We offer many products that are manufactured right here in the United States. The first few companies that come to mind are Fireclay, Sonoma Tilemakers, and Crossville. In fact, Sonoma Tilemakers is based right here in Sonoma County, making it even closer to home. These companies, and others, offer a wide variety of materials, including glass, ceramic tiles, and porcelain “stone” tiles.

Fireclay Crush 100% Recycled Glass

Mosaic

We also import many products; often these are things that cannot be found in the United States. Carrara marble, for example, is a well-known product that comes from Italy. If it’s not from Carrara, it’s a different product. Natural stones are just that – natural – and can’t be manufactured in the US or elsewhere (although as an alternative, some of our US companies make similar looking man-made products). Other international products are different than what you could find here. These products are unique and beautiful, and we are glad that we can get them from different places around the world.

White Carrara Marble

Similar to buying local products is simply buying from local businesses. When you support a local business, you’re also supporting the other American business they work with. We work with many American companies that the big box stores don’t, we offer a wider variety of American-made materials, and we have higher quality products. Even if you buy a Turkish or Italian product from us, by supporting our business you’re helping us to continue working with our US suppliers and manufacturers. By choosing to purchase from an independent retailer you’re supporting the US economy in an important and far-reaching way.

I think the most important aspect of this 5% challenge is to be mindful of what you purchase. Rather than buying the first and cheapest thing you find, consider who you’re working with, what you’re getting for the money, and the impact your purchases may have.

The brand that I originally saw was Mibo, a UK based company with a variety of beautiful designs.

Photo via Mibo.co.uk

This style is called Ventnor. I think the blue is really pretty, but it comes in several other colors as well, including some that are two-tone like this and some that are a single color.

Photo via 2jane.com

This animal themed one would be fun in a children’s bathroom where you want a design that you can change as your kids grow and change. And unlike many animal graphics, these aren’t too “kid-like” to work in other spaces as well.

Another company that makes tile decals is Sticviews. They have different patterns and styles than Mibo, and they also offer the ability to upload your own design.

Photo via sticviews.com

This is an example of a design that’s very trendy – aqua blue and a Suzani-like pattern. It’s fun and bright, but it’s not necessarily something you would want for the next few decades. Since these are removable, you could put them in your home now and switch them out in a few years (months, even!)

And if you like traditional tattoos and want something long-lasting – no temporary tattoos for you! – Modwalls offers a line of Tile Tattoos, sold by the piece and designed by two tattoo artists. These are actual tiles rather than just decals, but they’re similar in that you would probably use a few of these as accents rather than filling an entire space with them.

Photo via Modwalls.com

Designs include this anchor, a heart that says “Mom,” and more. Their Lush tiles coordinate with the tattoos and come in several colors.

Any of these decals could go on very simple wall tiles; the Mibo stickers in particular are made to go best on white 4×4 tiles but will work on other tiles as well. They would also be good accents where you’re using glass accents.

These are a few quick examples from our showroom of what you could use with these decals. If anyone has used these personally, let us know! I’d love to see how they look.

In tight economic times, however, more people are turning to smaller-scale remodels. Painting your kitchen and changing out worn tile for a fresh granite counter-top can make a huge impact in your space. You can spend less than $1,000, maybe even just a few hundred dollars, to make a room look and feel brand new. How would a new vanity look in your bathroom?

There’s even a tile series called “Color by Numbers” that makes it very simple to coordinate paint colors and tile for a very simple way to update. To see some examples, visit their website here. We carry them here in our store if you want to take a peek (if you’re out of the area, we encourage you to shop local wherever you are!)

Feel free to share examples of your home updates in the comments. In the weeks to come I’ll be sharing some examples of my own recent upgrades!

Today was the start of Coverings 2011 in Las Vegas, NV.  The convention is the premiere place to find tile and stone products from all around the world.  It is the largest show in the Americas concerning tile and stone flooring, which means there is quite a bit to see.  We flew into Las Vegas around lunch today and immediately checked into our hotel, ate, and hit the convention floor.  We started on the bottom level of the convention, which had smaller unique vendors.  In particular, we looked at some Peruvian travertines, which were beautiful.  We also stumbled across some unique sizes and colors of stone and glass that may be in the showroom soon.

We then headed up to the main level where the large manufacturers and makers can be found.  This floor is so large they break the booths up by region, with Italy, Spain, and Egypt being some of the largest. We stopped by a couple of our distributors to see their new lines and to see new display techniques we could use in our showroom. Finally, we took a look at a couple of new lines and brand new products that are amazing!  We are excited to get some of these new products into the showroom and hopefully onto your floors.