John M. Adams, Author at Cement Style

The Inspiration for Piazza

One of our new Venetian Collection tiles, Piazza, creates a pattern of linked barbed quatrefoils. The quatrefoil, from the Latin quattuor and folium, “four leaves” became a common theme in Christian art, and reached it’s height in Gothic and Renaissance architecture.

A 6x5 layout of — “Piazza”, from the Venetian Collection, In Oxford Gray and White.

This pattern can be found throughout European architecture, including Notre-Dame de Paris, and the great abundance of of this pattern in Venice inspired Lundy to create this Villa Lagoon Tile exclusive cement tile.

Katie, author of the blog Live Originally, found a stunning example on her honeymoon trip through Europe, in one of the courtyards of the Doge’s Palace in Venice.

A stone courtyard at the Doge's Palace in Venice, featuring a barbed quatrefoil pattern. — A stonework quatrefoil in Venice.

You can see Katie’s full post here: “I’m baaaaack!”

You can see our in-stock “Piazza” tile here:

Or see our entire Venetian Collection here:

A stylized image of a Venetian canal scene. — The Floors of Venice

Villa Lagoon Tile featured on HomeCentrl

Villa Lagoon Tile has been featured on HomeCentrl, “Your place for everything home” which features the latest trends in construction, design, and decor. Lundy Wilder was interviewed by the author Todd Vendituoli, veteran builder, designer and blogger for his July 9th post.

Todd and Lundy covered the basics of encaustic cement tile manufacturing, and some of design and project considerations that go into purchasing custom tile flooring. Todd also mentions the durability and lasting beauty of the local “Nassau Tile”, the Bahamian term for cement tile. Cement tile has long been popular throughout the Caribbean, and the islands provide some of the better tour-grounds in the world for seekers of antique and modern cement tile installations. We show some of these installations on our Caribbean installations page.

Todd’s post can be found here, on HomeCentrl: “Villa Lagoon Tile – Encaustic Cement Tile”.

If you’ve been inspired, browse our In-Stock tile for what’s currently popular and available, or try out our tile design tool for custom colors.

Heavenly Tile in Hell’s Bottom

The Beltway is buzzing with THE new place for men’s grooming on the east coast: The Barber of Hell’s Bottom.

A veteran stylist of New York runway and print models, Kelly Gorsuch took Washington, D.C. by storm with his Logan Circle salon, Immortal Beloved. In a few short years it has become a hub of the metro area’s chic and elite, with Immortal Beloved stylists even being tapped for First Family duty. Not only has Immortal Beloved become known for its styling, but for its unique decor. All of the furniture was designed and built by Kelly himself, along with his close friend and business partner Caleb Woodard (of Caleb Woodard Furniture).

Can Kelly catch lightning in a bottle again? It sure seems so. Washington is abuzz again over The Barber of Hell’s Bottom. Once again featuring Kelly’s unique vision, and master craftsmanship from Caleb Woodard Furniture, this new barber shop features raw, white-washed brick walls, and beautiful cement tile from Villa Lagoon Tile. Our Roseton tile in custom colors was used to add a hint of flourish to Kelly and Caleb’s remarkable work. This shop has a sophisticated, but raw masculinity, that is sure to make any patron comfortable, while his locks float down to our flooring.

Part of the buzz over Gorush’s new venture has to do with the name. While Shaw may have a median home price north of half-a-million dollars today, it was once “Hell’s Bottom”, one of the District’s most violent neighborhoods. That cool bit of trivia doesn’t stop everyone from noticing the tile, though… nor the barber’s chair from the New York area’s Vernon Hills Country Club, famed to have held several members of the Rat Pack, in its day (not at the same time, of course).

The Barber of Hell’s Bottom has been featured now in the style section of UrbanDaddy.com, given a favorable first look by UrbanTurf.com, and has even been named one of the six “things to do” for last weekend (April 5, 2013), by Men’s Journal ! Way to go Kelly ! We hope you the best success, and a long happiness with our tile.

April 8, 2013.

Villa Lagoon Tile Garners a Mention in Ultra-Luxury Magazine

The kitchen of The Reserves Estate, a +$25 million dollar Holmby Hills (Los Angeles) mansion with Villa Lagoon Tile "Cubes" on the floor. — The Reserves Estate Kitchen

The RobbReport, a magazine dedicated to the products of the ultra-luxury lifestyle has a new article on the $25 million dollar Holmby Hills estate, The Reserve. You may recall The Reserve from our earlier post about the tile installations by our clients. Obviously the amazing work that designer Kristoffer Winters put into the Reserve deserves the attention, which happens to land Villa Lagoon Tile smack dab between the latest Lamborghini and a $24,000 bottle of wine (a 1945 Chateau Latour Pauillac). We’re happy that cement tile is becoming a growing trend in ultra-luxury estates. We’re even happier that we can offer our tile to more modest budgets as well. Look for the mention here, or on page 37 of the March/April issue of Robb Report Home & Style.

"Cubes" pattern cement tile, from Villa Lagoon Tile. — “Cubes” pattern cement tile, from Villa Lagoon Tile.

Seductive Cement Setting brings Success!

We’d like to give kudos to our friends at Maneli Wilson Interiors for rave reviews of their recent work, featuring our cement tile pattern, Cubes. Sotto 13 opened in November as a runaway hit in New York’s West Village. This new darling destination of the local critics features Italian tapas, brick-oven pizzas, and cocktails by acclaimed mixologist Frankie Oley, but few can help but comment on the amazing decor.

Our Cubes pattern was used on the wall surrounding the kitchen’s window… a focal point for the flow of food through the restaurant. We also couldn’t help but spot an ingenious use for some of the left-over tiles: they are framed within the side of the hostess stand. On your next project you may consider ordering a little extra… finishing touches like these can really help tie a theme together.

In-Stock "Cubes" Tile — In-Stock “Cubes” Tile

Among the mountains of praise, Jones Magazine proclaims that Sotto 13 “offers rustic decor with a modern twist and perfect ambiance.” CBS New York touts Sotto 13 as “perfect for a West Village date night,” and NewForkCity says “it’s the decor that brings you in”, but the food that brings you back. What more can a restaurateur want from their decor than to provide the perfect, inviting setting to showcase their craft? Perhaps a mention by one of the largest travel magazines in the country?

Not only has Sotto 13 earned a mention by Travel + Leisure Magazine, their grand entrance to the scene has placed them among “America’s Most Romantic Restaurants”. Writing for www.travelandleisure.com, Brendan Spiegel cites Sotto 13’s “alluring space” among the attributes that landed it so high on the list.

No matter what your project, we’re sure our Villa Lagoon Tile, hand-made cement tile can provide a warmth and sophistication that can perfectly accent any vision.

Take a look at just a few other restaurant installations:

February 12, 2013.

Tile Climbs to a Higher Resolution

Update: As of October 2015, we have discontinued advertising the ceramic and porcelain tile murals on our website, in order to tighten our focus on cement tile. For purchase inquiries, please contact us, and ask for Dave.

The original, September 2012 post:

Of course Villa Lagoon Tile is home to artist, designer and cement tile expert Lundy Wilder, but we also keep our eye on the future. While we specialize in making it easy to bring the old-world charm and beauty of hand-made cement tile to your home or business, we love all beautiful tile, whether the techniques are old or new.

We are proud to announce our newest line of tile products: tile murals. Thanks to advancements in materials and dye sublimation printing, we can produce beautiful and durable tile products with printed images… painting reproduction, photographs, digital art, you name it! Break that image across a large grid of tiles, and now you have a beautiful tile mural, limited only by your installation space. Villa Lagoon Tile partner Dave Perry has made it his mission to study these processes and source the finest in materials and techniques to beautify your projects.

Our catalog of stock images for mural production is now available online, and debuts with more than 8,400 images. Ranging from classics like Van Gogh’s Starry Nights and Da Vinci’s Mona Lisa to modern marvels such as shuttle launches and Times Square, you’ll be amazed at the variety.

Not enough for you? We can use your own photographs, logos and art for truly custom tile murals! Spread your company logo across the wall behind the reception desk, put images of your own restaurant’s menu items on an accent wall near the entrance, the possibilities are endless. For questions, ordering or submitting your own work for custom murals, as always contact Villa Lagoon Tile, and ask for Dave.

A Wall of Wonderful on DiY and HGTV

For most of this month, with air dates continuing into September, DiY Network and HGTV have been showing the I Hate My Bath episode, “Pot O’ Gold Bathroom” (Season 2, Episode 3). Contractor and host Jeff Devlin guide homeowners Jeff and Kim through a remarkable bathroom makeover. Their dated and deteriorating green and gold bathroom is completely re-envisioned with modern appointments and an old-world twist.

One of the more prominent features was the Moroccan-style cement tile used to surround the shower. Using Villa Lagoon Tile’s “Lantern Trellis” in-stock cement tile.

"Salamanca" Moroccan cement tile on DIY's I Hate My Bath — Homeowner Presented with Moroccan Tile

Jeff helped this couple install a beautiful, luxurious shower featuring high-end fixtures, well-engineered sliding glass doors, and beautiful cement tile. While using the Lantern Trellis pattern for most of the shower wall, they used the complimentary single-color charcoal cement tile to accent the fixture wall, and finish the left-side knee-high wall.

Happy Homeowners with Moroccan-style cement tile shower walls. — Happy Homeowners with Cement Tile Shower

See more from this installation, then give your own project that old-world elegance with cement tile from Villa Lagoon Tile. Not only could you achieve this look, but you may consider custom orders of Lantern Trellis with different colorways.

In-stock cement tile, Salamanca pattern. — Gris and Charcoal

Custom Salamanca cement tile in blues. — Deep Natural Blues

Custom Salamanca cement tile in earth tones. — Rich Earth Tones

You might also consider our Arabesque Classic shaped tile…

Moroccan-inspired Colonial Shaped Cement Tile — Moroccan-style Colonial Tile

Cement Tile Makes a Big Splash on TV!

Villa Lagoon Tile’s in-stock “La Española” tile was recently featured in an episode of DIY Network’s “Kitchen Crashers”. Episode 204, “Time to Tear out that Carpet” originally aired July 12, and showcased our beautiful cement tile both as a backsplash, and a rich and beautiful accent wall.

Design preview featuring Villa Lagoon Tile — Design reveal featuring Villa Lagoon Tile’s “La Española” as a focal point.

Villa Lagoon Tile’s founder and designer, Lundy P. Wilder was proud to help Rebekah Zaveloff (of Design in a Bag and KitchenLabs fame) bring her beautiful vision together with our La Española cement tile.

Host and designer Alison Victoria did a great job bringing the crew together to provide this Chicago area couple with a kitchen most only dream of. Stop daydreaming and make your dream kitchen come true!

Make sure to check for future show times of “Time to Tear out that Carpet”, if you missed it!

Cement Tile Finding New Popularity

Gisela Williams of the Financial Times recently published a story in the House & Home section titled, “Tile style: down with beige”.

"Havana Cantina" tile in a UK Pub — “Havana Cantina” tile installation in a trendy UK pub.

Handmade cement or ceramic tiles, inspired by those first produced in Portugal, Spain and France, have been lining the most unexpected surfaces lately. From bedroom walls at the new Soho Beach House in Miami to the dining room floor of interior designer Ashley Hicks’s country house in Oxfordshire, tiles are making a comeback.

This great article continues to discuss the history of cement tile, and its modern resurgence in popularity. They even highlight some of Villa Lagoon Tile’s Jeff Shelton Collection tiles. Read the article here!

Our New Blog is Live!

We’ve moved! Our old blog, hosted at Blogger, has now been moved to the Villa Lagoon Tile home domain, here at https://www.villalagoontile.com/blog/ . We expect the new platform and new look will help us bring you more news and design ideas faster!