Faith in Mankind

Last week I was flying back from Knoxville. While chatting with my seat mate he mentioned that he traveled in his work. I asked him if he ever went thru John Wayne Airport in Santa Monica, CA. I told him that we had some tile in a nice restaurant there that I would LOVE to get some photos of. Because of airport security, only people with a boarding pass can get behind security to take photos in airport terminals. Plus Santa Monica is a l-o-n-g way from Alabama and I don’t know anyone there. Name of restaurant is Javi’s…a spin-off from a popular group of restaurants in CA called Javier’s.

Low and behold, a fellow in a seat in front of us turned around and told me that he had never been thru John Wayne Airport but was going there the next week and would be happy to take some photos for us. Amazing !! His name is Adam Rankin and we are so grateful for the photos he sent us last night. “Will miracles never cease!” …have no idea where this saying came from, maybe it is Biblical. You hear it in the South. Thanks Adam !!!

The tile here is a custom color combo designed by Yoshiko Tojo
FLEX DESIGNS, INC. Los Angeles, CA 90014

They used a wider grout line than is the usual, but it doesn’t interfere with this bold design. Javi’s is located between Gates 13 & 14 in the Delta Terminal at John Wayne Airport, Santa Monica, CA.

‘Round the World

From Marrakesh to Alabama to Australia !

A portion of our in-stock Surf “Aqua” made in Marrakesh was delivered to a client in Australia. They tiled their patio and sent us these photos as they are quite pleased. Note the curved steps into the house. It always looks nice when cement tile floors are trimmed out in cement tile skirtings, baseboards, bullnose or as in these steps, completed in appropriate materials. Our clients love their patio :o)

Versatility of Cement Tile

Some people are drawn to cement tile for the historic patterns and old world charm. Others appreciate the wide open design options. I can’t think of any durable surface with such capacity for custom artistic expression. A well known honors college in Florida wanted a tile design based on their school logo. New College of Sarasota has a logo with swirls of wind heading our in all four directions. This logo was adapted by school personnel and the architect for a two-tile pattern.

The resulting cement tile was used in a 10″ size on the exterior of the new admin building and a blue version was used in lobby areas. Just think how hotel and restaurant logos could be modified to make wonderful tile patterns for installations unique to the location. Contact us for your own custom tile based on your drawings or favorite motif.

We have some in-stock tile of the New College pattern in reverse.We call it “Tradewinds” and it is in our warehouse and ready to ship. This is a 10″ tile so it is an economical choice too. We think it is a perfect pattern for a patio or sunroom.

Tile Designs Based on Textiles

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.

Read more about The Stu Neyland Collection of cement tiles and see the Kuba  tiles in various colorways.

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 !

PrepKitchen, Little Italy

We furnish tile to many restaurants but it is not always easy to get photos of these installations. In this case we called on the phone and chatted with a friendly employee who promised to send us some photos. This was months ago, *then* like an unexpected Easter Egg we received 3 emails with nice photos of our tile at the popular California eatery “PrepKitchen”. It is the new location in San Diego. We think the inset tiles set off the powerful striped wood flooring in a wonderful way. PrepKitchen seems to be a foodie’s favorite as the review sites show many stars and wonderful comments.
PrepKitchen Little Italy
1660 India St
(between Date St & Cedar St)
San Diego, CA 92101
Neighborhood: Little Italy

Don’t you just love the look of cement tile on walls ? You see this so much overseas and so seldom in the States.

Bahama Bathroom

A while back we had a wonderful experience of working with a couple who were building in the Caribbean. For starters, they sent a great diagram of the entire room’s elevations. They were careful to count all necessary bullnose and edger tiles and having this elevation diagram that showed all openings and tile edges was a huge assist in the tile count. Oh how we wish every home-owner job had the same up-front planning.

Sue and Dewey used our Villa Lagoon Tile Collection’s “Trellis Shell” tile as a perfect beachy bathroom tile. These photos she sent were while the bathroom was still under construction, but even so, we think they look great.

Using the correct sealant is all important in a bathroom. All cement tile must be sealed, but where water is always present and lots of cleaning takes place, it is especially important. Villa Lagoon Tile has access to the right sealants for cement tile bathrooms, kitchens, and outdoor installations.
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A Tropical Touch

Our Basket Weave tile has been put to great effect in a Gulf Coast rental beach condo. Originally the living room and kitchen areas were tiled when the owner bought the condo and the bedrooms were carpeted. As you can imagine, in a sandy environment, the carpets were like sand magnets and resulted in numerous rental management charges for ‘carpet cleaning’ .

Now the new Basket Weave tile floors lend a great tropical look to both bedrooms and provide a floor that is much easier to keep clean.

The new Basket Weave tile is sealed with our low-gloss water-based sealant. The first coat was as a grout release and an additional thin coat was added after grouting.

Delightful Video Series

We are enchanted by Sonia Gill and producer Mariana Hellmund’s video series about Sonia’s Travels. Even tho we only get a trip out of the USA once or twice a year (usually once), we feel like we have had a mini vacation w/ some exotic inspiration when we watch the latest installment of their short flicks.
Today is the garden behind Notre Dame…who knew ? Sonia of course.

Contemporary Bathroom with “Cuban Tile”

We love it when one of our clients sends us a photo of their installation and we flip out when they send a photo like this one ! Client Franz Goebel used our Surf “Agua” tile and a matching solid color tile in this elegant contemporary bathroom. With the new modern sealants it is possible for the “skiddish” to use cement tiles in the wet areas without a worry. Note how the grout color of the deep aqua tiles was color matched to the tile. We think this enhances the rich look.