See Facebook Album (link below) for Bungalow Renovation- Stair
Gut-rehab of 1920’s single family with changes to baths and kitchen to update lifestyle, while maintaining or restoring gracious proportions and features. Click on individual photos for details about the work done:
Green Home Chicago is at 213 N. Morgan in Chicago and is way worth a visit, on site or online: www.ghcdesigncenter.com.
Products range from local artist’s work to furniture from reclaimed wood, to fabulous contemporary fireplaces, cabinetry, and tile.
Goods are green-ranked using the following criteria:
1. Recycled content
2. Non-toxic
3. Local
4. Sustainable/renewable resources
5. Cradle to cradle - product can be used, recycled
and used again without losing any material quality
6. Green manufacturing processes
7. Certifications
8. Artisanal/handmade
9. Community building/poverty alleviation
10. Vintage/reclaimed/repurposed
Pebbles (smooth round stones set on mesh, often called river rocks) have been around awhile now- 4-5 years ago, they were fairly hard to find, and very limited selections were available.
There are a LOT more choices now, widely visible at Coverings. Some options: stones “standing”- set in vertical orientation, irregular edged stones, different varieties of the stones- with color variations or quartz in the stones for transparency, marble pebbles, and even squarer edged stones standing, so that they look like a miniature wall. There are also pebbles that have been shaved to create flat tops.
The best selection of pebbles (and other tile) I saw at the show was by Solistone, http://solistone.com/pebbles_tiles.shtml.
Nothing beats the foot-feel (massage-like!) of the traditional rounded pebbles set in a flat format, but with all these choices, pebbles can go anywhere- think backspash, listelli, fireplace surround, etc. The look is perfect for the very popular nature-inspired look, and real stones add dimension and texture that slab marble or granite cannot give.
I loved a shiny green, semi-precious looking stone that’s glass- Tavoos is what they call it: http://solistone.com/freeform_glass.shtml
Check out the metal pebbles, too- they take the look to a fab, fun, mid-century place: http://solistone.com/metal.shtml
Slow to upload but packed with info, Schluter, the maker of tile accessories and kits for installation, provides this site for people hiring a contractor, contractors, and DIY’ers.
http://www.schluter.com/house/
Concepts and technology, designing, and installation techniques are covered. This is a great tool if you want to know more about the tile you put in your home, and how to avoid problems, even with tricky situations.
American Restoration Tile makes the traditional tiles you need for your old house bath or foyer or kitch- but check out the colors!
http://restorationtile.com/colors.html
The chart has the dates for the times these colors were used, if you want to do an accurate reproduction of the period. BUT the man at the booth told me there are LOTS more colors in their palette, so think about using the colors in non-traditional arrangements, or bring in colors that update the traditional format!
Some photos of the traditional stuff:
http://restorationtile.com/installations.html But remember, there are no rules in remodeling- this is your house and you are the boss. Even for a historical, Secretary of the Interior renovation, my understanding is that there are no rules for color. Think outside the box.
They also do the 3×6 subway tile, including trims and accents, all WITH glaze- the colored ceramics for floor don’t have a glaze, and the color goes all the way thru, old-school.
One last thing- they make soap dishes and toothbrush holders to match the tile- so you really can get an original look. Enjoy.
Carlisle is the real thing in wide plank floors- see www.wideplankflooring.com. It’s all beautiful, but what’s amazing is that they are willing to back their flooring- in as wide a plank you want- over radiant heat (if you use one of their installers).
Standard (new-growth) wood floors and their installers get hinky about radiant heat and won’t stand behind wider-width wood in that situation. Installing wood over tubes with water in them isn’t the only thing they’re scared of: the new-growth wood they use is more likely to expand and contract and have various resulting problems from the heat beneath.
Carlisle products come from managed forests, and they also sell recovered wood, which has been used already in a barn or factory. Saves the wood from going into landfill, and you get lots of character and patina on your floors.
Check out http://www.email.kohler.com/AnnSacks/2008/77779/77779_rich.htm?id=AS0808&ep_mid=40395356&ep_rid=3158962349 for beautiful new tile collections. Dimensionality, texture and color, sleek mirror finishes- nobody does it better than Ann Sacks.
“radiant is best described as a system that thermally conditions the body, as opposed to heating the building”
Because the body and not the building is being heated, radiant feels luxurious. The floor is warm, so you feel warmer than if the ceiling is warm.
Since it feels so warm, most people are able to keep the thermostat several degrees cooler, saving energy costs.
Hot water radiant heat is the dream system, but even if you have forced heat and air, you can enjoy the luxury in your bath or kitchen- with electric radiant.
NuHeat Floor Warming Systems (www.nuheat.com) come in standard mat sizes and can be unrolled by the tile installer to lay under the new floor. Even with a nice programmable thermostat (so you can heat only when you need it, further controlling costs!) the product is very affordable.
