modwalls designer notes

Daydreaming...

2008-10-08T16:53:00.000-07:00

Sometimes we all need a lift, don't we?
Colors make me happy. I predict big things for tropical brights next year.

For some amazing color inspirations, check out this blog:
www.color-stripes.blogspot.com

And our Lush Bora Bora blend and ModDotz penny rounds in Clover are smile worthy, as shown above.

Mosaics from the Nifty Sixties (and a side of meatloaf)

2008-09-12T13:04:00.001-07:00

My mother in law just gave me the gift of this oh-so-cool article on how to make mosaics from Better Homes and Gardens/ November 1962.

As you'll see in these images (and even further back than the early sixties of course) mosaics have always been about form meeting function. A beautiful, fanciful way to combine decorative elements with a long wearing surface- be they found objects or newly minted tiles.

My very first mosaic project was a table top not unlike item those in the photos above. After that I was hooked...and years later I find myself designing colorful glass mosaic tile blends for use in kitchens, baths, pools and yes- table tops.
It's really like working in a candy store! And a real lesson that doing what you love is the most fulfilling job possible.

Oh- and I couldn't resist throwing in the photo of a "lovely" meatloaf from the same magazine. It is actually an ad for canned mushrooms. While I have nothing personally against canned mushrooms, they do possess a texture akin to overcooked calamari...if you like that sort of thing. Nevertheless this photo sure brings back memories of childhood meals. Perhaps for you as well?

Last Chance to Visit the 2008 Sunset Idea House

2008-08-22T11:50:00.000-07:00

Only 2 weekends left to visit the 2008 Sunset Menlo Park Idea House.
It contains so many gorgeous design ideas...and a bit of modwalls glass tile throughout as well.

modwalls is heading to West Coast Green!

2008-07-23T15:35:00.000-07:00

Al Gore will be there, and so will modwalls. Will you?
We're happy to report that we will be introducing our new Viridian line of 98% recycled glass tile, as well as new formats of our Cork Deluxe cork wall and floor coverings, along with a few other surprises at the West Coast Green conference and exhibition in San Jose, California (about 20 minutes from our offices) in late September.
Click Here for more information on the nations' largest conference and exhibition dedicated to green building.

This Just In- New Lush Blends

2008-07-03T12:09:00.000-07:00

modwalls Lush 1/2" x 2" "Mendocino" Glass Tile Blend

modwalls Lush 1/2" x 2" "Bora Bora" Glass Tile Blend

We're unloading a new shipment of Lush right now. We'll have images on the site next week, including 14 new colors of 3x6 subway tile, and these "sweet" new 1/2 x 2 blends...

Happy 4th of July!

"Ikea is for Me-a"

2008-06-25T15:50:00.000-07:00

modwalls Lush 3x6 "Cloud"

modwalls Lush 1x2 "Fog Bank" and ModDotz "Grey"

Lush 4" glass tile in 7 colors

modwalls Brio "Coconut Grove" Blend
Modwalls Lush "Bittersweet" Blend

If you are in the SF Bay Area you may, like us, be a frequent visitor to the IKEA store in East Palo Alto. Well we've been working with them there for a few months now in providing a bit of modwalls tile for their new in store kitchen and home displays.

Last week we took a "road trip" to see the completed installations. We were blown away by the amazing design choices made by Rita of Ikea's local interior design department.

If you get a chance please visit these new displays which are complete with Ikea cabinets, lighting and accessories. They really make you want to live the "Ikea Lifestyle".

We've put a few sneak peeks here for you to view. Simply "click" on the images to see them full size. The tile featured includes modwalls Lush and Brio glass tile as well as our ModDotz glazed porcelain penny rounds.

The Sunset Idea House

2008-05-29T15:19:00.000-07:00

We're honored to be a small part of the Sunset Idea Houses in Menlo Park and Monterrey Bay, CA this year. The Menlo Park house is a few weeks from completion and you can see sneak peeks of the progress on their blog.

The photos above show the cool kitchen in progress and our Lush 1" x 2" glass subway tile in "Fog Bank".

The awesome punch of color in the form of a hanging lamp is by Croft & Little.

If you're in the greater San Fransciso Bay Area this summer you can see this home in person.
Here are the details:
Open House
June 27-August 31, 2008
Open Fridays, Saturdays & Sundays, only 9 am–6 pm
Note: we will be closed July 4.

Tickets
No advance tickets will be sold.
$15 general admission
$12 seniors 60+ (Fridays only)
Free for children ages 10 and under
Cash/check only

Directions/Parking
From Highway 101, take the Willow Road exit west toward Menlo Park. Continue approximately 1 mile to Sunset headquarters, located at the corner of Middlefield and Willow Roads. Cross the intersection and follow signs to the parking lot at 85 Willow Road.

Miscellaneous
Camcorders and cameras welcome.
Please no large backpacks or strollers.
For recorded information, please call 800/786-7375.

But wait...there's more! Viridian recycled glass tile.

2008-05-23T14:28:00.000-07:00

The rest of our new Viridian glass tile is here. Made of 98% pre-consumer recycled glass, this colorful 1" mosaic tile is in stock in 2 styles:

Viridian Commercial: Textured non-slip matte finish for flooring and walls, both wet and dry indoors and out. Imagine your pool deck and steps in this colorful non-slip recycled glass tile...ahhh.
Sold by the mesh mounted 1.18 square foot sheet. Priced at $17.75 per square foot. ($20.95 per 1.18 sq.ft. sheet).

Viridian Pearl: Smooth Iridescent surface that is appropriate for walls in wet and dry areas both indoor and out. Sweet and elegant for pool or spa water line, or in your shower surround or kitchen backsplash.
The sheets are held together by dots of latex, in 1.5 square foot lengths for ease of installation.
Priced at $19.97 per square foot. ($29.95 per 1.50 sq.ft.sheet).

Shown above:

Viridian Commercial: Smoke, Licorice, Marshmallow, Coffee Bean, Lime, Persimmon, Cobalt

Viridian Pearl: Licorice, Marshmallow.

These products are not yet on the website. They will be in about 2 weeks. So please email us at sales@modwalls.com if you'd like to order samples.
Thank you!

New Viridian 98% recycled glass tile

2008-05-21T11:06:00.001-07:00

Here's a "sneak peek" at our new Viridian glass tile. Made of 98% pre-consumer recycled glass.

modwalls Viridian will soon be available for purchase on our website in 2 styles:

1" iridescent glass tiles called Viridian Pearl in 8 juicy colors, and 1" Viridian Commercial, which is textured for a non slip finish for indoor and outdoor flooring and walls. Viridian Commercial can take a real beating, and it is available in 8 bright fun colors including lime green and persimmon orange.

Shown are Viridian Pearl in Cobalt and Viridian commercial in Pimento.
The entire line should be up on www.modwalls.com by mid June.

To all of the Moms

2008-05-09T11:40:00.000-07:00

HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY!

Spring Cleaning Sale Through May 31st!

2008-05-07T12:00:00.000-07:00

In order to make room in our stocking warehouse for several new products coming in, we're offering two of our popular designs at huge deals for the remainder of May.

ModDotz glazed porcelain penny rounds are marked down from $12.95 to just $8.95 per sheet.

Lush 1" glass tile in single colors of frosted, glossy and frosted/glossy combinations are on sale at 40% off. Priced as marked at $13.17 per sheet (normally $21.95).

Also checkout the other sale items listed on our SALE PAGE.

Now for the caveats:

1. These sale prices are for currently in stock items only.

2. Due to this low sale pricing, we will not be able to accept returns on purchases made for on sale products. We do offer samples so, if you're not sure, please order samples first.

3. Sale ends at midnight, Pacific Time, May 31st, 2008.

And Finally, The Bonus:
Our Free Ground Shipping on orders over $200 still applies!

We hope you take advantage of this sale to add fun tile at a fun price to your fun place!

Recycle When You Remodel

2008-04-23T13:17:00.000-07:00

A very intersting article today from "Professional Remodeler" and NARI, The National Association of the Remodeling Industry:

Recycle When You Remodel
Green remodeling focuses on reducing this waste during remodeling and reusing materials whenever possible
Mark Jarasek, Senior Editor, E-media
April 17, 2008
HousingZone
The destruction of buildings in the United States annually generates 124,670,000 tons of debris, according to the Florida-based Deconstruction Institute. That waste would be comparable to a wall 4,993 miles long, 30 feet high and 30 feet thick, that could surround the entire coast of the continental United States.

NARI’s Green Remodeling program offers remodeling contractors across the country a unique opportunity to incorporate cost-saving and earth-sustaining green concepts into their clients’ homes.

Why recycle during a remodel?

As the above figure suggests, when remodeling a home, there is often a large amount of construction waste. This amounts to 136 million tons of waste annually, according to the EPA, which in turn makes up 20 percent of the waste in landfills. Green remodeling focuses on reducing this waste during remodeling and reusing materials whenever possible, as 85 percent to 90 percent of materials thrown out can be recycled. Recycling benefits the environment by conserving energy and natural resources, reducing air and water pollution, and decreasing greenhouse gas emissions. Through the last, recycling helps reduce the effects of global warming.

Millions of Americans participate in America Recycles Day, pledging to increase their recycling habits at home and work and to buy products made with recycled materials, according to the National Recycling Coalition (NRC), a national nonprofit advocacy group with members across the country who deal with “all aspects of waste reduction, reuse and recycling in North America.”

“It’s always good to keep “green” in people’s peripheral vision,” said Chris Donatelli, CR, CKBR chair of the NARI’s Green Education Subcommittee, He believes in maintaining the “mindset to recycle everything you can.”

Home improvement contractors can recycle a number of items at job sites, including lumber, sheetrock and metal, as well as cardboard, cans and bottles, Donatelli maintains.

Other recyclable remodeling products include plastic, glass, batteries, and some cabinets, doors, windows and roofs. Remodelers can also recycle most sinks and tubs.

Recyclable products from construction and demolition waste from job sites can include concrete, dirt and plant materials. Contractors can haul concrete to recycling plants, which ground it down into gravel or base rock for use in future building projects. Unpainted wood can be ground down and mixed in with existing soil to help it nourish plants and tree roots. Remodelers can also recycle pallets, fluorescent tubes, cardboard and paper packaging and architectural drawings.

The benefits of recycling include “diverting a ton of material from landfills,” Donatelli said. Recycling “helps people save money and make improvements.”

A remodeling project can generate between 70 and 115 pounds of waste per square foot, and between 85 percent and 90 percent of construction waste is recyclable, according to David Johnston and Kim Master’s Green Remodeling: Changing the World One Room at a Time. This creates a huge potential for the reuse and recycling of waste from remodeling.

Demolishing vs. Remodeling

If demolished, a typical, 2,000 square foot house would create 10,000 cubic feet of debris, or 127 tons. Although the cost of disposal varies depending on location, an average of $25 per ton of waste would total $3,175 for demolition of a residence. However, if a house were remodeled instead of demolished, the owners would divert 80 percent of the waste that a demolition would incur, and would save about $2,540 in disposal costs. Deconstructing an average wood frame house of 2,000 square feet could produce 6,000 board feet of reusable lumber. Deconstruction is the “disassembling [of] buildings to generate a supply of materials suitable for reuse in other products,” according to Johnston and Master.

If lumber is salvaged from older buildings and reused, it can provide affordable materials for remodeling or constructing new buildings. Approximately every 3 square feet of lumber saved from an older structure can become 1 square foot of a new residence. If deconstruction became the new residential demolition, contractors could use recovered wood to build 120,000 new affordable homes annually. This could save 33 mature trees, 10 acres of pine planted annually, which occupy the size of seven football fields.

Recycling building materials also conserves energy. “Embodied energy” is the total amount of energy expended during the creation of a building and the products that comprise it, according to the Deconstruction Institute. The amount of embodied energy contained in an average, 2,000-square-foot home, is 892 million BTUs, the equivalent of 7,826 gallons of gasoline, enough embodied energy to drive an SUV 5.5 times around the earth.

Extracting raw materials from the earth consumes more energy than converting many old building materials into new, and using recycled products instead of manufacturing new ones can decrease energy consumption for steel about 50 percent and for plastic more than 90 percent. A 2,000-square-foot home contains about 4,700 pounds of steel and 770 pounds of recyclable plastics. If carefully deconstructed and recycled into new products, they can preserve 59 million BTUs of embodied energy, equal to about 513 gallons of gasoline.

About 5 million tons of carbon equivalent are annually released into the atmosphere as methane gas. This is the result of burying about 33 million tons of wood from demolition and construction debris in landfills and anaerobic microorganisms decomposing the lumber. This is the equivalent of emissions from 3,736,000 passenger cars.

Total greenhouse gas reduction from recycling the 5,174 pounds of steel and 1,830 pounds of plastic in an average single family home would be equal to the yearly absorption of carbon dioxide by 114 trees.

For each ton of wood remodelers reuse, they avoid creating 60 pounds of greenhouse gases from the development of raw lumber into a usable form for building.

“If a remodeling contractor seeks to develop knowledge and skill in the area of green remodeling, the NARI Green program will help realize those goals. This program thoroughly educates the contractor who desires to focus on environmentally friendly remodels,” Donatelli said.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

About NARI
The National Association of the Remodeling Industry (NARI) is the only trade association dedicated solely to the remodeling industry. With more than 7,500 member companies nationwide, the Association — based in Des Plaines, Illinois — is “The Voice of the Remodeling Industry.”™ For membership information, or to locate a local NARI chapter or a remodeling professional, visit NARI’s website at www.RemodelToday.com, or contact the national headquarters office at 800-611-NARI.

Our New Brio Metallic European Style Glass Tile

2008-04-11T14:01:00.000-07:00

Brio Metallic Blend "Venice"

Brio Metallic Blend "Marrakesh"

Brio Metallic Blend "Marbella"

The newest edition to our popular Brio glass tile line are the metallics.
Gorgeous 3/4" glass tile in a range of colorful shades and blends, each tile sporting copper veining throughout. So chic! It's the classic European style of vitreous glass tile which is ideal for kitchen backsplashes, bathrooms, swimming pools and spas, as well as fireplace surrounds, decorative walls or flooring.
Check out all of options to "stylize your pad".
Or better yet- mix a few metallics into your next modwalls custom Brio Blend Design.

ModWalls at CaBoom 5

2008-04-01T14:20:00.000-07:00

modwalls' display at Caboom 5 Barker Hangar Santa Monica Airport.

modwalls Lush 1/2" x 2" glass tile blend "Big Sur" on display in neighboring booth
Handmade, showcasing gorgeous handmade furniture by John McDonald.

The boys at play at Venice Beach.

ModRocks "Yosemite" on display at John's Handmade booth at CaBoom

We've recently returned from 3 great days showing at CaBoom 5 in Santa Monica California. It's one of the very best shows we do each year for several reasons.
1) There is a very creative vibe there with hundreds of the most talented modern design professionals displaying their work.
2) Thousands of equally creative customers who are excited about modernism and good design and color attend each year.
3) Easy show with great music and great weather.
4) Great opportunity to meet customers and prospective customers as well and gather new ideas of what they want to see more of.

We'll definitely be back for number 6!

Next up: Back to "HollywoodLand" in early June for the Dwell on Design show.
We hope to see you there.

Glass Tile Inspired by the Beach

2008-02-07T16:43:00.000-08:00

We're energized by the colors of the land, the surf and the sand here in Santa Cruz, California. Now we've brought together many of our ocean inspired Lush glass tile designs to form the modwalls Lush "Coastal Collection".
The colors of water, wind and waves are all represented here in a mix of glass field tile and blends with names like Dune, Reef,Driftwood, Surf, Sea Grass, Santa Monica and Big Sur. All of our Lush glass tile has high quality color kiln fired onto the back of 8mm thick clear glass tile, for a luminous effect. The frosted versions of Lush are etched with sand and not chemically frosted. These products may be used both indoor and outdoor in both wet and dry areas such as kitchen walls, showers and baths, fireplace surrounds, swimming pools and spas.
Check it out here.

The Sea is Always In Style!

Fresh New Lush Subway Tile Blends Are Here!

2008-01-16T15:08:00.000-08:00

Yeh! After a long wait our popular Lush Metropol glass tile blend is back in stock along with some new additions to this line of 1/2" x 2" glass subway tiles.
Anything can be the jumping off point for interesting color combinations. Read on to see what I mean...

"Big Sur", part of our new Lush "Coastal Collection" combines the colors of redwood trees, sea and sky for combination that I'm in love with! Great for an earthy bathroom, or kitchen, fireplace surround or swimming pool.

"Husdon"- crisp blues, grey, white and black. Check out Project Runway this season and you'll see the inspiration in the opening credits...bolts of fabric.
I can't take any credit for this color combo; but I am happy to bring it to you for your hip loft space or suburban ranch house, new restaurant or hotel.

And finally, "Amaranth", the result of a recent edit of my lipstick collection. I found three colors that needed to go, but they looked so great together that they just had to become a tile blend! With the added accents of charcoal grey, white and pale grey, this blend is a stunner. Install wherever you want an unexpected pop of rich color.

These products will be up on our website for purchase in the next few days.
Each comes mesh mounted by the 0.96 sq.ft. sheet for ease of installation. They look great mounted horizontally or vertically. We also have 3"x6" and 4" square glass subway tile to coordinate with these blends, so you could use the larger tiles as field tile with one of these blends as an accent. Order online at modwalls.com; or call us at 831-439-9734.

It Is Easy To Be Green(er)

2007-11-07T15:47:00.000-08:00

It seems that for a business who imports many of its products, the task of "greening" said business could be daunting. I'm finding though that there are many ways to do better with regard to the planet and our global community.

Here are some of the ways that we are thinking about this issue and some of the amazing organizations we've found to help:

It's very easy in most areas to find a printer ink supplier who will recycle ink cartridges. Our friendly neighborhood stationary store, Business With Pleasure, performs this service in just a few days.

We use biodegradable corn starch packing "peanuts" in our shipments, and we recycle our used packing cardboard with another great local organization in Santa Cruz, CA called S.C.R.A.P.; the Santa Cruz Recycling Alliance Program, run by the California Grey Bears.

For the enormous amounts of junk mail we get both at the office and at our homes, we now use 41pounds.org; It's a great service. For just $41 they help you to reduce by 85-90% the estimated 41 pounds of junk mail that arrives in your mailbox each year!

As we develop new products and find others to represent, we are conscious of the ecological impact they will have. We're now selling sustainable cork mosaics, ModRocks natural river rock mosaics, domestically made glazed ceramic tile and ModRocks 100% recycled glass pebbles. Even our signature brand of clear glass tile, Lush, contains up to 20% recycled glass; and the end cuts and breaks during production are put back into the process to minimize waste. The frosted versions of Lush are etched with sand, not chemicals. And glass tile does not off-gas and is recyclable.

Since we're an online business and we ship product throughout North America, we're concerned about our businesses' carbon footprint. That's where Carbon Fund comes in. Carbon Fund is an organization supporting a number of initiatives to offset carbon emissions and certify green products. Their motto is "Recycle What You Can, Offset What You Can't." The website is a great source of information. We're using Carbon Fund to offset the carbon emissions used in the shipping of our products by donating money which funds bio fuel research and tree planting.

We feel that sustainability extends to the way that we care for our global community. Since people are the world's number one resource, one of our business goals is to help "sustain" people who may have difficulty finding employment. To that end we lend a percentage of every order to entrepreneurs in developing countries via Kiva.org. And for the past 3 years we've been producing our custom glass tile blends locally, with the dedicated and skilled assistance of the developmentally disabled clients of Hope Services. This partnership has been a wonderful testament to the hard work and dedication of an underutilized workforce and our business is the better for it.

Each day we are finding new ways to do business with a social conscience. Once you know better you must do better. It is important to move in a greener direction and learn what we can do to help preserve and, if we're diligent and passionate, improve our world- both the place and the people.

And we're always looking for new and eco-friendly wall and floor coverings to distribute. We welcome new product ideas and distribution opportunities.

Which Colors Are You Craving Now?

2007-10-03T08:03:00.000-07:00

I'm inspired this week by ApartmentTherapy.com's Annual Fall Color Contest.
Readers are allowed to view and comment on entries of colorful homes throughout the country. And there is a broad range of lovely combinations from which to choose.

This brings to mind our modwalls custom blender, which allows you to mix your own glass tile blends online from over 75 colors in 3 styles of 3/4" glass mosaic tile. I love it! Not just because it helps me and our customers to be creative; but because it gives me a window into the color trends that people are thinking about now.

Tile and interior colors follow architectural and fashion trends.
One of the main color stories in fashion right now is gray.
We're selling a lot of our gray, white and black glass tile blends such as Gotham, Film Noir, Old School, Next House and Windy City

We see that "gray as the neutral" trend in the custom blends that are being created now on our modwalls blender. And we're also delighted to see a new comfort with color mixing of all sorts as you can see in the real life examples above of custom blends which have been created on our modwalls blender in the past week.

I invite you to play with our modwalls custom blender and let me know what colors you're wanting to see in your home or office environments now. Enjoy!

And as for me- I feel the need to add some rich burgundy and crimson to my next white black and gray mix...stay tuned...!

On Site at Dwell On Design, San Francisco

2007-09-16T10:09:00.000-07:00

Dwell on Design SF- is the place to be this weekend for everything modern.
We're proud to be exhibiting here among other companies such as Berkeley Mills, Room & Board, TonUsa, Empyrean Homes, Modern Shed and a host of Handmade Rug Designers such as Rugs by Ferdod, Furniture makers, Green designers, and artists.

The exhibit has been open to the public since yesterday and we are meeting creative and sustainability minded homeowners, builders, architects and designers from around the world.

There is an energy here which is unmatched at most any other venue. It's been truly inspirational for us and we're coming away with exciting ideas.

Oh- and the restaurant scene is of course incredible too.
A hobby of mine is to scope out the best food wherever we go.
So far we've hit Basil Thai, Cortez, Foreign Cinema- and tonight- The Slanted Door.
All highly recommended for amazing food and atmosphere.

~Rebecca

4 Inch Glass Tile Tattoo Art

2007-07-03T13:24:00.000-07:00

I've always been a fan of tattoo art. While not actually having any tattoos I still appreciate the color and sense of design that this artform inspires.
Here's a preview of our latest collection of glass tile- our modwalls Tile Tattoos, which will be in stock in September. These beauties are 4" x 4" x 8mm thick glass tile with the custom tattoo designs kiln fired onto the backs of the tile. We'll have several solid color field tiles to match. These are so cool for swimming pools, kitchen backsplashes, showers, spas and walls for both residential and commercial environments. For more information please contact us at info@modwalls.com or 831-439-9734. Our thanks go out to the talented tattoo artists, Julio Avila and Nate Abbott whos designs have made this new line possible.

Modern Glazed Ceramic Tile

2007-06-27T16:00:00.000-07:00

What makes tile modern? Is it the colors, the shapes, the sizes or the finish of the tile? We think its all of those things- especially when looking at the new Rawtiles we'll be stocking here at modwalls.com.

The Rawtiles Modernist designs are inspired by fabrics and graphics of the 1950's, 60's and 70's which are still so very modern today.

The glazing process Rawtiles uses is identical to the one used to make “Malibu” tiles in the 1930’s. This process originated in Persia and found its way to California via Spain. The process was adopted by California potters in the 1920’s. It is often referred to as “cuerda seca” or “ black line.” An outline of the design is screened onto the bisque tile. Once dry the liquid glaze is applied by to the tile by hand. The black line acts as a resist to ensure that the different colors don’t mix in the glazing and firing process. The end result is a tile that is not flat but has a low relief to it. The glazed areas are slightly raised from the black line.

We're currently stocking 3 styles of Rawtiles for immediate delivery: Squares, Circles and the Leary pattern as shown above. We've selected to showcase the 4" circles and squares in a combination of moss green, chocolate brown and white gloss glazes. The 6" Leary pattern looks best on a large scale wall installation and we're stocking it in a white-on-white mix of gloss and satin matte finishes.

There are a total of 15 different styles and 22 glaze colors available on a made to order basis so there is an unlimited number of color/style combinations. Color matching and custom color glazes are also available by special order.

For more information please contact us at info@modwalls.com or call 831-439-9734.

Beige Wall Paint...Is It A Good Thing?

2007-06-11T16:25:00.000-07:00

How Do You Define Beige for a 3 Year Old?

One of the most memorable movie lines for me was spoken by Denzel Washington's character, attorney Joe Miller, in the 1993 drama Philadelphia: "Talk to me like I'm 3 years old." I love that line! Please assume I know nothing of this subject and that what you're about to explain will be the first time I've ever heard it...

Upon first seeing the movie 14 years ago that line resonated with me, but even more today. You see, I currently have not one but two 3 year olds around all of the time. They are the joys of my life, twins "R-Man" and "C-Boy".

Apparently the age of 3 is the time when all of the questions in children's expanding minds are verbalized...constantly. So far, I've had the answers most of the time, but today I got stuck. I'm hoping that someone out there can assist me.

So this morning, as is typical, "R-Man" woke me up by crawling into bed with me. As he looked around the bedroom he asked- "Mommy- what color are those walls?"

"Umm..Beige" I replied.
and just then I could almost hear the gears in his head turning as he tried to access that color from his brightly hued world of paints, crayons and toys, with no success.
"What is beige?" he asked.

And that's when I stumbled..."Umm, well, it's a really really really pale brown or an off white, and sort of a dark creamy color..." UGH!

"WhAAAT?" asked "R-Man".
(Oh forget it I thought). "What color do you think it should be sweetie?" I asked.

"Umm" said he...."BROWN!"

Now color is a big thing to me. I sort of make my living (recently created dream job) combining colors in glass tile blends, specifying colors of tile and grout, and suggesting paints to assist others in creating their most colorful and inspirational living environments. I'm the original "No White Walls!" lady. So how did I end up with a bedroom color which cannot be defined? And more importantly, why is beige so popular and what does it make you feel?

I know that this paint color was the easy choice for us when we bought the house a few years ago. We had painted every other room with a clear color choice. When it came to the bedroom (arguably the most important room) my husband and I just chose something "easy and light". But I've never really been happy with it. The accent colors in the room have changed several times, now aqua, brown, tan and white, but the room's never really had a color point of view and that bothers me.

Webster's Dictionary defines beige in two words: Grayish-tan.

That's it- beige is an "ish" color in a "Make A Decision" world!

Does anyone have a different view on the possible benefits of beige?

Mesh Mounted Polished Pebble Mosaics

2007-05-29T14:23:00.000-07:00

ModRocks Natural Polished River Rock Mosaics Are Here!

Soon to be up on our soon-to-be-revised modwalls.com website; these very green and very modern natural polished pebbles are available now in 6 color combinations.
They look amazing as flooring and walls for kitchens and showers as well as pools, spas, outdoor walkways and even fireplace surrounds.
ModRocks come mesh mounted by the interlocking sheet which measures 1 sq.ft.
Each sheet is priced at $12.00 per square foot with FREE SHIPPING!

Please contact us at info@modwalls.com for more information or to place your order in advance of these lovelies being up on our website.

Enjoy!
modwalls designer-Rebecca

Glass Subway Tile 3" x 6"

2007-05-11T13:33:00.000-07:00

Our new modwalls line of 8mm thick glass tile "Lush" is now in stock in many amazing colors and styles. Made of clear glass with quality colorants high fired onto the back this tile has a dimensional effect that enriches the colors. The frosted versions are etched by sand, not chemically acid washed, for a higher quality and ecologically responsible finish technique.

Our modwalls.com website will soon be updated with these products for online purchases both retail and to the trade. In the meantime, here's a sampling of these beautiful new products. Please call or email us for more information or to purchase product or samples. (831)439-9734 info@modwalls.com

Do you Kiva?

2007-04-13T14:49:00.000-07:00

We recently discovered Kiva.org. Kiva lets you lend money to specific entreprenuers in the developing world- empowering them to lift themselves out of poverty.

Beginning April 2007, we'll be lending a percentage of each sale to Kiva's entreprenuers. For more information go to www.Kiva.org