Posted July 13th, 2012 by Rachel
Tile mosaics, and thus tiny tile, have been around since before the fall of Pompeii…
image via thedogsofpompeii.com
However, the little tiles had to be hand cut, and the mosaics carefully assembled by hand. All of which made them a luxury item for centuries.
These days, the advent of new, computerized manufacturing techniques have made teensy, tiny tile increasingly easy to produce in a uniform manner. Some of these tiles are no more than 1/4″ to 1″ square, and come pre-assembled on backing sheets which significantly reduce the labor needed to install them.
This has made it ever more affordable to cover entire floors and walls with beautiful mosaics made of ceramic, porcelain, and even glass tile. You can see more examples on my “Trending – Tiny Tile” board on Pinterest.
Personally, I love the shimmer of the glass tile mosaics, especially the metallic ones. There is something so magical about them when the light hits just right.
How about you? Have you seen a tiny tile installation recently? What did you think?
Happy Friday everyone! See you next week!
Rachel
Posted February 9th, 2012 by Emerald
Remember being a kid and sitting down with your trusty box of crayons and a nice big inviting expanse of white paper? All that great, creative possibility at your fingertips? Yeah…
The owners of Dutch company WallArt must remember, too, because they’re given designers a grown-up version of that moment: 3D embossed wall panels in friendly do-something-awesome-with-me white. Check out these brilliant examples from their Projects page while I tell you about the product itself.
It starts with sugar. Rather, it starts with bagasse, the fibrous residue left over when sugarcane is shredded to extract the sweet stuff we put in our coffee every morning. Read the rest of this entry »
Posted January 19th, 2012 by Emerald
Often those who work with sustainable design find themselves working against some all-too-common misconceptions. Namely: that environmental consciousness and luxury are incompatible, that “natural” means “limited palette,” that an Earth-friendly wall is dull.
With their line of wallcoverings, Weitzner Limited neatly puts all that nonsense to rest.
Although certainly luxurious in the sense of being well-crafted, Weitzner’s creations are also, by turns, whimsical, arresting, soothing, classical, or all of these at once.
“We like to challenge our client’s perception of what a wallcovering can be by creating innovative materials that evoke curiosity, calm and beauty,” touts the company website. “Then we add environmental consciousness and performance (class A ratings) into the mix.”
Read the rest of this entry »
Posted December 9th, 2011 by Emerald
Funky. Crazy. Creative.
The work of Corque Design is all of these and more.
This Portuguese company offers an interesting range of furniture & accessories, all crafted with cork taken from the Sobreiro (cork oak indigenous to the southern regions of Portugal). Unlike wood, the harvesting of cork does not involve felling but merely the periodic gleaning of bark from the trees, which are left to continue growing in good health. In addition to being a renewable resource, cork is recyclable, non-toxic and durable. The bark is extracted manually, which involves no damage to the living tree, while the proceeding manufacturing process involves little waste and a low usage of resources.
But what really sets Corque Design apart from many environmentally-conscious companies is the sheer whimsy and versatility of its product line. Designers have lots of room to play.
Read the rest of this entry »
Posted November 21st, 2011 by Emerald
Dwelling in a rental can be so… uninspiring. Who likes living one’s life surrounded by bland walls which cannot be painted or papered without sacrificing one’s security deposit? But that’s how it is, right?
Not anymore!
Thanks to the folks at Inkshuffle, we renters can have our cake and eat it too. How? Reusable wall murals… or, “Easy Off” wall murals, as the company calls them.
Read the rest of this entry »
Posted September 22nd, 2011 by Rachel
Today is the start of 100% Design in London. Wish I was there. Then I could see fun new ideas like this…
The Mix ‘n’ Match 11 Wallpaper Collection, by Kirath Ghundoo, is being exhibited there this week. It’s an exuberant assortment of digitally printed patterns, designed to be used in any combination you enjoy. Because there is no need to match or repeat, there is no need for wasteful cutting and scrap (a great bit of built in sustainable design). You can even use the strips individually to accent a painted wall.
There are seven patterns altogether, with LAVISH above being my definite favorite. Love the colors!
To see the rest of the collection, visit Kirath Ghundoo’s shop here.
Thank for visiting!
Rachel
Posted June 6th, 2011 by Rachel
Call me Ishmael if you will, but I can’t help wondering what Capt. Ahab would have thought of this Little Whales wallpaper from Pottok?
I doubt he would’ve appreciated the subtle humor, or the fact that it’s printed in Los Angeles on recycled paper with water-based inks. Ahab wasn’t much for the eco-friendly side of things, don’t ya know.
In fact, I imagine the only thing for him to be appreciative of is that none of the 3 colorways include white whales!
Posted December 2nd, 2010 by Rachel
Do your walls seem sad, bored, and uninspired?
Why not give them a little Liberty then? Recently making its debut at Cersaie in Italy, the Liberty Collection is the newest post-consumer recycled glass mosaic tile line from Trend USA. It’s so shiny and glittery, I can feel my inner magpie taking hold.
Its sparkling personality is due to the 24K gold leaf applied to the back of a portion of the mosaic’s tiles, an addition which provides both shine and a sense of depth to the mix. The variation in surface texture also plays into the impression of movement as light reflects off of the glass. Read the rest of this entry »
Posted November 1st, 2010 by Rachel
This is a post about bluegrass…
and red grass, and green grass, and white grass, and a sort of grayish grass, and…, well, you get the point.
One of my favorite wallpaper/fabric design companies, Twenty2, has just released their new Grasscloth & More collection, and it is really lovely. Vibrant shades of “Neptunian” and “Dungaree” blue, “Chlorophyll” green, and “Beaujolais” red. Or for the more sedate among you, how about a “Weimaraner” brown?
Whatever your color preference, grasscloth is a great sustainable option, due not only to its rapidly renewable and biodegradable nature, but also because it has a timeless appeal. So, just because you decide you’ve had enough of mid-century modern, and really need to explore your Hollywood Regency side instead, you won’t need to strip the walls and start all over again.
Just look how great that same beautiful blue grasscloth above looks in an entirely different setting… Read the rest of this entry »
Posted August 16th, 2010 by Rachel
The world is awash in wine bottles. And whiskey bottles, vodka bottles, beer bottles,… and – for those of you teetotalers – sparkling water bottles. Even with the economy in the slumps, or perhaps because of it, we sure go through a lot of bottles. So what can we do about it?
Well, Trend USA has decided to turn wine (bottles) into wallpaper!
Read the rest of this entry »
