Pretty in Pink

Ideas can come from many different places. Take a look at one of my favorite things...gingham!

The simplicity of the design is easy to translate into a tile pattern. This was perfect for a little girls bathroom that I was designing. Hope you like the results.

Spruce up a Small Bath!

Tired of your tiny bathroom feeling smaller everyday? Try these tips to help make it appear larger... (I swear by the last one!)
Lighten Up! Dark sinks, toilets, and tubs can make a great statement in a large bath, but induce claustrophobia in a small one. Go with classic white and add touches of style and sensibility with fixtures.
Make a Change…Trade a standard door for a sliding pocket door. Bi-fold doors (doors that fold up like a screen) can also save space and add interest.
Go Brighter…Small baths call for ample lighting to make the space feel larger. (It's also helpful when shaving and applying make-up.) So don't skimp on lighting! Instead, use both wall-mounted sconces and ceiling-hung fixtures. Lastly, windows provide natural light, which is a "green", easy and inexpensive to open things up.
Stand Alone…A pedestal sink is a great way to open up a small bath because it eliminates the space-hogging vanity.
Glass is Great!Glass shelves increase the room's sense of space because they can sometimes appear invisible. Items on them seem to hover, and this feels much lighter than heavy cabinetry.
Last but not least… In a small bath, get rid of the clutter!! On the counter-top or shelving, store things you use every day, and put everything else out of sight in bins or baskets.

Inspiration - Execution

Although California, and Los Angeles, in particular has a relatively short history, there are some great shining moments. One of those was the growth spurt that happened in the 1920's and 30's. There was a real interest in design at that time here and you saw the rise of some really terrific Mediteranean inspired architecture. To help feed that need a pottery opened in Malibu that created some of the most beautiful tile designs, most of which based on Spanish and Moorish inspiration. The top picture is an image from the Kitchen at the Adamson House. It was the house built by the owners of Malibu Potteries to showcase their work. It stands today as a great place to visit and an endless source of ideas.

The second picture is a small bathroom I was asked to design in a Spanish Revival home. So I used the Adamson House as my inspiration and used a bright color scheme and lots of patterned tile. I hope you like the outcome.

Inspiration for Tile Designs

I am always a fan of the slightly out of the norm, and unexpected. That's why, when I design bathrooms, I am always looking for something a bit out of the ordinary. One place I look for inspiration is fabric designs. The way fabric is made (with weft and warp) makes it a great resource for creating patterns for tile.

In the children's bathroom above, I used Gingham fabric as my source, when you study the design it is actually pretty easy to recreate in tile. A bit more complicated, but just as interesting would be a plaid design, or if you are a bit less, ambitious, a stripe would be great too.

I think it would be cool to use the real fabric as the shower curtain, and then recreate the same design in tile....now that will impress your friends!

Resource Day: Exquisite Surfaces

Every week I find myself flipping through my Rolodex to try and decide which of the people I use on a regular basis to highlight as the Resource Day vendor. Sometimes it's someone I have just discovered and sometimes it's someone that has been a go to source for what seems like forever, and they almost get lost in the shuffle. Well today's resource is one of the latter. It is Exquisite Surfaces and it has taken me a while to feature them, because we use them so often, they almost feel like part of the office.

When they thought up the name for this place it must have been tough, since the stuff certainly is exquisite, but surfaces? Well they do do floors, whether its stone, terra cotta, wood, or ceramic, but they also do ceilings in reclaimed wood, fireplaces, fountains, and almost anything else you can imagine, its almost hard to know where to start.

Their specialty is rustic materials for the home, and they have an incredible collection both reclaimed and new floors. I especially like the old tiles that have been taken from old Villa's and Chateau's in Europe, the patina is authentic, but they do come at a premium. For others there are reproductions of these that are faithful to the point of looking dusty. This pattern is repeated throughout their store, Antique Fireplaces, or faithful reproductions, or reclaimed old floors or pre-finished new floors that have the feel of older floors.

With Locations in New York, Greenwich, San Francisco and Los Angeles they are a great place for almost anyone to visit. So go in, the staff is always friendly and enthusiastic to tell you about their inventory, or just browse the great web site. Say Hi for me!

Resource Day- Tile Painter

As people who read this blog regularly know, I am fascinated by the design work done in California during the 20' and 30's. It was a high water mark as far as I am concerned. One of the things that many of the great works done during that period have in common is beautiful tile work. A lot of that tile was created by Malibu Potteries, which was a company located in Malibu. The factory was destroyed by fire years ago, but the home of the Family that owned it is still there and is now a museum. The Adamson House in Los Angeles is special because the owners used it as a virtual showroom for wares, so every room, has another example of tile in it, whether it is a fireplace, a bathroom or a stairway, it really is something to see.

Luckily there are a few companies now that sell reproductions of these designs. My favorite is California Pottery and Tile Works (www.calpot.com ) I think they do an amazing job of recreating the old tile. Their website features some great examples as well that you will want to check out. But the best thing about the site is an add on program called Tile Painter (www.tilepainter.com ). This is the tool you need because one of the hallmarks of this pottery is the amount and complexity of color. This handy tool, allows you to color your tiles, see it on screen and then print out a specification sheet with all the colors marked. Trust me, this will save you hours and many prototypes, I think it's just genius.

They are very easy people to deal with too, so check out the site and you will have many happy hours of coloring ahead of you. The image above is a room I did recently with them, I hope it gives you some inspiration.