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
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:
Elegance on a grand scale ! We were thrilled to have our tile in this Los Angeles 10,000+ square foot personal paradise. We were approached early on by the developer / designer to be a part of a major home renovation and I can truthfully say they were a pleasure to work with and everything went smoothly on this unusually large residential tile delivery.
Grey and White single color cement tiles at the entrance to The Reserve / Hombly Hills
On the expansive patios the Gray and White check tile continues.
A side porch on this Los Angeles cement tile projectThe Reserves Estate Kitchen
Designer Kristoffer Winters used our Cubes tile in the kitchen and adjacent living area in this uber swank mansion. He told me that they added a dash of raw umber tint to the sealant to give the tile an aged look. They were thrilled with the result and he said most people assume that the porch cement tiles are an original part of the home. We are looking forward to Kristoffer’s appearance on Bravo TV’s “Million Dollar Decorators” show. Maybe he will mention our tile !!
We had never heard of Kuba cloth when Stu Neyland submitted his new designs for his super cool collection of cement tile. We just knew it was a great floor tile design. Turns out that Stu and his wife Suzie have a collection of authentic Kuba cloth. Several pieces are framed and hanging above their fireplace and Stu had used them as inspiration for his tile design.
One wonderful aspect of Stu’s Kuba tile is that one can lay the tile in any orientation and the resulting pattern looks different depending on your choices.
More and more designers are becoming aware of African Kuba cloth.
To make Kuba cloth the Kuba people of the Congo cut and weave dyed pieces of raffia. The several different sub-groups of the Kuba people have unique ways to make their fabric. Many of the patterns are arranged to have meanings. And what a handsome floor tile it makes !
The kitchen above is in a vintage home in Seattle Washington. The designer was The Kitchen Witch. See how creatively they used our Foliage Border in “Antique” in all its forms. The designer used the corner tile as a field tile which surrounds a medallion made from the regular border tile. Working out a nice design on paper is worth the effort.
A small bathroom projects style with an interesting floor.
You can certainly take the emphasis off the smaller size of a bathroom with a jazzy floor. Look how this Cuban tile pattern becomes the focal point for this Miami condo bathroom.
An Art Deco Patio – Variations in Gray, Black and White
For an upcoming project we have been asked to help design a tile layout for a large outdoor patio at a California home that will soon be undergoing renovation. This is the property of an Oscar nominee actor. The kitchen will be our classic Cubes tile in Black, white and gray. The owner wants a complimentary design for the patio but something on a larger scale.
Here are some of the designs we sent to the client:
Dekor pattern cement tile in 3 colors
Using our tile design tool we put together an assortment of possible patio tile layouts. Some are using 8 inch cement tile, others are 12 inch tile. They may opt to have one of our eight inch designs custom made in a 12 inch mold. This is an important project and this home will be featured on television in 2012. So ck back later for links to the TV show when it is announced. You better believe we will feature it on our home page !
Same tile as above, just rotated differently.
Checkered tile pattern in 3 colors, an eight inch tile.
This pattern, Harlequin III is set in offset rows.
Harlequin Square 8″ cement tile…3 colors
Damsella cement tile in 8″
Quadro Centro 12 inch cement tile in 3 colors
Benedetta Art Deco cement tile design in 8 inch
Of course we will add some photos of the final tile design choice.
A Cement Tile Foyer in a California Home
Want the look of a narrow border and a cost savings at the same time ? One of our clients picked a standard border tile (Ritz) that could be cut in half to create two 2 4″ x 8″ matching border tiles. See Ritz Border before it is cut below.
Very thrifty and just the look he wanted. Not shown in the images is some monochrome black tile from the pattern border to the wall.
Ritz Border tile and New Castle in custom colors for the field tile.
Take the emphasis off a small space’s tight dimensions by using a lively floor that gives the eye and mind some entertainment…it works !
No End to the Variations…
This week we had an inquiry from a famous London dept. store for a classic tile pattern for a new part of their store. I requested some images from our Euro partner’s design dept to pass along. Of course they sent the basic layout suggestion in very pretty but subtle colors..but…
Zak, the graphic artist started to have some fun…look what can happen if this same tile pattern (#112 on European Patterns) is made in bright colors:
Now check out these variations of floor tile patterns by alternating the colored areas and rotating the tile in different directions as you lay it.
And this is only the beginning !!
Gettin’ Jazzy
Just look what you can do with one corner tile. We love this look and it reminds us of Art Deco designs. One corner tile is poured two ways, one half of the tiles are the reverse colors of the other.
Imagine a jazzy foyer that energizes you every time you come or go. Look at these patterns couple of feet from your monitor to get the real effect.
We think this black and white version would look grand with a monochrome black border.
In a Pinch
Ever wonder what to do with you only have just so many pattern tiles and you need to cover a larger area ? You can create a great layout using the 5 to 4 lattice of five solid tiles to 4 pattern tiles as shown below.
You can get a fabulous look and really save money too as solid color (monochrome) tiles are less expensive than pattern tiles.
Here is another take on this method:
In this photo of a hallway, (baseboards were not yet added) the pattern tile are surrounded by solid color tiles.
The traditional use of cement tiles is to create a tile rug design centered in a room. Of course it is not the only way mosaicos hidraulicos are laid, but making a tile rug in a room is one great way to lend a look of organization and visually group furniture arrangements. Making a tile floor rug layout also can add a feel of formality to a space. Add additoonal benefit is that you can use the patterned tile to create the mosaic tile rug and border and then use the much less expensive solid color tiles from the border out to the edges of the room.
This floor using Trapani Midnight tile with Ribbon Border in Taupe and solids in Black and Antique Ivory has sea shells, sea weed and interlocking trellis and is a great combo for formal setting in coastal locations.
Here the Savona “Beach” has a double border and is surrounded by solid color tile. It is always a good idea to use solid color around a tile rug pattern so the less expensive solids can run up to irregular shapes along the walls or into closets. This example of a tile rug room design uses Savona “Beach’ filed tile with a border of Trellis Shell “Aqua” and Ribbon “Gold” borders. As shown, this would be a 16 tiles by 20 tiles which would be a floor that is 13.5 feet, x 16.5 feet.
The floors above are Pescado “Coral” cement tile combined with solids of Coral, Tibetan Gold, Salmon. Imagine the life you can give to an otherwise utilitarian hallway by paving it with a creative cement tile design. If you are using a center design and your room will require some cut tiles at the outside edges to the wall, it is best to use a solid tile around the outside and differences in width from one side to the other will not really be noticible.
Three of these floor designs show the Shell Scroll corner tile used as a field tile in the center part of the floor. The patterned tile is combined with solids in one example. Let us help you design the perfect floor for your space.
Or for a modern use a combination of solids and border tiles laid as a stripe.
The traditional way to use mosaic cement tiles is to create a central area like a tile rug and use a border tile around it, and then coordinating solids out to the walls. Here are many tile floor designs using patterned borders.
Glory of the Sea Cement Tile Floor Design
This glorious cement tile floor design was recently created by request. For mall its grandeur, it is a relatively inexpensive floor design due to the use of so many less pricey solid colors. The few patterned tile that are used, as well chosen and give grand structure and a stately presence to this tile floor.
The traditional way to design a cement tile floor is with a central tile rug, surrounded by a patterned tile border and solid color cement tiles out to the walls.
This glorious cement tile floor design was recently created by request. For all its grandeur, it is a relatively inexpensive floor design due to the use of so many cost-saving solid colors. The few patterned tile that are used, are well-chosen and give grand structure and a stately presence to this tile floor.
This design can be adapted for larger or smaller rooms or patios.