Master bathrooms are increasing in size in new and remodeled homes, as more homeowners value spa-like surroundings in the most intimate room in the house. Because the master bath isn’t intended as a showpiece for guests (like an entrance or a dining room), the decor can be simple and subtle. New lines of ceramic tile reflect the new emphasis with muted colors and refined accent pieces. Bloom II, shown in the photo, is an excellent example. The key is to animate the space with objects and people, rather than the surface finishes.
Author Archive for Ryan
04
Aug
A spa in your home
A question that often comes up with our customers is how to prep a floor for tile installation–particularly when the existing floor is a soft surface material like vinyl or carpet. The Capital’s Jim Rooney breaks down the problem and gives great advice for making sure that your new ceramic tile or stone floor has the support it needs:
The Times Union reports on trends in metal tile, glass tile, and of course ceramic tile:
They say there is always a silver lining to every cloud, and for the tile businesses in Iowa, that seems to be the case. The Globe Gazette is reporting strong sales of flooring–especially tile because of how it holds up to water damage–in the wake of last month’s floods:
Flooding has meant overflow of work for area flooring businesses
14
Jul
Sunday DIY Roundup
We occasionally have clients ask us about cracking tiles or grout joints. Here is an expert advice column from the Eagle Tribune that addresses just that concern:
Q. I recently had ceramic tile installed on my kitchen floor. The tiles are pavers and are 12 inches by 12 inches. A short while after installation, a crack that is several feet long appeared in the grout. A number of these cracks have appeared, some at right angles to the others. The contractor said the floor was flexing but it seems pretty solid to me. Why are the cracks appearing and what can be done? (click here to read more)
Many owners of mid-century homes are remodeling and looking for ceramic tiles that update the home while preserving some of the original aesthetic. A design column in the Baltimore Sun explains how you can achieve both:
Our 60-year-old house, which we’ve been slowly renovating, contains a guest bathroom that’s in need of new wall tiles. The original floor, still in place, consists of the small black-and-white tiles that were the norm back in the ’40s. And you can guess what color all the fixtures are. We’d like to retain the style that the homebuilders chose for this small but functional bathroom, even though it’s kind of dull. Can you suggest ways of introducing a bit of visual fizz without altering the basic design? (click here for more)
What kind of preparation needs to happen when replacing tiles that have come loose? The Vancouver Province posted this article with advice:
I laid down ceramic tile over our exposed aggregate outdoor patio. These lasted about five years. Now, many of these tiles are lifting and some sound hollow underneath. My question is: What process would you recommend to prepare the surface to create a smooth finish before reapplying tiles? (click here for more)
05
Oct
Skip the Gondolas
There is no doubt that we have had a great show, and have achieved as much or more than we had hoped to. Even still, there is always that nagging thought, “Should we have stopped into one more booth? Seen one more line? Met with one more vendor?” I’m afraid it’s inevitable. By this morning, the relative gains of additional meetings would have been minimal. With that in mind, we decided we had better do something frivolous instead!
So, off to Venice on a mid-morning train. For some reason, I ended up in charge of buying tickets–and as a scrooge I wasn’t about to pay for first class. The seats were reserved, but apparently that didn’t phase the German family who were sitting in them, and so we ended up outside of the compartment sitting on these little jumpseats. Jill, who has never met a stranger, befriended a family who was getting off in Venice as well, and ended up in their compartment in one of the cushy seats. We all eventually followed her example and ended up spread throughout the car. The moment of comic relief came when Jill awoke from a nap to find that the entire family had disembarked. I won’t forget the sight of Jill running up and down the corridor frantically asking anyone who would listen, “How do I get off the train?”
Venice itself was wonderful. And after all the hype, you might think that it would be hard to live up to expectations. I imagine there are times when Venice isn’t as charming as it was today–maybe when it’s 100 degrees, or when the tide is up and the city is flooded. But for us, today, it was just right. The crowds in the Grand Plaza might have been overwhelming, but it was easy enough to amble down a side street and find relative tranquility. The pizza was delicious (I had “The Devil’s Pizza”–spicey salami, oregano, and mozarella. yum.)
We skipped the gondola ride, but that’s probably best left to the honeymooners. Just walking the winding streets was great, and allowed for us to linger at a stationery shop, stop for a bite of gelato, and otherwise relax after a hectic week.
03
Oct
Surprised by Verona
By yesterday afternoon, we had finished most of what we hoped to accomplish in the Bologna ceramic fair. There were a couple of meetings left, but not enough to fill a day, so we were able to wrap them up and catch a train to Verona, where the annual stone show is held.
I noticed immediately the difference in the feel of the two audiences. In Bologna, I felt underdressed. In Verona, overdressed. Maybe because stone so often arrives in a less than finished state such as slab, or even full blocks out of which slab is cut, the folks here to see it have their sleeves rolled up. It was a welcome change.
We also had a chance to see some of the massive equipment they use to mine and mill the stuff. Quite impressive. We stood under a saw that cuts 10-12 slab at a time from the blocks, which measure about five feet by five feet by ten feet.
But enough about the show, Verona itself merits the most attention. Normally, when I travel, I spend quite a bit of time researching the place beforehand. Since I knew that I would be following Susan and Tom’s lead on this trip, I didn’t honestly do much reading about where we would be. Which is why I was so surprised by Verona. We hear more about Rome, Venice and Milan, and these secondary cities don’t pop up in discussion. In fact, Verona was the surprise of the trip for me. It wasn’t until we stepped out of the taxi tonight on our way to dinner that I realized I was in for a treat.
Across the plaza, the 2000 year old Arena stood against the backdrop of the pastels of the “contemporary” buildings. (And by contemporary, I mean less than five hundred years old.) The four of us walked down a winding street full of window shoppers to Bottega de Vini–where we met Andrea. Andrea is a young-ish Veronese man who represents a line of stone that we buy from the region. His greatest trait, for me at least, is that he loves Seattle. He loves our weather, he loves the culture of the people, and most of all, he loves our music. As in past encounters, he and I talked music for quite a while.
A great day all around, and tomorrow off to Venice!
02
Oct
Day two
Do you recall what you were doing last night at 3am? Sleeping? Me too. Unfortunately, at 3:01am I was talking to a friend of mine on the phone. He called–just to catch up–but didn’t realize that I was in Italy, nine hours ahead of him. He was just getting off work and wondering what I was up to. Sleeping, I said. I’m in Italy–would you mind sending me an email? Needless to say, he got a chuckle out of it, and I fell right back to sleep.
Morning came quickly, however, as we needed to be back at the show bright and early. Our schedule was packed. In fact, today we split up so we could cover more ground. There is no doubt these trips are worth the time and expense. Aside from seeing new tile lines, we also have the opportunity to see nearly all of our vendors in one place. And the dinners seem to be the most important venue. Each night we spend hours sharing great food and stories–and, in the best of cases, we become friends. Paolo and Lorella, who hosted us in their home on Monday, are truly friends–people who you’d love to spend time with even if you didn’t work together. And there are many others who I enjoy seeing each year at these events.
01
Oct
Day one at the fair
The Bologna ceramic tile fair is the holy shrine of the industry. Thousands of people flock to Cersaie to see the latest in technologies, styles, sizes, colors, shapes, and uses. The experience is overwhelming–just when you think you’ve seen it all, you turn another corner and find a handful of football field sized pavilions filled with booths representing even more tile.
We spent today shuttling between two main pavilions where many of our vendors are located. By the end of the day, even another shot of espresso couldn’t have kept me going.
Where to begin?
Although there were a series of complete experiences that will linger in my mind, I am going to limit myself to just a couple.
After our first factory visit today, we took a side trip to the country villa of Paolo and Lorella, a couple who has represented tile to us for many years. Their home has been a many-year project, and it shows. Over a decade ago, they purchased the villa from one of a pair of brothers who were feuding over what to do with the family’s ancestral land. The parcel, about 50 acres, occupies one side of a small hill–itself set into a large range of hills and valleys. The vista was spectacular. The landscape is dotted with a dozen or so farmhouses, the oldest one from the 14th century. Paolo mentioned that their house, “was only 140 or 150 years old”–which would have put it on the national historic registry in the U.S. We spent an hour sipping coffee and relaxing in the grass as an impromptu siesta before heading off to our next appointment. We threatened to take up residence there during next year’s trip.
After our second factory tour, in which we saw the workings of a full-scale porcelain tile plant, we went to dinner with Lorella and Paolo in a small restaurant owned by their friends. The food was tremendous. After the appetizer course, Jill turned to Lorella and asked if there would be dessert. There would be, she said, after we finished our first plate, second plate, and a small salad. In all, the meal last over four hours, punctuated by great conversation. At one point we all went around sharing what we would choose to have written on our tombstones. I’ll let you guess whose is going to say, “Thanks mom.”
What an adventure this morning. We arrived to Paris’ sprawling airport–Charles de Gaulle–with little more than an hour to make it through customs and to race from terminal A to terminal D. Our group scurried through a labyrinth of officials and airport personnel to get to our gate, and as we passed by one of many baggage claims I glanced down at the carousel and saw my bag just as it passed back through the flaps and out of sight. Did I really just see my bag on that carousel, or is my mind playing tricks on me after no sleep and too much travel? I hustled over to where the bags emerged and waited for what seemed like ten minutes before–sure enough–my bag reemerged. I grabbed it and ran. I chased after where I thought the group had gone–there were about thirty of us at the time–but when I turned the corner, they were gone. The guy at the information booth made hand gestures in the direction of our gate and I took off running with all my luggage. This is a big airport. I eventually ended up in the wrong terminal, switched back, nearly turned into a women’s restroom and finally caught up to the group. In the meantime, Jill, Tom, and Susan had no idea where I went. When I finally showed up and explained what had happened, we realized that Jill’s bags were only checked through to Paris as well. We nearly missed our flight to Bologna figuring it out.
in the end we made it here in one piece, though our luggage did not. Jill and Susan’s bags are in Paris and New York respectively (who knows). It’s noon here now–and feels like 3am–so we are going in to town to shake off the jet lag.
Next week, Jill, Susan, Tom and I will be traveling to Italy to attend Cersaie–the annual ceramic tile show in Bologna, Italy. Cersaie is to the tile industry what Cannes is to the film industry. All of the major manufacturers are there, all of the major distributors are there, and everyone is in a festive mood.
The exposition center sprawls over acres of land, and walking from one end to the other takes half an hour. However, the payoff is worth it. Cersaie gives us a chance to see where the tile industry is headed. What is the latest concept, color, format, or technique in ceramic tiles? At the same time, we have the opportunity to meet up with colleagues from throughout the industry: other distributors, factory agents, designers and others who converge on Bologna for one week a year.
This year I am going to be posting about our trip–mostly anecdotes about our adventures in Northern Italy. So, stay tuned!
