Our Solana Glass Mosaic Tile Blends tiles are available in a 1” x 1” size in four coordinating colors that match our 3” x 6” Solana Glass Subway tiles. The Meadow color is a wonderful light and soft green color that matches our Mint color Glass Subway Tile. The Smooth Grey glass mosaic tile blend shares the same name as our Solana 3” x 6” glass subway tile color in smooth grey. The Blue Lagoon glass mosaic tile blend is a mix of three colors with one of the primary colors being our Solana 3” x 6” Cool Blue color. Finally, the Sand Dune blend is a mix of Cappuccino and Khaki and coordinates with each of the colors in the same name in our 3” x 6” glass subway tile collection.

These glass mosaic tile blends are a great and affordable choice as a shower accent stripe when paired together with our 3” x 6” glass subway tiles. We have also had clients use the 3” x 6” glass subway tiles in the shower and use the coordinating glass mosaic tiles color as the kitchen backsplash choice. This way the color palette in the home can be consistent from one room to another.

We would love to hear any creative ideas you might have to use our glass mosaic tiles and glass subway tiles in a unique and fun design.

I keep reading list after list in every magazine that has any reason to publish a 2010 list of any kind. So we came up with our version of the 2010 8 great reasons to remodel one’s kitchen. The list is “tongue in cheek” so have fun with it and here’s to kicking off a great year in 2010!

1. We can’t sell the house anyway so let’s upgrade what we’ve got
2. If we could sell, we’d lose money anyway so let’s upgrade what we have
3. If we could sell, we’d lose money anyway and it would cost us a fortune to move so let’s stay and spend the savings on upgrading our beautiful home
4. I have hated that wallpaper in the kitchen for years, lets do it ourselves and do it right
5. If we do the work ourselves and use AnchorBayTile’s Coastal Blends 1 x 1 glass tiles we can upgrade our backsplash for under $250
6. We know there are no better rooms in a home to remodel than the Kitchen and the Bath so what are we waiting for?
7. We spent enough on gifts and “stuff” over the Holidays, let’s do something for our family on a project that offers a better payback than anywhere else our money may be parked
8. It just FEELS GOOD to do the work myself and see an area of my home upgraded once we complete a project

In case you needed some help planning your tiling projects for the coming year. You can tell we have a lot of free time on our hands during this off week. Enjoy your time with the family and we look forward to working with you in 2010.

1. Solana Glass Subway tile 3 x 6 for the Kitchen Backsplash
2. Solana Glass Subway Tile 3 x 6 for the Shower
3. Solana Glass Mosaic tile Blends 1 x 1 (our new product) for the Kitchen Backsplash
4. Solana Glass Mosaic tile Blends 1 x 1 for the Shower
5. Coastal Blends 1 x 1 tile for Bathroom Vanity
6. Coastal Blends 1 x 1 tile for Bathroom Tub Surround
7. Cardiff Crackle tile for Kitchen Backsplash
8. Bamboo Subway Tile 3 x 6 for Kitchen Backsplash
9. Bamboo Subway Tile 3 x 6 for Bathroom Wainscot
10. Soho Subway Tile 2 x 4 Beveled for Kitchen Backsplash

We wanted to let our customers know that we are off this week and we will not be making any shipments during the holiday break. We will be returning to work next week beginning on Monday January 4th and any order placed during our off week will be shipped out upon our return.

Thank you for your understanding and we look forward to working with you in 2010!

We wanted to say Merry Christmas to you our Blog visitors and most importantly, to our customers who have supported us all year. We appreciate the support our customers have shown of our family small business in 2009. You have our assurances that we will continue to work hard in 2010 to earn your business again on your next remodeling project. We have several new products on the boards for 2010 so check back often to see if one of our new designs might make a nice addition to your home upgrade plans in the coming year.

Thank you once again for your support and Merry Christmas from all of us at AnchorBayTile!

More than 25,000 attendees are expected to swarm in to Phoenix, Arizona this week for the Greenbuild International Conference and Expo from November 11 – 13th. Former Vice president Al Gore will keynote the event with a speech at Chase Field on Wednesday November 11th followed by a concert with nine time Grammy winner Sheryl Crowe who is noted for her longtime environmental awareness.

The event promises to be chock full of education, new products, and noted green building speakers. If you are in any way connected to the green building industry you probably are on your way to Phoenix this week for the festivities. We expect to also be there and we will let you know what we see.

The tax credit set to expire on November 30th for first time homebuyers and those who haven’t owned a home in three years has so far been a strong driver of home sales in markets across the country. Pending home sales have surged for six straight months and economists estimate that the tax credit will generate 400,000 new home and existing home sales.

Activity has been particularly strong for homes priced below $100,000. In the West, the supply of homes priced below $100,000 has dipped to a paltry two month supply where a six month supply is generally considered a healthy balance between buyers and sellers.

Buyers looking to take advantage of the tax credit need to get moving if they want to qualify for the credit before it expires. Loan departments at lending companies are overwhelmed these days with loan modifications and clean-up work, so new purchase activity has seen delays in many areas across the U.S. Buyers hoping to qualify for the credit are advised to get under contract by mid-October to ensure their home closing is complete before the November 30th expiration date.

The US Green Building Council is a non-profit organization of members of the building and trades communities who work together to develop standardized practices for Green building. The USGBC has developed a site for consumers at www.greenhomeguide.org that lists Green Building resources such as a summary of green building programs across the country, green remodeling guidelines, green product resources, and video tutorials on the LEED for homes program, carbon calculators and just about anything else you might need when planning a green remodel.

For those researching and planning a green remodel we thought the REGREEN Guidelines for Green Home Renovations were especially helpful. The USGBC has partnered with the American Society of Interior Designers (ASID) “on the development of best practice guidelines and targeted educational resources for sustainable residential improvement projects” as explained on the green home guide website. Take the time to read through the 108 page REGREEN GUIDELINES 2008 document which contains comprehensive information for anyone planning a green remodel.

Here are some tips for those planning a green Kitchen or Bathroom remodel that you may find useful in planning a project.

Kitchen tips:
* Choose energy efficient appliances that have obtained an Energy Star rating
* Use low, or no-VOC paints, sealers, and caulks
* Position the refrigerator away from the oven and out of direct sunlight
* Take advantage of natural light with well-placed windows

Bathroom tips:
* Replace older toilets and fixtures with low-flow models for the sink, toilet, and shower
* Use natural light provided by a skylight over the shower
* Avoid carpeting in high moisture areas. Tile the floor and walls throughout the bathroom. Consider recycled tile products for bathroom installations
* Select vanity cabinets made from Bamboo or other green materials

In the AnchorBayTile online tile showroom we offer several different types of recycled glass tiles and we soon expect to offer a line of subway tile made from real Bamboo. Read through the REGREEN guidelines to answer most any of your GREEN remodel questions. Feel free to contact our team at AnchorBayTile if we can offer assistance with questions about our recycled glass tile products or our upcoming line of Bamboo tile products.

Saw this recently and we wanted to pass this on to our readers as a heads up. On Wednesday the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission issued a wide recall of about 5.5 million roll-up and Roman window shades sold by such retailers as IKEA, Williams Sonoma, and Target Corp. stores due to strangulation risks and deaths.

Of the six voluntary recalls issued on Wednesday, the largest was one urging consumers to stop using 4.2 million roll-up blinds imported by Lewis Hyman Inc. of Carson, CA and sold at Target stores because two infant boys were apparently strangled in the blinds lift cord. The Consumer Product Safety Commission is aware of 11 incidents since 2005 of children becoming entangled in the inner cord of a Roman shade and three of those children died according to a letter from the CPSC to the Window Covering Manufacturers Association posted on the CPSC website.

In the case of Target, there are instructions on the Target website on how to check the product to see if the unit was equipped properly when sold. If not, consumers should stop using the product immediately and contact Lewis Hyman for a free repair kit. IKEA has also posted a notice on their website on how consumers can obtain a full refund. We could not yet locate information on the Williams-Sonoma website regarding the Shades product recall.

We always encourage our readers to send in any deals they find locally at their neighborhood hardware stores, home improvement centers, and home & garden centers. We stumbled across this timely deal on the L.A. at Home Blog from the Los Angeles Times and while it may only apply to our readers in the Southern California area we wanted to share the idea with our readers as a reminder that fall planting season is almost upon us.

It seems that for a couple of years now, Oxnard, California based Agromin Premium Soil Products has been supplying 99 cents only stores in Southern California with 4-quart bags of its organic potting soil. Branded as Organic Grow and distributed in Southern California by Spring Valley Floral, these lightweight bags provide just the right amount of potting soil for planting a few flower pots in the backyard or the front porch. Better yet, those living in apartments or condominiums certainly appreciate not having to lug the larger potting soil bags home for the 5 – 6 scoops of soil that they actually need.

Check back soon for our upcoming fall planting tips articles where we will offer tips on what to plant for the fall gardening season.