10. Celebrate cement and concrete. A poured concrete floor can take a major overhaul to achieve, but a touch of cool concrete can be added to any room with a few concrete or concrete-look tiles.This textural material is a great addition to contemporary spaces, and especially in bathrooms, as it has a clean look but with a texture that contrasts and complements slick porcelain and brushed metals, bringing a new dimension to your palette.Browse cement tile
9. Toy with textured tiles. Tile doesn’t have to be brightly colored to have a dramatic impact. If you like the idea of an interesting tile but also want to keep your kitchen or bathroom bright white and breezy, consider an embossed or shaped tile with a textural face. These can add a sense of richness to your surfaces without breaking up a minimalist color palette.
This rough-edge approach is another smart way to introduce a tile in a bold color or busy pattern without having it overwhelm a room. You can add a small area of tiles where needed to prevent against splashes and spills while adding just the right amount of style.
7. Go for rough edges. Hexagons are a popular tile shape, but the diagonal edges mean they are often a bit trickier to install than a plain rectangle, with lots of pieces needing to be cut to make the sides end crisply in a straight line or at a corner. Or you can consider skipping all of those issues and let your tiles end where they may, creating a free-flowing design that refuses to conform to typical in-the-box thinking.Browse hexagon tile
AFTER: Removing the carpet and updating the fireplace surround with hexagonal marble mosaic tiles gave the room a fresher and modern-day look. “Designing with both form and function in mind is key,” Tsang says. “This makeover improves how the whole house flows.”Art: homeowners’ own; flat-screen TV: Vizio; tile on fireplace surround: Floor & DecorMoreNew This Week: 3 Kitchens Rock a Gray-and-White Palette15 Strategies for a Spectacular Dream KitchenKitchen Confidential: Painted vs. Stained Cabinets
AFTER: Tsang demolished the previous kitchen, pantry and laundry area to create a more efficient floor plan. Removing the peninsula and pony wall allowed him to extend the kitchen to the former breakfast nook and open it more to the living room. A new 10-foot wide center island includes a farmhouse sink with a brushed nickel pull-down faucet, wood-and-steel bar stools, and a microwave and dishwasher on the backside across from the cooking area. “The island had to be very functional,” he says. “As a space to prepare food, act as a divider between the kitchen and living room, and also be a place for eating.”The updated color palette includes light gray walls, a white ceiling and a beautiful tile backsplash in a soft sea-glass hue. The base of the island has a rich gray color that helps anchor the room. “We went with lighter tones to maximize and brighten the space, and used a darker gray on the island so the kitchen didn’t feel so washed out,” Tsang says. A wood-look porcelain tile floor offers durability and warm tones. The tile extends into the living room, which was previously carpeted.Paint: Repose Gray (walls), Pure White (ceiling) and Grizzle Gray (island base), Sherwin-William...
The homeowners weren’t big fans of backsplashes, and they spent hours with Robertson looking at “a million different tiles,” she says. But when the couple saw the pale blue ceramic tile by Waterworks, “she was sold,” Robertson says.
Metal mesh inserts are a great middle ground, giving a slight peek at what’s inside the cabinet but without putting your stored goods on full display.I’ve used mesh inserts instead of glass on many recent projects. It works beautifully in both traditional homes and contemporary designs with some transitional flair, bringing a slight sense of old-world charm.Consider using mesh inserts on the “upper-upper” cabinets in a tall space on a full pantry wall …
Hopkins made the curtain from the jungle print and teamed it with a blush-pink lining and a hot-pink tieback. She found the chair in an antiques shop in Wales, but it was in bad condition. “The seat pad was rotten, so I had to re-web, re-pad and re-cover it,” she says. She then painted the chair in a matte Rust-Oleum furniture paint. “I did the bottom layer light gray and added white on top. Then I sanded it slightly to reveal the gray below and give it a distressed finish. I then varnished it with a matte lacquer.”The vintage apothecary unit, which she found on eBay, is useful for storing the tools Hopkins needs for her sewing and upcycling projects.More Key Measurements to Help You Design the Perfect Home Office11 Tips to Get the Creative Space You Crave
Q