I took an interior designing course a few months back at the prestigious, Interior Designers Institute in Newport Beach, California.  I have learned so much about design in the past 4 months - I have learned about how color, lighting, furniture, and placements effects the dynamics of each room.

I wanted to write something about colors! I have often wondered how colors impact the look of a room, and what type of character a color adds to your home or business.

Here are my findings;

1.  When choosing a color, don't try to finalize a color in fluorescent light.
2.  Check out Sherwin-Williams website, they have colors categorized by color family.  Very straight-forward and easy to find the colors that you are looking for.
 (http://www.sherwin-williams.com/homeowners/color/find-and-explore-colors/?WT.ac=/homeowners/%20PP1%20/homeowners/color/find-and-explore-colors/)
3.  Remember when choosing a color, you must specify not only the paint color but also the sheen level.  The higher the sheen, the darker the paint will look.
4.  In order to achieve a sophisticated and classy look, use the same color for walls and moldings - just change up the sheen of the color.
5.  Before you begin painting, ask your painter to remove all the light switch plates and art work on the walls.  Also, ask your painter to tape the areas that you don't want painted - be persistent, and make sure that it is taped properly.
6.  Warm or dark colors will make any space seem small and cozy while light or cool colors will make any space look larger.

This was a short one..........I'll have a new post for you later this week.

Please leave me a comment!

-The Tile Lady

Sognare Tile, Stone & Sinks
2031 E Cerritos Ave
Suite 7G
Anaheim, CA 92806
714.833.5375

Good day everyone!  Of the late, I've been receiving questions about bare walls that folks have in their homes.  What to do with a wall that is bare and you really can't put any art work there?! Confusing eh?  Not to worry, tile at your rescue.  Go to your local tile store and look for accent tile.  You ask, what is accent tile? Accent tile is basically any type of tile that fills your space and looks pretty! It could be glass tiles, textured tile or even regular tile with decorative tile mixed into it.

I have some fabulous ideas to share with you! One of my favorite products is glass mosaics! Mosaics come in many different colors and sizes. Mosaics are basically small pieces of glass tiles that have been mounted together on a sheet. Note below how there are small pieces of glass tiles which are on a 12"x12" sheet bonded by glue.  These sheets are also very flexible and easy to cut.  Simply take scissors and cut between the tiles to get it to any size of your choice.

Can't understand how I can love tile so much! I could just stare at all the wonderful material all day!  Lately, customers have been asking me about grey wood look tile, it has become very popular over of the late.  From a design aspect, grey tile give your space a very clean and natural look.  I wanted to share my thoughts on wood like tile versus engineered wood.  While both are fantastic products, I think that If maintenance is your concern then tile is the way to go.

Wood look tile: IT IS TILE so you don't have to worry about water damage, staining it and breaking it (unless you take a hammer and hit the tile, let's hope no one has plans to do that).  Tile is also less expensive cost wise and also less expensive to install and maintain.  You could probably find wood look tile for $2.00 - $3.50/sf.  Although there are some Italian porcelain tiles out there for $6-10/sf - I guess it just depends on your budget.  If you are on a budget then you could easily find some at a reasonable price (email me with what you are looking for and I will be happy to help you find it).

Now, engineered wood, one of my most favorite material.  It is almost impossible to tell the difference between engineered wood and hardwood, really!!  It is so much cheaper than wood, and less expensive to install than the wood.  It is however, a bit more expensive than the tile.  Engineered wood is basically 3 layers, the very bottom layer is usually some type of support or backing consisting of hardwood backing.  The next layer (middle layer) is a  high density board such as plywood or white wood and top layer is an actual layer of solid hardwood veneer.  The more wood veneer it has, the more expensive it will be.  The more plywood or white wood it has, the less expensive it will be.  When shopping for engineered wood, always look for how much actual wood (top layer) it has, the more it has the better it is!

Here is a picture explaining the different layers...

 

 

 

 

Layer 1 is the bottom layer (support of backing)

Layer 2 is the middle layer (plywood or white wood)

Layer 3 is the top layer (actual wood)

 

Check out these pictures of wood look tile and engineered wood in various spaces, can you guess which one is tile and which one is engineered wood? It's not as easy as it seems........wishing everyone a fabulous Thursday! I'll be back again with something more about flooring......bye for now!

 



Enjoy these designs, and please let me know if I can help you folks with anything :)

 

Working Saturdays! When you are in the flooring business, Saturdays are crucial.  Lately, I have been trying to educate myself on prefabricated granite countertops.  I am sure that homeowners are often wondering about the difference between slabs and prefabricated granite countertops.

There is a myth that Prefabricated Granite is not "real" granite, well that is a MYTH! I had an opportunity to travel to India and China to see the process of making granite countertops.  It starts off with in an area that has huge blocks of granite which then get sliced.  After the slicing process, they go on another machine where they get cut to size, then laborers hand make the bullnose and polish it.  It then goes through quality management for a final check before being loaded on to pallets.  Well, I am not sure about others, but this is how it happens at our vendor's shop.

I was quite impressed with the process, they now use this process for granite countertops, marble countertops, quartz countertops and more!  I took some pictures while I was in China, see below.

Here is a picture of a person making the bullnose - I was quite impressed with the process.

 

Granite countertops are always cheaper than slabs because the labor is cheaper overseas.  While slabs are still used for customized projects, prefab granite countertops are more economical if you have a budget.  The piece usually comes in 96" (L)x26" (W), which is the ideal length and width of a standard size kitchen counter or a bathroom counter.  For example, if you have a L shaped kitchen, and the width is not more than 26" (with bullnose) then you could get the least expensive countertop for $99/piece (you would need 2 pieces) (www.quality-tiles or www.sognaretile.com), get someone to cut edges, make sink holes and install it for around $500, your total cost is then $700 - DONE.  Prefabricated bar tops and islands are also available.  You get granite in your kitchen for $700 installed, now that's a great deal.  Granite prefabs usually come in standard colors, but now more and more exotic colors are being made.  I've had customers who come in to look at tile, and tell me that they would also love to do countertops but can't afford granite.  I tell them about prefabricated granite countertops, do calculations for them and tell them the cost, and they get happy....really happy!

Prefabricated granite countertops are ACTUAL granite pieces, they are cheaper because the cost is less to make them overseas.  If you WANT granite, but you think that it is too expensive for you, give me the measurements of your kitchen and let me at least do some calculations for you! 

Here is a bonus picture of a market right outside a factory that we visited in China! BTW, China is one rocking place, if you ever get an opportunity to go, please go see it! People are quite friendly!

Tata for now, will be back with something else soon......