Tiling It

There are so many tile inspirations about right now, 

heavily influenced by the hot Moroccan trend. 

The colors are gorgeous and so happy. 

Between Jeffrey Bale's mosaic tiles and traveling with him as he visits Spain and Morocco and Maryam Montague's new book, Marrakesh By Design, and blog, My Marrakesh, they have it covered. 

Why do we stick with boring concrete for our walks? 

 Great color around a pool...

Heading over to Portugal, with all of their amazing tiles, this is the ultimate presentation of blue and white, wouldn't you say? 

You do not want to know its cost, though. 

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Kitchen makeover begins

Part Two
OK, I am committing to this publicly- no backing out now!

This was my original kitchen. 50's cabinets, awful floor. You know the drill.

Seven years ago, we installed new cabinets and a ceramic tile floor, both of which we still love. We first  had our kitchen measured, sent the measurements to my brother-in-law in North Carolina and he built the cabinets for us. He had never even stepped foot in the kitchen! We drove down to North Carolina to pick them up in a truck, returning in the midst of a snowstorm (in North Carolina- Ohio was sunny) with a whole kitchen's worth of cabinets and countertops. It was a scary experience- one quick stop and we could have lost so much. Well, we made it back safely, removed the double doors from the kitchen to the back yard to just get the cabinets into the house, installed the cabinets and countertops, laid the new floor and that was it. For seven years! Life and business just got in the way. We've had no back splash, looking at primer all this time.

We have finally decided to complete our makeover! Here is where we are continuing the process from:

The cooking portion of the kitchen; see the lovely primer?

Here is the eating portion of the room. There is not much actual wall space, as there are so many windows, but the paint sure needs an update. 

As we complete the tasks, I'll share the results. The backsplash will be completed this weekend and I'll start the lime priming of the walls. We've decided to do a lime wash finish, after being inspired by Trish at Trouvais and her lovely results.

You'll know where to find me this weekend!

Connecting up to Cindy at My Romantic Home.

Exquisite wood... tiles?

Wood tiles, really? I had never considered tiles made out of wood before, but when I saw these, I fell in love.

When you visit the charming website of Jacqueline Moore, you can't help but be impressed. I mean you really want to see her work in person! Born and educated in Britain, her artistic talents are wide reaching and include designs on furniture, walls, cabinets, architectural pieces and tiles, as well as restoration work on treasured family pieces.

Jacqueline's compositions have been influenced by her travels and art studies. 

In 2009, after being inspired by the sight of tiles resting on the ground in the estate of Madame Ganna Walska in Montecito, she began research on creating her own tiles. She soon discovered that the medium that offered her the most possibilities was not what you'd expect. The properties of wood allowed her to use the materials she felt were necessary to convey her compositions.

When creating the wood tiles, she often lays down many layers of gesso before painting and gilding. 

Distressing layers of glazes and washes add to the incredible depth of each tile. Gold leaf and silver leaf are used extensively.

A powder room backsplash:

And a kitchen counter:

Aren't they fabulous?
Jacqueline' wood tiles can be purchased at Filmore Clark in West Hollywood, CA. Or visit Jacqueline Moore Designs.

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