Wednesday, December 21, 2005
Culture Vulture
Pining for tile
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E-mail Miriam |
Dear Diary: Today I found it! Simply the most glorious, glowing-est tile ever, and all because I knew what term to use to search the Internet — Sicis tiles!
OK, I have no diary, but I do gush like a schoolgirl and my heart goes a-flutter over tile, but not just any old tile. I go gaga over glass tile, especially the aforementioned Sicis tiles, which (help me, I'm trying not to gush!) delicately shimmer like iridescent orchid petals or smolder with mesmerizing, lava-like intensity. I long to live among these tiles in my domicile, but I'm ashamed to say that they're too pricey, and like a schoolgirl actually seeing her movie star crush, I feel too shy to actually approach and interact with them. I'm one Sici vulture, and I can't cough up the dough for the cure.
Glass = class for the masses
For a cheap thrill, I pop over to Metro restaurant downtown and peek in their bathrooms. Beautiful cobalt tiles line the walls and counter with a rainbow sheen, creating a stunning effect.
There's simply nothing like tile to make a room extraordinary. So, why settle for ordinary? Valley Tile Distributors in Salem has wonderful samples to peruse, but even Home Depot and Lowe's have nice glass and tumbled marble tiles on display, as well as chic glass sink bowls. Look under "Tile" in the Yellow Pages and go explore the local vendors. As usual, I have some incredible sources online to recommend to you savvy readers. Go on my magical, mystery tile tour from your cozy winter nest.
Sacks and Turks
Ann Sacks has tile showrooms in Northern Virginia and other key parts of the country, but you don't have to take a road trip to see the goods. Check out the designer's offerings from the Web sites in the links provided. In addition to artsy tile, my heart goes ba-zing! for Moroccan or Turkish tile. From simple fields with a scattering of insets to mind-blowing, intricate patterns of fantasy (well, my fantasy, anyway) ... setting mosaics en masse is truly an art and requires great craftsmanship. And boy, does it show!
Lions and turtles and bears -- oh, my!
I've provided links for those of you who feel the solid, earthy allure of handmade and molded tiles, too. Perfect for use in the Arts and Crafts-era bungalows around town, as well as in Victorians, these field tiles feature elements of nature and an unfussy palette of colors. And, check out metal tiles, which are found at many of these Web sites. All of these choices are wonderful as well.
Joy to the floor
Just looking through the offerings on these sites, especially the gallery images of installations, brings me great joy. I hope some of you take the time to peruse these sites and bookmark them. They provide great inspiration and are a sure blues-chaser on a gloomy day. So remember, friends — oatmeal is for breakfast, not for tiling your home. Go for color, go for sheen, go for vavoom when you find you have a tiling opportunity. Tile is, and should be, beautiful. Use it to create great beauty where you live.
On the Web
(Click on “Products” or the many page links to truly explore the offerings)
www.annsacks.com annsacks.com/design/installations/index.html
Favorite glass tile sites: www.lightstreams.biz
www.mosaicbasics.com/Vitreous.htm
www.bisazzausa.com — click “English”
www.sicis.it/Eng/index_eng.htm or www.sicis.com
Moroccan tile site:
www.importsfrommarrakesh.com — Click on Fez, Marrakesh, Zillij (click “next” within these categories to see all the amazing displays)
Handmade tile:
Miriam Young is a creative director living in color in Roanoke. Please respect the copyrights of the owners when visiting online galleries, and obtain artists' permission before downloading any images.
