamboo plants are naturally moisture resistant and anti-bacterial with excellent mildew resistance
* Bamboo poles of some species mature in about three years and they regenerate naturally without the need for replanting nor the use of any pesticides, herbicides, or fertilizers
* Bamboo has a widespread root system that assists greatly with watershed protection. The Bamboo plant greatly reduces rain run-off and soil erosion and because of the plants high nitrogen consumption Bamboo helps to mitigate water pollution.
* Bamboo is one of the strongest building materials in the world with a tensile strength comparable to steel.

We are excited about our new Bamboo tile line and we hope customers looking for special products and a unique look for their home will appreciate the craftsmanship of our new Bamboo subway tile.

I have always been in the camp of those who felt that remodeling and improving my home shouldn’t be considered an investment. However, given the performance of the stock market for the better part of this decade and even with home prices falling in much of the country as they have, I am starting to re-think how I feel about my home as an investment. Among other things, Remodeling magazine’s annual cost vs. value report factored in to my decision.

I know Warren Buffet may disagree with this but for us stock pickers with track records a notch above pathetic, putting money in to your home might just be the smartest thing one can do. Investments in many cases (can be) bought and sold with such regularity that placing one’s primary residence in to that category has been hard for me to do. But with the economy teetering on the brink the past six months, treating and managing my home as an investment is starting to look better and better each day.

Home prices have declined in my area much as they have in the rest of the country. But with the poor economy taking it’s toll on each and every one of us I find that I see more of my neighbors because they are always in the yard working, painting, repairing, and driving back and forth to the hardware store to purchase whatever items they forgot on the last trip. When asked why they are spending more time now than ever improving their home, most of my neighbors reply that they would rather put their money in to something they control rather than in to the financial markets where they have no control over the everyday gyrations in share values.

Remodeling Magazine’s 2008-2009 Cost vs. Value report shows that while home improvement projects are down for the period measured, property owners are still finding that the home is a great place to “invest” some of one’s savings and as a result they are tackling minor projects with many of those centering around the kitchen or the bath. The cost vs. value report shows that a minor kitchen remodel can re coup as much as 79.5% of the cost while a minor bathroom remodel is close to 75%. Many of the western states in the US show the ability to re coup more than 90% of the cost of the same projects due to higher resale values in this part of the country.

We offer a number of affordable products that are well designed and suited for kitchen and bath upgrades. Products such as our Solana Glass Subway tile, our Cardiff crackle subway tile, and many of our glass mosaic tile products such as our Coastal Blends or our Milano blends glass mosaic tile collections are all nice choices for upgrading one’s home.

To take advantage of deals and savings when searching for tile for your home stay in touch with us through our emails or by reading this blog. We will email specials to those on our email list from time to time and we will also post the discounts on our blog on the first day of the sales event. As readers of our blog know we focus on issues related to home improvement topics, new products for the home, the real estate market, and of course anything and everything relating to the world of tile.

This month and for the next five days through Tuesday August 18th we will be offering FREE SHIPPING on our Coastal Blends glass mosaic tiles in all ten colors. Any order of $125.00 or more qualifies and orders must be received by midnight Tuesday. Use code COASTAL upon checkout to take advantage of this offer.

Read some of the recent posts on our Blog about affordable kitchen and bathroom upgrades and you will see that a little money invested can go a long way towards making a big improvement in any home.

Last week we spoke about affordable bathroom upgrades and bathroom fixtures were mentioned as a nice addition to any such projects. Well, we think we have come across a contemporary and very complementary collection of drawer knobs and pulls to go with an upgraded bathroom where glass tile is being used. The new Riva collection from Amerock Hardware www.Amerock.com is designed with the modern home in mind and features simple, clean lines to reflect its urban appeal.

The Riva collection is available in graphite and satin nickel finishes and comes in eight sizes of knobs and pulls. Amerock products are available nationwide at Lowe’s and Home Depot as well at many Ace Hardware stores.

The graphite finish would work well with dark cabinets or black appliances while the satin nickel finish would be a nice choice with lighter cabinets and stainless steel appliances. We can picture either as a complement to glass subway tile in a kitchen or bathroom or glass mosaic tile on a tub surround or bathroom vanity backsplash. If you have any design suggestions or photos you would like to share of your DIY project please send them over and we would be happy to share them with our readers.

We hear often from our customers in these tough times about locating beautiful tile products that offer a good value for homeowners. With our new Coastal Blends glass mosaic tile we believe we have over delivered for our customers by stocking a tile that is very competitively priced and comes in ten beautiful contemporary glass tile blends colors which are suitable for most any interior or exterior project.

We find that our customers are using the Coastal Blends tiles as an affordable glass mosaic tile choice for showers, tub surrounds, kitchen backsplashes, and entire swimming pools. Given the incredible pricing of only $8.50 per sheet this makes upgrading one’s home using decorative glass tile in reach of most anyone considering a home improvement project.

Consider that a standard backsplash varies between 15 and 20 square feet. Using the Coastal Blends tile makes that backsplash materials cost well under $200, falling somewhere between $127.50 and $170.00 depending on actual square feet needed. Throw in one bag of mortar and one small bag of grout and the entire materials cost for a DIY’er installing our Coastal Blends tile is less than $200. Not bad at all.
Go to www.AnchorBayTile.com and click Glass Tile to learn more about how the Coastal Blends collection is a great choice for a contemporary upgrade to any home or commercial location.

When you think back to when we were kids, no one had islands in their kitchen. In fact, in the suburban neighborhood I lived in almost everyone had their kitchen table smack in the middle of the kitchen.

Now an island is practically a given.

Islands now can contain sinks, the cooktop, the dishwasher. The island often takes the place of the fourth wall of the room so that the cook can look out into the adjacent family room. Since everyone always ends up in the kitchen anyway, the next logical step was to enlarge the kitchen and incorporate it into the family room, making the Great Room.

There are some things to keep in mind as you plan your kitchen island:

1) Size of your kitchen. Unless your kitchen is at least 12ft x 8 ft, do not even think about putting an island in.

2) Size of Island. An island needs to be at least 4ft x 2ft in order to be of any use.

3) Purpose of Island. Will it be a cooking island? A food prep island? Will there be seating for eating meals?

4) Function of Island. Can you open the cabinets around the island? Is the dishwasher able to open fully without impeding traffic? Is there enough room for two people to work comfortably? Make sure that whatever you need for working at your island is stored there.

Most kitchen islands are made from the same cabinets as the rest of the kitchen. But this doesn’t have to be the case. You can get a long butcherblock table or an antique farmhouse table can be re purposed as an island. Using a freestanding piece of furniture makes the kitchen uniquely yours.

Installing an apron front sink is not easy.

Cutting into your brand new, expensive cabinets is not for the faint of heart. Or the inexperienced. Though that did not stop us.

We learned that it also depends on the sink you buy. The first sink that we had was a Belle Foret. It was pretty much a rectangle. The outside was completely finished and smooth. My three year old saw it and asked if it was a little tub for him.

That sink ended up being too big for the sink cabinet. The lesson here is to remeasure everything even when you have “professionals” doing things for you.

We returned that sink and bought a Kohler. Not because we wanted a Kohler sink, but because it was the only sink that was in stock, in the size that we needed, in the entire tri-state area.

Oh, Kohler farmhouse sink how we hate you and your rounded and beveled edges. Sure you look pretty now that you are installed, but cutting the hole to fit the sink was a long laborious process.

The inside of the cabinet had to be fitted with wood braces and plywood to support the sink. The front of the cabinet had to be carefully sawn away. Swearing, while not technically required, seemed to be neccessary more than usual in this diy project.