Posts tagged ‘recycled glass tile’
FB Quarterly Photo Contest Winners Announced!!!
Modwalls Facebook Quarterly Photo Contest WINNERS!!! These 3 lucky owners get $50 cash or $100 store credit – and all they had to do was show off their gorgeous tile!!!
Next quarterly contest has officially started!! Enter your pics now for a chance to be a future winner! Send your pics to service@modwalls.com and LIKE us on facebook to stay in the loop and place your votes (the most ‘likes’ per pic will win!).
HELPFUL TIPS FOR TAKING THE BEST PICS:
- Switch all your lights ON
- Clear your counters or area of distracting accessories and clutter
- Clean tile photographs the best – wink wink
- Take your pics when it’s daytime – you’ll get better lighting and won’t get any weird glare from dark windows
- Think like a photographer and ask yourself…what’s the best angle here?
- Avoid capturing yourself in the bathroom mirror
- Don’t rush it! Wait until your space is completely done so we can all enjoy the results
- Send us actual size /high resolution images – 300dpi is ideal
- Have fun with it!!!
Modwalls is making tile modern with colorful and unique designs that are in stock and available for purchase online 24/7 at modwalls.com.
Did you know that all grouts are NOT created equal?
Seriously…All grouts are not created equal.
More often than not, grout becomes an overlooked element within the tile installation process (why is that btw?). We believe it’s just as important as finding the tile that’s right for you! Grout is what seals everything together – literally. Don’t go through all this time to find the right tile only to not think about what grout you will grout it with.
Since we have the fortunate privilege of chatting daily with wonderful people like yourself about their tile installations, we are in the know as to what people are planning and what they are…well…not.
Grout can either be something that you have to do OR it can be something that makes your tile look even more amazing when it’s complete! Like we have mentioned in the past, we are extremely passionate about StarGlass Grout paired with most of our modwalls tile. It’s kinda like the perfect marriage of tile and grout. And we want to encourage you to specifically ask yourself, “What type & color of grout would look best with this tile [I've selected]?”…and “When is sanded grout most appropriate?”…
Since most of us are visual learners, I had this super cool idea to photograph our ModRocks Recycled Glass Pebbles in both StarGlass Grout and regular sanded grout. The visual speaks for itself…one is “clearly” better AND it’s better for the environment. 
Helpful hint = whenever you are installing glass or any translucent tile, the surrounding grout has a major impact on how your tile will appear once installation is complete.
On the left- Diamond Starglass Grout and on the right is a standard white sanded grout.
Note: Both of the above images are taken with the same digital camera in the same lighting conditions.
In the application on the left, the StarGlass grout allows light to enter in and through the grout and also the clear glass pebbles – making the whole area appear more illuminated. The sanded grout application, shown on the above right, does not allow light to flow through the grout and therefore makes the pebbles appear much darker overall. Same exact pebble tile, but with different grouts.
Here are some other examples of StarGlass Grout paired with our Lush® modwalls tile:
Modwalls Lush Blend installed with Opal StarGlass Grout
Modwalls Rex Ray TYPE White Tile grouted with Diamond StarGlass Grout
Modwalls Lush Glass Subway tile grouted with Diamond StarGlass Grout
Now lets get a little more in-depth on the StarGlass specifics…The actual product description is Translucent Grout for Glass Tile.
For all you eco-friendly peeps out there, you’ll be happy to know that this product is made from post-consumer recycled glass – a truly revolutionary one-of-a-kind product!
The recycled glass is reduced down to teeny tiny beads (texture totally resembles the consistency of sugar) and is mixed with a translucent urethane binder that allows light to pass through the grout itself. So cool! This waterproof, stain-proof formula won’t crack or break down over time, emits little to no VOCs, and eliminates jobsite waste since it’s pre-mixed and stored in a resealable container. StarGlass long lasting, easy-to-use formula provides unmatched stain resistance, ultimate color consistency, crack resistant flexibility, mold/mildew protection and UV stability (aka it won’t yellow over time). Plus, it comes in these fantastic 15 colors: diamond, onyx, opal, aquamarine, topaz, hematite, jade, amber, moonstone, aventurine, palm wood, citrine, copper, silver, and bronze.
One final benefit we want to be sure to point is how the StarGlass Grout has the ability to minimizes the look of grout lines – if this is your goal. Check out these two kitchen backsplash installations below where both purchased Lush® 3×6 Sky tile, but one kitchen grouted with Aquamarine StarGlass grout and the other with regular sanded grout. The images truly speak for themselves.
Left – Lush 3×6 Sky with StarGlass Grout and to the right is Lush 3×6 Sky with white sanded grout.
StarGlass also offers benefits of a traditional Urethane grout:
• Pre‐mixed, ready to use
• Excellent chemical, stain and mildew resistance
• Semi‐flexible, low shrinkage and high crack resistance
• No color fading, streaking or shading – Even when wet!
• Fast, easy clean‐up when compared to epoxy and cementgrouts
• Innovative, proprietary coloring system
• Excess product can be saved and used later
• UV stable colors (non‐yellowing)
• Self‐sealing – no sealing required
• Non‐sag formula for vertical surfaces
• Free of BPA (bisphenol‐A) found in epoxy grouts
• Dust‐free mixing
• Fast, easy installation ‐ installs up to 50% faster than othergrouts
• Superior to cement grout
• Contributes to USGBC LEED Credits: MR 4.1 & 4.2(Recycled Content), MR 5.1 & 5.2 (Regional Materials), and EQ, 4.1 (Low‐Emitting Materials).
• Contains over 80% post‐consumer recycled content.
Overall, all these features and benefits are sure to minimize life cycle costs and provide a translucent, three-dimensional, reflective appearance that you can enjoy for years to come!
Where can you use StarGlass grout you ask? StarGlass Grout can be used on vertical or horizontal surfaces in a variety of interior and exterior installations of ceramic, porcelain, glass, and natural stone tiles in a range of grout joint widths.
When is sanded grout appropriate?
Sanded grout is appropriate in many installations. I think sanded grout looks great with natural stone, ceramic tile, porcelain tile, etc. – basically any solid tile aka non-translucent. Below are images of a some modwalls products installed with neutral sanded grout. As you can see, sanded grout can be used as a design element to add heavy contrast and definition to the tile and/or the pattern.
Example where sanded grout is totally acceptable = with ceramic, porcelain, or other opaque tile products.
Modwalls ModDotz Confetti grouted with a sanded grout
Brio Blend Palisades grouted with a neutral sanded grout
ModDotz shower installed with white sanded grout for high-contrast.
Now what???
It is our hope that you would soak up all this information and spend some time to select the best grout for your tile – whether that be StarGlass Grout or sanded grout!
Have more questions? Feel free to call or email us with any related or unrelated tile installation questions.
We’d love to help!
Modwalls is making tile modern with colorful and unique designs that are in stock and available for purchase online 24/7 at modwalls.com.
Inspired By…
“Dew” it aww-natural per modwalls.
Our ModRocks™ Recycled Glass Pebbles are an extremely unique, 100% post-consumer recycled glass tile.
These cloudy clear dew-drop-sized pebbles reflect light and surrounding colors beautifully. To create this tile, recycled glass is tumbled with low heat until smooth glass pebbles are the result. The pebbles are then mesh-mounted for easy installation and sold by the square foot for $25.95. Here’s an amazingly gorgeous installation on our houzz page.
Our Recycled Glass Pebble Tile is Baaaaaack!
Our super fabulous, eco-friendly, ultra sustainable, 100% recycled glass tile, ModRocks™ Recycled Glass Pebbles are now back in stock!!
Joy, joy, joy, joy!
These beautiful babies are a perfect choice for floor tile, kitchen backsplash tile, bathroom tile, shower tile, pool tile, or any other tile application you can dream of.
Check them out on our website here, and feel free to contact us if you have any questions.
Woot!
Selecting Tile: The Unplugged Version
We have a new expert in the house at modwalls!
A few months back we welcomed Interior Designer Katelyn Bowman as our Trade Sales + Interior Design Specialist here at modwalls and she has been an amazing addition to our team. She’s got impeccable style , great design tips and an abundance of information about tile and the wide world of design.
We asked Katelyn to give us her thoughts on choosing tile and the tile selection process and below is the result… Enjoy!
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So you finally decided that you’re ready to start browsing for tile options. Great! We’ve got some helpful designer tips on how to do just that…a.k.a. where to start. PS, try not to rush the selection process if you can help it.
Tools of the Trade –> As an interior designer, I don’t often dissect my design thought process to others because it’s not the most profound method. My hope is that while you master each of these steps, you will hone in on the tile that is best for your space.
Step 1 —> Decide the look you want. Think of it like your design game plan. It always helps to have some type of design direction in mind when considering your options. This will seriously help prevent you from looking at too many options and getting completely overwhelmed. If this is you, don’t worry, you’re not alone and you have full permission to pull a “Mulligan.” I highly recommend first browsing houzz.com or pinterest.com and enter the key words that describe your desired look. For instance, if you’re looking to achieve a “Modern Bathroom,” enter just that in to your search and voila! Of course you could also browse google images or actual magazines, but I think you’ll find these sites more effective. You can also check out the eye candy tile gallery of our site for real-life installations of different design aesthetics. Save the top 5 images you like and don’t feel like you have to look at every single image in order to feel confident in your design direction. Once you have an idea of your direction, you can now focus on more of the details…like color. Here are some examples of some inspiring looks:
Eclectic Kitchen by Katie Brown featuring modwalls Lush 3x6 Reef
Coastal Country Kitchen featuring modwalls Ceramic 2"x 8" Subway Tile
Modern Kitchen by Playhouse Design
Step 2 —> Cohesive color palette is key. I recommend you assess the surroundings of your tile location and beyond i.e. what materials and colors are in the area or in an adjacent space? Consider the whole room: cabinet color, countertop color, flooring color, wall color, etc. Ask yourself, “What colors repeat throughout my home?” Your answer could be neutral or more vivid color. Narrow down the possible color options based on the existing ones and I recommend that you try not to be overly monochromatic or super-duper crazy. Pick color options that complement one another; a cohesive color palette is key and the beauty is in the repetition! Think of your homes color palette like a chorus of a song. A good song hooks you in and keeps your interest, but sometimes the song changes keys and that makes the song – or in this case your space – more dynamic.
Kitchen featuring Modwalls ModDotz Marshmallow
Step 3 —> Narrow down your tile materials (and sizes). There are what seems to be millions of tile products out there made of a billion different materials in a trillion different sizes. Because you have your design direction and colors in mind, this should help narrow down the materials you might want to consider. Do some online searches on material options: ceramic, porcelain, glass, natural stone, and cork to name a few. Also note that not all materials or sizes are appropriate for all applications. For instance, I would NOT recommend using a large smooth tile on a shower floor. You or a loved one will slip and fall OR the tile will crack over time because a shower pan must be sloped for proper drainage. Determine your options based on long-term wear and usability.
Another consideration that could have been narrowed down during your design direction step is scale, or the size of the tile. Check out these images to see what I mean: do you want a look with a larger scale tile or do you prefer the look of a smaller scale tile? Tile sizes range in all different shapes from less that 1/2″ to larger than 48″ plus everything in between. Smaller tiles mean more grout joints – which can be a good thing depending on the application. It’s a great idea for a shower floor for instance. It’s really just another element to consider. I also recommend narrowing down your material based on your cleanliness habits. Knowing what it takes to maintain the tile before you install can help you realistically commit to the material. Tile vendors are usually the best resources to assist with all this type of information. The saying ‘knowledge is power’ comes to mind because the more knowledgeable you are, the more confident you will be in your decision. Plus, this will make shopping a much more fun, and specific, experience.
Modwalls CorkDotz as bathroom flooring
Water Feature featuring modwalls Brio Glass Mosaic Tile
Shower featuring modwalls Lush 4x12 Fog Bank
Step 4 —> Go shopping! Now that you know your desired design direction, color options, and what materials can be used, your real shopping can begin! *HOORAY!!!* Consider all these areas we have already weeded through and your search will hopefully be more specific and less stressful experience. Don’t even allow yourself to peruse through options that just won’t work for you based on the steps you have already mastered. Whether you are a showroom shopper or an online shopper, most tile vendors offer tile samples that you can order or take home to look at in your space. We hope that modwalls will be your first stop in your shopping search. From there, I recommend bringing your samples to your space and checking it out one last time before you make your final decision. And last but not least, consult with your installer on how many square feet you need (including overage) and place your order.
We hope you found this helpful! Feel free to call or email me and the crew at modwalls to talk tile + design anytime.
Check Us Out at Palm Springs Modernism Week, Kicking Off Today!
Palm Springs Modernism Week kicks off today and we’re pleased to announce that you can see modwalls® tile in two of the homes on the tour!
If you’re in the area, and love some mid-century design & architecture (you know we do), then you’ll really enjoy this 11 day event.
We have a sneak peek of one of the houses so you can get a little taste of what you would see on the home tour.
Our friends at GreenGuys Construction did quite a number on the mid-century cutie you’ll see in the video, and impressively, they used a “green” approach throughout.
Modwalls® 100% Recycled Glass Pebble tile is used on the shower floor; look for it at the 1:18 mark in the video!
Watch the clip here: http://www.mydesert.com/article/20120215/LIFESTYLES1101/202150306/Midcentury-modern-goes-green?odyssey=tab
Hats off for making green look so good, GreenGuys Construction!
For Your Consideration
The newest member of modwalls® team is the fabulous Katelyn Bowman, and she is one talented woman.
Katelyn is a licensed interior designer and an avid photographer; she’s our trade account specialist and she’s playing the role of graphic designer here too because we absolutely LOVE her creations (and we think you will too!).
Katelyn recently created these gorgeous tile collages and we thought they were so lovely they just had to go public (on the blog, that is).
Feast your eyes on the beauties below…
First up is modwalls® Lush® Rex Ray Studio 4×12 “TYPE white” and “TYPE black” glass subway tiles.
Next is our ModRocks™ Recycled Glass Pebble tile, our ModDotz™ Mango porcelain penny round tile and our CorkDotz™ Cork penny round tile. Loooove!
And then we have our Lush® 3×6 Peacock tile across the top of the page, a herringbone layout of our Lush® 3×6 Quince and Lush® 3×6 Butter tiles, and two shots of our Lush® 1×4 Pool mini glass subway tile.
Last is our fresh and fantastic “Plus” Design ceramic tiles in colors Brine, Milk and Splash (and a Regulated Mix of all 3 colors).
This tile is just delicious, end of story.
SO PRETTY!
One Classy Showroom with Viridian Recycled Glass Tile
It was a serious “Oooh” and “Ahhhh” fest earlier today when we got our first glance at these stunning photos of our Viridian 98% Recycled Glass tile “Ocean Pearl,” which is on sale for 30% off through the end of this month only.
Love!
Our super sustainable Viridian 98% Recycled Glass tiles are only on sale through the end of November, so don’t delay!
Read the details here: http://www.modwalls.com/viridian-sale.aspx
Super Cool Commercial Tile Installations
You know, we didn’t realize how many of our customers have used our tile for their commercial projects… Take a look-see!
Modrocks™ rock it:
Kelly Rippa for Electrolux in front of our ModRocks Recycled Glass Pebbles.
Luxurious Lush® tiles can be used in so many different applications:
Lush 1x2 Carmelita blend on the face of the bar at the Glen Oaks Big Sur lodge.
Some rooms at the Glen Oaks Big Sur feature custom fireplaces with modwalls Henry Road Butterfly accent tiles and Brio 3/4" tile.
modwalls Lush Big Sur blend on a restaurant fireplace surround.
This rad lulu lemon store front uses 5 shades of modwalls Lush 3x6 subway tiles.
A lulu lemon store water feature with modwalls Lush 3x6 Butter subway tile.
A lulu lemon store water feature with modwalls Lush 1x2 Cloud and ModDotz Marshmallow penny tiles.
Super cool custom yogurt shop blend.
- Lush 1×4 Cloud used in the Ikea in Sunrise, FL.
modwalls Lush Santa Monica tile blend.
This Planet Fitness created its own custom tile blends with our Lush 3x6 subway tiles.
modwalls Lush 1x4 Breeze tile used at a "clean bar" created for an event for Sunset Magazine.
ModDotz™ looking magical in many settings:
Marshmallow ModDotz
Some of our other Dot tile options; sustainable CorkDotz™ and custom tiles made from real pennies.
A CorkDotz backsplash.
Another lulu lemon water feature, this time with CorkDotz and orange ModDotz.
modwalls real penny tiles were used in the entry way of the Cannery Row Brewing Company in Monterey, CA.
Classic Brio® 3/4″ mosaic tile is extremely versatile; great for any application:
A custom Brio blend at Number Nine restaurant in Long Beach, CA.
Candy Craze was revamped with a Brio custom blend.
Tile collages by school kids created with Brio tile.
Yep, that many! Guess we have been kinda busy lately…
Dwell on Design Eye Candy
Isn’t our booth for next week’s Dwell on Design trade show delicious?
From left to right, top to bottom:
Clayhaus for modwalls® 2”x8” ceramic subway tiles and “Plus” design tiles; Henry Road for modwalls® “Circles Cloud/ Fog Bank” 6”x6” design tiles; Lush® 4”x12” Major glass subway tiles; Rex Ray Studio for modwalls® “Black TYPE” and “White TYPE” glass subway tiles; assorted ModDotz™ porcelain penny tiles; Viridian™ recycled glass tiles; tile collages including Lush®, Brio®, CorkDotz™ and Recycled Glass Pebbles.
Please come and see for yourself at Dwell on Design next week, June 24-26 in Los Angeles, booth #1030.
