While there are plenty of projects you can tackle yourself, if you are a little less than mechanically inclined, you may want to hire a contractor to do the job for you. When interviewing contractors, you will want to question them thoroughly, ask for references, and compare estimates. If you work with a professional that guarantees his work, it will save you a lot of time and stress. Talk with a contractor who is familiar with the local building codes to make sure your home remodeling is done correctly. You will also want to work with a contractor who can provide you with a well-written contract, which will prevent mistakes or additions to your project.

Prior to starting your remodeling, you may save yourself some money by finding products that you like that are less expensive. When shopping for products, make your decisions based on the total value of the item and the quality of the item, not just the price.

Besides putting your own personal stamp on your home, remodeling can also increase the value of the home. For instance: if you own an older home and only have one bathroom in it, it can make your house a little more attractive if you were to put in another bathroom. . . not to mention make your time in your home a little more comfortable!  Additionally, if you were to turn your basement space or attic space into actual living spaces by remodeling them, you can help to increase the value of your home.

Another way to increase the value of your home is to put in some high end appliances. If you opt to include some stainless steel appliances, dual-flush toilets, whirlpool tubs, and heated floors, you will attract more buyers. . . and buyers who are apt to spend more.

To speak with one of our design consultants, please call us at 1-800-764-1633.

Looking to remodel your kitchen? A kitchen backsplash may be the most fun you’ll have during your remodeling project. It brings together the counters, cabinets and flooring, allowing for great creativity, and it offers an avenue of personal expression.

1. Measure carefully
Measure the backsplash area carefully. Measure it twice and order some extra. Once you have chosen your tiles, you need to calculate how many will fit. If you have a pattern of differing tiles or a mosaic, look for a way to fit them together to fit the space.

2. Draw on the wall
Yes, draw on the wall by transferring your math.  There’s no substitute for a life-size sketch to visually represent what you are about to do. Spaces! Don’t forget to include the space between tiles in your little drawing.

PRO TIP!
Make sure the space between tiles is consistent. Plastic spacers are available in the tile section in your local home improvement store. The pros use them to get those perfect gaps for their grout, so why shouldn’t you!

3. Cut the tiles
Watch your fingers and cover your eyes for this task. A good idea instead of purchasing a tile saw is to rent one for smaller projects. It is the most cost-effective way to get what you need. If you plan on tiling an entire house, you may consider buying a tile saw. As an option, you can always resell the saw when you’re finished. Make sure to get all your cutting done before you start your adhesives. You’ll thank me for that tip!

4. Apply adhesive
Apply a layer of thinset adhesive using a 3/16″ square notched trowel and comb the thinset at a 45-degree angle. Don’t apply more thinset than you can apply in a 5 minute time-span. When setting the tile, don’t press so hard that you have thinset squish out between the tiles. Press it in lightly and wiggle it back and forth to get out any air bubbles.

5. Set tiles
Wipe each tile clean and do some back buttering (apply a thin layer of thinset to the back of each tile). Start at the center and work your way out to the edges. Have an odd size at one end? For symmetry’s sake, you’ll need to install the tiles from the center of the wall so you can split that odd size between the left and the right. Looking good!

6. Grout
Grout between the tiles. It’s not hard, just wait until after the tile is set and adhesive is dry.

7. Seal
Apply a sealer about 48 hours after the grout is set to protect against water. Good news if you purchased a glazed ceramic tile,  they only need to have the grout sealed. If you use decided to go with slate, terra cotta or marble…yup, you guessed it… you need to seal the tile too, in order to prevent stains.

To learn more about what tiles or stone you can use for your next kitchen backsplash project, please contact one of our design consultants at 1-800-764-1633.

For those of you who are looking for an interesting touch to your bathroom, kitchen, or other room in your home, consider the products from Metal Border. Metal Borders tiles are made from aluminum, which is lightweight but resilient. It finishes with a gray/silver appearance.

When synthesized with other metals, the result is an alloy that resists corrosion and has a long life span, which means it would work well in a bathroom or kitchen. Aluminum only weighs about a third of steel or copper, so you can get the good look of metal, but without all the added weight and necessary fasteners to keep it in place.

Their Peraluman tiles a square tile comes in the following sizes, 20 cm x 20 cm, 30 x 30, 40 x 40, and 50 x 50. The tiles are brushed to a smooth finish, and is made with magnesium, which is also resistant to corrosion.

Metal Border’s Anticorodal alloy is used for their mosaics, bars, and listellos. They are available in satin, smooth, and brushed finishes. And their alloy is best suited for internal architectural applications, because the level of corrosion resistance varies.
This means it may not be ideally suited for bathrooms or kitchens.

Finally, Metal Border wants to help preserve the environment as much as they can, and are working to reduce their waste to help. They recycle all of their scrap and byproducts, and they have a standard minimum 30% recycled aluminum in all their aluminum tiles.

To learn more about Metal Border, please contact one of our design consultants at 1-800-764-1633.

Franco Pecchioli was founded in 1897 by the Chini family (pronounced “Keeney”) and the Pecchioli family. Galileo Chini, a master ceramicist and partner of this fledgling firm, opened the original formace (or ceramics factory) and called it LArte della Ceramica in the small village of Borgo San Lorenzo. Chini first worked with decorative stoneware vases, making his work stand out from the rest with intricate glazes and bright colors.

Later, he became one of the influencers of Italian ceramics throughout the early 1900s and 1920s; this daring artist was commissioned by the king of Siam to create large-scale frescos all around the royal palace. Unfortunately, the ceramics factory was bombed in World War II by U.S. bombing raids. This lead to a merging with Pecchioli, who financed the rebuilding and expansion of the company. Today, the Pecchiolis controls the business side of the company, with the Chinis controlling the artistic side.

Pecchioli distributes their products to not just Europe and Asia, but to the U.S., the Carribean, Bahamas, and Bermuda through the forged relationship with Una Terra, Inc. Pecchioli has already started to leave its mark on the United States businesses. Some commercial work that Pecchioli has done include: a Buffalo subway station, the Buell Theater in Denver, The Renaissance Center subway station in Detroit, and a Thai and a Burger restaurant in Las Vegas. Many residential bathrooms, kitchen floors, backsplashes, fireplace surrounds, foyers, and sun rooms have also experienced the artistic touch of Pecchioli through Una Terra.

Experience Pecchioli for yourself! They have a wide variety of tile available. Check out their standard tile collections, such as Water & Sky, Blacks & Whites, Violets & Roses, and more. Each of their standard tile collections are glazed using machine-made Italian terra cotta biscuits in different sizes, thicknesses, and shapes. Pecchioli also sells beautiful plumbing fixtures that will make you (and your guests) gasp with surprise and pleasure. What better way to make a unique statement than to order a vessel sink, shower base, and toilet in matching colors? If you want to make a statement at your dinner party, consider a dinnerware set in rich colors, dipped and fused together with gold, silver, and platinum. The guests wont want to put food on the plates and cover up the glinting beauty winking back at them!

To learn more about Pecchioli, please contact one of our design consultants at 1-800-764-1633.

If you are looking for a fashionable tile company with a unique, artistic eye, RG North America is your go-to place. Located in Savannah, Georgia, they have large stores of glass mosaic that is very similar to more expensive Italian brands but distributed right here in the USA. This means you’ll be dealing with an American company, as well as lower prices. RG North America prides themselves on their personable, knowledgeable, and dependable sales staff; they are customer-driven.

RG North America currently stocks glass mosaic and crystallized glass panels, which you will find in hotels and as part of kitchen countertops. They also specialize in creating gorgeous murals based off of your digital photo, which are typically completed within 20-25 days. Finally, RG North America also manufactures
and markets engineered stone in quartz and marble base.

RG North Americas glass mosaic tiles come in sizes 15, 20, and 25 mm and will arrive in paper mounted sheets to help you in your installation. The glass mosaic they carry comes in four product lines, which are then arranged into series: Selections, Rainbow, Shimmer, and Original. Custom blends are available. If the pirate in you is searching for a bounty worthy of Blackbeard, they have gold tiles that are made with 24k gold leaf sandwiched between two layers of glass.

If you are looking to add a little drama to your poolside experience, forget about entertaining the pool boy and entertain the notion of tiling your pool with their pool/oceanside colors.

RG North America has a grip tile series which is known for its rough surface that makes it a great choice for steps, slippery areas, or pool bottoms. Some clients have even opted to have a mural created for their pool bottom. Why not be a hit at your next BBQ? Your guests will forget all about the hamburgers when a custom mural stares up at them from your pool. No one will want to break the water to swim.

To learn more about RG North America, please contact one of our design consultants at 1-800-764-1633.

CR Studio 4, a family owned and operated business from Southern California, is a place where integrity and dedication to craftsmanship prevail. In this day and age, machine-made products and assembly-line mentality have become commonplace, but with this shift, the spiritual and truly individual beauty of the products for our homes and offices is often lost. But not with CR Studio 4. If you want a touch of artistry for your new project, then look no further.

The company offers basically two different styles of tile: stone and metal. Within those categories lie ceramics, granite, marble, bronze, and pewter. All of CR Studio 4’s tiles are handmade and crafted. And they do all of their own designing, mold-making, casting, bench and foundry work. When you have a CR Studio 4 product, you know you have something unique. The different styles and materials can be used in pretty much any combination, depending on your vision.

Studio 4’s various products can bring a unique flare to your wall or accent your floor. Their products are used as kitchen countertops, backsplashes, showers, or even office walls. The only place Studio 4’s products are limited are in your imagination. They not only have the basic tile pieces, but they also provide stunning trim, moldings, rail caps, and deco accent tiles and murals that add that finishing touch of class. They even have an amazing decorative threshold piece in pewter that stylishly connects one type of flooring to another.

Color selection at Studio 4 is just as varied and eclectic as its styles. From their metal line, Pewter is a gorgeous metal that has depth of color with varying shades of gray and black, adding texture and old-world charm. Though color varies in the metal, the Bronze line has a copper-type look, and depending on wear and exposure can darken over time. If you like that look, great, but you can also restore the brighter color and shine by buffing with some soap and water and a ScotchBrite pad.

You can also choose stone tiles in colors like Lemon Pesto or Rusty Matte or Silver Snow, just to name a few. Basically take the rainbow, soften the colors, and you have the palette that Studio 4 provides.

So to make your everyday living spaces glow by installing the luxury and artistry of CR Studio 4’s amazing products.

To learn more about CR Studio 4, please contact one of our design consultants at 1-800-764-1633.

Mixed-Up Mosaics is a New York City company that is the standard for handmade mosaic stained glass tiles. They’ve got some of the fastest turnaround times in the industry, and they strive to keep on the cusp of the latest trends in interior design and tile work.

The sets of tiles you order from Mixed-Up Mosaics are as unique as you and your business. Each job is custom-ordered and handmade with the exact design specifications laid out from the beginning of the project. You can provide the company with a template and measurements for your space, and they can create a design for you, or you could start with the beautiful templates they already have set up and then tweak the design to meet your needs and taste.

The versatility of the tiled creations from Mixed-Up Mosaics is incredible. You can use their tiles in any number of residential, commercial, or aesthetic settings. You could design a stunning backsplash for the kitchen or bar area, tile the area around a pool or sauna, create unique and dramatic tops for counters, tables, or bar tops, or even add a beautiful wall design to your church or synagogue. The possibilities truly are endless.

You’ve just got to take a look at this company’s collections, especially in the What’s New Section as of the posting of this article. You can view samples such as their Vanishing Point pattern, that is a wonder of linear “motion.” You can also see the Tiki design with its out-of-square squares and boxes, or the Circles pattern that each throws convention to the wind. Or check out their Plaid or Leopard designs — all made simply with custom cut and colored glass tiles.

So if you have a space that’s screaming for vibrant, unique treatment that will make your home or business stand out in a beautiful, exciting way, you have to consider Mixed-Up Mosaics.

To learn more about Mixed-Up Mosaics, please contact one of our design consultants at 1-800-764-1633.

Villi Glas, a premier manufacturer of glass tiles and mosaics, sets the bar for quality glass tile flooring products. Not only are Villi’s glass selections beautiful, but they are also durable and reliable.

A metallic coating is fused to Villi’s glass, which protects the tiles from corrosion, scratches, and color bleed and is one of the reasons Villi Glas tiles can be used indoor or outdoor and for flooring. The reverse side of the tiles are also given a coating, a white layer that gives the back of the glass tiles a rough surface that makes them adhere better to the surface they are attached to, as well as keeps a clean, precise look when you look through the glass. The tiles are also available with a choice of surfaces, from glossy to mat to fossilized, as well as a skid resistant.

What really makes Villi’s glass stand out is their innovation in style and beauty. They have standard tiles in several different sizes, but they also have created mosaic style tiles on mesh backing that are incomparable, some of which are reminiscent of river stone in glass form…gorgeous.

From muted, pastel hues to vibrant colors and metallics, the colors you can choose from are incredible. They also have some stunning glass tiles called Décor that have designs fused to the top of the glass—filigree, relief, and geometric designs. They even have a Spectral glass line that has a patented coating that oxidizes surface dirt, causing it to disappear. It’s actually self-cleaning!

So if glass tile is something you are considering for your next project, be sure to consider Villi Glas. You won’t be disappointed.