Fit to be tiled

It’s amazing how many tile choices are out there. It’s also annoying how many tile choices are out there – how do you choose?! I’ve picked up about 20 different samples for our bathroom makeover from Ceragres and Saltillo Imports, and now I need to narrow them down to a few. One thing for sure – moonstone tiles are going on the floor:

Image via HGTV & Sarah 101

And I’d like to do a floor similar to this one in the shower using moonstone and Carrara marble tiles.

Image via Sarah’s House 1

And then things get complicated – I need to choose tiles for the shower surround and the niche behind the tub and the vanity backsplash. I’d also love to do Carrara marble wainscoting, but that’s a lot of tile, and it isn't cheap. So we’ll have to see on that one.

Here are the tiles I’ve narrowed the choices down to. I use the term “narrowed the choices” loosely! I love this wavy tile, and think it would look great as the shower surround. But I also like the idea of Carrara marble… oi!

Here’s the wavy tile with some of the possible accent tiles. I’m seriously in love with this striped tile. It’s 6” x 24”, so there wouldn’t be a lot of grout lines, which is great for the shower – the less grout, the easier it is to keep clean!

These are moonstone & thassos “sunflower” tiles. They’d be a nice hit of pattern without being too in-your-face.

I love the sparkle of glass tile. These are two colourways – the one on the bottom would bring a little bit of goldy-green into the bathroom, which might be nice. The same goldy-green is in some of the moonstone tiles, so this glass tile would tie in nicely with the moonstone even though it’s a completely different material.

These white square mosaic tiles are so pretty – you can’t see it too well in the picture, but they literally sparkle. They also come in a large format (10” x 20”, I think), so could be used as the main tile in the shower.

 

Then there’s these sweet little blue mosaic tiles. The colour is a great match to the blue in the moonstone, and I love how the tiles look like square drops of water.

There are two different mosaics that include moonstone. This stacked layout:

And this circle layout.

I really like them both, but I don’t know if I want to introduce tan into the  room. If I do, then I may have to re-think the Super White quartzite for the vanity countertop, which I’m pretty  much set on.

Do you see my problem? So many beautiful tiles, so many possible combinations – I don’t know how I’m ever going to choose! Maybe if I can settle on which of these showers I like best, it’ll help me decide. I like the two vertical stripes in this shower. I think the glass tiles would be the best choice for this application.

Image via Decorpad

Going back to the Sarah Richardson bathroom, I could do something similar to this shower and niche with the sunflower tiles.

Images via HGTV & Sarah 101

I like how the accent tile in this shower wraps around the bench. I’m thinking I could do the same thing, but carry it along the floor and up the opposite wall which will have the faucet & shower head. The small blue mosaic tiles could work well here. They have a lot of grout lines, so they’d provide good traction on the shower floor.

Image via Houzz | Design by T.R. Construction, Inc.

Hmmmmm…. but now I’ve eliminated the striped tile, which I love and just HAVE to use! OMG, this is TOO HARD! Maybe it would work in the niche. Or niches. One big one or two small ones?

Images via Trends Ideas | Deisgn by Candice Olson and via Houzz | Design by Michael Tauber Architecture

OK, onto the wainscoting. This one is particularly beautiful – but I’d do it in reverse, with light main tiles and dark accent tiles.

Image via Decorpad | Source: The Tile Shop

I like how the wainscoting in this bathroom is carried right into the shower. If we do Carrara marble wainscoting, the top part of the shower wall could be done in moonstone to replicate this look.

Image via Decorpad

I’m also drawn to the simple tile wainscoting in these two bathrooms.

Images via Decorpad | Source: Graham Moss and via Houzz

And then there’s the backsplash. I love how my friend & former blog partner Victoria carried the backsplash tile right up to the ceiling in this bathroom that she designed. She used the same tile for the accent stripes in the shower.

 Images via DesignTies | Design by Victoria Lambert, Edin’s House

And this is a tiled wall I recommended for a friend & client of mine.

Image via DesignTies | Design by Kelly James, JAX Decor & Design

I’ve seen a lot of bathrooms with a low backsplash , or no backsplash at all.

Images via Houzz| Design by Gast Architects and via Trends Ideas | Design by Candice Olson

I have a feeling that deciding what tiles to use and how/where to use them is going to be the biggest dilemma of this whole project. What tiles and layouts do you like best?

Glorious glass by OR DESIGN glassworks

Last Thursday, the TBBs were invited to the home of glass artisans Pam and Oded Ravek of OR DESIGN glassworks to check out their main floor renos and their latest glass projects.

You can see a bit of their kitchen reno in this picture of the amazing glass chandelier above their island that they designed and created.

Pictures just don’t do it justice – the iridescent effect on the glass pieces is so beautiful, and gives the chandelier so much interest and dimension. You can see a little bit of the iridescent effect in this picture.

They also designed and created the vessel sinks in their powder room and basement bathroom.

As well as the accent tiles in the basement shower.

Pam & Oded transform pieces of glass into fabulous works of art using a variety of techniques. These are just a few of my favourite pieces…

 

Close-ups…

  

I’m thinking this glass lamp shade would make a great wall sconce.

Pretty and functional glass :-)

Sometimes Oded will put scrap pieces of glass into the kiln and melt them down into small piece that he puts into the gravel in their backyard. I picked out a few pieces to bring home.

Pam and Oded are so kind and thoughtful – they gave each of the TBBs a beautiful business card holder. I think Pam knows that I love purple :-)

If you’d like to read more about Pam and Oded and see more of their work, check out this post that I wrote about them last year. And if you’re in Ottawa and would like to see their work in person, they recently did an installation at the Soho Parkway on Parkdale. They also created the Art Glass Memorial Light honouring Holocaust victims that’s on permanent display at the Greenberg Families Library in the Soloway Jewish Community Centre.

Hubby and I are meeting with Pam & Oded on Thursday to discuss a possible glass project for our master bathroom makeover. Maybe a set of sconces… or a chandelier… or a glass divider between the toilet and the tub. I’m looking forward to hearing their ideas :-)

When is white not white?

When it’s Super White!

I have no idea how this quartzite from Brazil got the same Super White, because it really doesn’t look very white at all, does it? Well, whether you call it Super White or Fantabulous Grey, I LOVE IT! Now I need to convince hubby that this is the perfect stone for the vanity countertop in our master bathroom.

Image via Granite Gurus

I discovered Super White quartzite in this post about alternatives to white marble by Steph at Granite Gurus. She also wrote this post  all about Super White. Quartzite is less prone to staining and etching than calcium-based stones like marble and limestone and travertine. That makes it a good choice for people like hubby and me who tend to get as much toothpaste onto the countertop as we get onto our toothbrushes.

Image via Granite Gurus

From what I can tell, Super White is also sold under the name White Fantasy. One comment I came across is that White Fantasy is more veiny and Super White is more like ice chunks. But being a natural stone, that difference could be because of when and where the slabs were quarried.

White Fantasy | Image via Rabbit Runn Designs

I found a couple of awesome slabs of Super White at The Granite Shop here in Ottawa. Hubby is willing to go take a look at them, so that’s a good sign :-) So far, we’ve agreed on the tub, the toilet {which hubby just ordered}, and the moonstone floor tiles. Fingers crossed he’s a Super White kinda guy, as opposed to that other super kinda guy…

Image via Home of the Snapping Turtle

Happy weekend!