The homeowners of a Manhattan residence recently renovated two bathrooms to expand the spaces and update the designs. While they desired materials that would be visually pleasing, they also needed to provide a practical function - being that there are two children in the home. In the end, glass tile mosaics were chosen for the designs.
"From the beginning, my wife and I saw something in a Pottery Barn catalog that we liked," said homeowner Bryan Barreras. "It was a mosaic glass tile design. We liked the idea." Barreras explained that the display model became the inspiration for the renovation project.
In addition to the aesthetic value of the glass tile, the tiny mosaic pieces were also ideal due to the space constraints of the bathrooms. The downstairs bathroom measured 49 square feet, while the upstairs one was 40 square feet. As a result, the 1-by-1-inch tiles did not create a design that was overpowering in the rooms.
"We have two kids, so we wanted a tub downstairs," said the homeowner. "We expanded one of the walls and dropped the tub in. We wanted tile on the sides of the tub."
While Barreras and his wife mapped out the design, they hired MyHome Renovation Solutions of Manhattan, a full-service design firm, to complete the work. "MyHome had quite a selection of tile," said Barreras. "They have a number of materials to choose from."
For the children's bath, the homeowners selected a custom blend of blue and white glass tiles from Hakatai Enterprises, Inc. With the manufacturer's Custom Blend Tool, consumers are able to choose the colors that they like from the Carter Glass Mosaic 3/4-inch palette of 51 colors. Additionally, they are able to select the percentages of each color to be blended.
"They didn't have the blue and white blended together," said Barreras. "They had different shades of blue blended together and different shades of white blended together. We could customize and blend the blues with the whites. It actually was quite stressful in the end, because there was no time for us to see a sample. We varied the blue/white percentages of the blend from top to bottom."
One challenge that arose during the tile installation had to due with the size of the squares that the mosaic pieces were adhered to. "We assumed that they came in 1-foot squares," said Barreras. "They were like a foot and a tile or two. We had to cut off about 8 inches from the design. We were wondering, ‘Where should we take it off? The top? The bottom?' We ended up taking it off the bottom. We wanted as much blue as possible on the tub." Barreras explained that the end result was positive.
In the master bath, the homeowners opted for Bisazza glass tiles. "We were looking at a Bisazza catalog and saw the mosaics," said Barreras. The majority of the wall consists of white mosaic pieces, while a pink tile with copper undertones was employed for the floor and walls around the tub and ceiling above it.
In total, it took approximately seven weeks for MyHome Renovation Solutions to complete the installation of both bathrooms. "We were very happy with the end result," said Barreras.
Report Abusive Comment