Hours: Mon, Wed & Fri: 8-5 / Tues 8-2 / Thurs: 8-7 / Sat: 9-1. Closed: 3/6 - 3/8/2023.
Design Trends and Ideas
October 15th, 2020
Let the games begin!
Posted in Bathrooms, Commercial Spaces, Family Rooms, General, Kitchens, LVT, Mosaics, Stone, Tile
These days, if you’re like so many of us spending most of our covid-time at home, you are seeing your slice of the world through a different lense. Whether an addition for more space, a bathroom or kitchen renovation, or an upgrade to outdoor real estate for more socially distanced get-togethers – these are all potential projects that could help to make being at home so much more enjoyable! With that said, I am about to embark on two major projects at my house to make my space more functional and enjoyable. I will be chronicling the projects here in the coming weeks . . . So “let the games begin!”
Project #1 – Outdoor patio using porcelain tile pavers . . . After all, tile is my thing . . . Stay tuned . . .
April 7th, 2020
Fast, efficient, and SAFE . . .
Posted in Back Splash, Bathrooms, Bedrooms, Carpet, Commercial Spaces, Family Rooms, Floor Warming, General, Installation, Kitchens, LVT, Mosaics, Rugs, Stone, Tile
We have instituted a variety of measures in an attempt to ensure that we do all we can to keep our clients and employees safe from Covid-19. Currently, we are keeping our showroom and warehouse are open by appointment — one person/couple at a time. Our doing so will allow us to clean and disinfect after one client leaves and before the next client arrives. Please call or text us at 518-227-0156, or email us at [email protected] to schedule your appointment. Ideally, before you come in, we can discuss your project and I will have some options waiting for you at your arrival.
October 24th, 2019
Floating Porcelain Tile Floors 2.0?
Posted in Bathrooms, Bedrooms, Commercial Spaces, Family Rooms, General, Installation, Kitchens, LVT, Tile
One more time? In February 2012 we wrote about ‘click’ together porcelain tile that did not need to be set in mortar to the subfloor (floating porcelain tile floor). We weren’t fans at that time because it was difficult to snap the pieces together tightly. Fast-forward seven years and Dal Tile has re-introduced ‘click’ together porcelain tile with a much more promising result. This next generation click-together porcelain tile is intended as an alternative to conventionally installed porcelain tile and LVT (luxury vinyl tile). Some advantages and benefits of click together porcelain tile are listed below:
- No mortar required
- No wet saw required
- Score and snap into place
- Consistent alignment with no lippage
- No spacers required (automatically spaced to 1/8″)
- One-step flexible grout (Bostik TruColor recommended – never needs to be sealed!)
- No special tools required
- Easy removal for repair or updating
- Subfloor movement won’t telegraph
- Greater breaking strength and impact resistance
- No additional time required for curing
- Install and grout in the same day – no return trip required
- We have samples in the showroom to look at, play with, and borrow.
October 9th, 2019
The Colors of 2020
Posted in Back Splash, Bathrooms, Bedrooms, Carpet, Commercial Spaces, Family Rooms, General, Kitchens, Mosaics, Rugs, Stone, Tile
It’s that time of year again when the color forecasts are revealed for the coming year. The paint manufacturers usually lead the way. Sherwin Williams recently annouced that ‘Naval’ (navy blue) is its color of the year for 2020. 
You see ‘Naval’ paired with carrara marble (white with gray veining) and brass fixtures and accessories in interior design print publications and on on-line platforms. Color, but not really . . . grounded and calming . . . Benjamin Moore, Pittsburgh, and Behr will all weigh in soon, but the Pantone Color Institute’s color of the year is the benchmark. The tile world has nodded to blues and navy blues in the last two years so Sherwin Williams choice is not really a surprise. So let’s wait and see what the coming weeks and months will bring for the new colors in our lives for 2020.
August 27th, 2018
Learning Every Day
Posted in Bathrooms, Commercial Spaces, Family Rooms, General, Installation, Kitchens, Stone, Tile
You can learn something new every day. I was recently in Denver and visited the oldest Denver hotel still in operation: The Oxford on 17th Street, downtown. I love and appreciate the thoughtfulness, detail, and craftsmanship that went into the 127-year-old hotel. Below is a photograph of The Oxford’s lobby floor. The pattern on the tiled floor is a double pinwheel – the first that I have seen. Back in the day, the craftsmen even used locally-sourced stone . You will need a fairly large space to pull it off, but in the right space, such a double-pinwheel pattern would make a grand statement.
November 21st, 2016
And the color of the year is?
Posted in Back Splash, Bathrooms, Bedrooms, Carpet, Commercial Spaces, Family Rooms, General, Kitchens, LVT, Mosaics, Rugs, Tile
The answer is, it depends on who you ask . . . The paint manufacturers have stepped-up first . . . Sherwin Williams announced ‘Poised Taupe’ (SW6039) as its 2017 color of the year a few weeks ago. PPG recently announced ‘Violet Verbena’ (1169-5) as its color of the year, and Benjamin Moore followed up with ‘Shadow’ (2117-30) as its color of the year for 2017 – all are much more colorful deviations from last year’s ‘Alabaster’ (SW7008) and ‘Simply White’ (2143-70).
Pantone is the ultimate color authority – its color of the year announcement is not due for another few weeks so we’ll wait . . . I’m betting on a shade of blue . . .
October 21st, 2015
Looking for Color
Posted in Back Splash, Bathrooms, Bedrooms, Carpet, Commercial Spaces, Family Rooms, General, Kitchens, LVT, Mosaics, Rugs, Stone, Tile
Color forecasts for the coming year will be released soon. At ATCR, we are yearning for some real color, somewhere. The photo below shows the latest rendition of our ‘gallery’ wall as you enter our showroom. You can see that this cross section of our tile and stone selection is very neutral – white, cream, beige, and gray. It makes sense when you think about the permanence of a tile installation – you want to make sure it works in your space for many years to come. The same is true of our carpet selection with slightly more color range; rugs tend to have more color still, but those, too, tend to be fairly neutral now. Benjamin Moore recently released its ‘Color of the Year’ for 2016 – ‘Simply White.’ Initially, we were disappointed with this safe, noncommittal, neutral choice. But upon further consideration, it makes sense given the absence of color in so many other interior finishes. ‘Simply White’ is certainly versatile as it can be used with both warm and cool color palettes leaving the opportunity to accent and accessorize with almost any color. We will have to wait to see what the Pantone Color Institute has in store later this year when it announces its color of the year . . .
August 12th, 2015
A New Shape for the Tile World – Pentagons?
Posted in Back Splash, Bathrooms, Bedrooms, Carpet, Commercial Spaces, Family Rooms, General, Installation, Kitchens, LVT, Mosaics, Rugs, Stone, Tile
We love pattern, symmetry, and balance in design finishes. Whether it’s fabric, flooring or wall finishes, there are plenty of ways to successfully use pattern in your space. Our showroom is full of patterns and their building blocks. But, here is a new one for us: pentagons! Take a look at “A New Way to Tile Your Floor (Using Pentagons).” We won’t bore you with geometric details of the pentagon floor pattern, but it works if you notice that the ’tiles’ are the same shape and mirror imagess of each other. Will this tile pattern be the next geometric design trend? If the tile installers have a say, we bet not ….
Check out some interesting patterns:
May 24th, 2015
Jump into Summer!
Posted in Carpet, Family Rooms, General, Rugs, Stone, Tile
Summer is here, and with it comes summer dresses, pool parties, s’mores by the fire and, for most home owners, a fresh start to their interiors. During the colder months, couches are covered in blankets and wood is stacked near the fireplace, but with the cold days behind us and sunshine over our heads, it’s time to switch your home to summer mode.
The first step in kicking winter out and welcoming summer is to stow all winter accessories and anything that adds a sense of heaviness to your room. Replace darker artwork for a piece or two that pops with color, or consider a light blanket and colorful throw pillows to replace a heavier blankets.
Now that your spring cleaning is done, open your windows, light a candle in a citrus or fresh linen scent or fill a decorative bowl in a summery shade with seasonal potpourri, and let the fresh air and summer energy into your home.
May 21st, 2015
The Color Tide is Turning
Posted in Back Splash, Bathrooms, Bedrooms, Carpet, Commercial Spaces, Family Rooms, General, Kitchens, LVT, Mosaics, Rugs, Stone, Tile
This year is proving to be a transitional one for color. Thank goodness! We are finally seeing warmer colors creep into what has been a very cool white and gray world.
Carrara marble — white marble with cool gray veining — that has been the foundation for many kitchen and bath projects, is still very popular. Recently, however, warmer grays, beiges, and cream tones have been playing a larger role in the projects we have been working on. Blues, especially navy blue, have been used with both gray and beige/cream tones in ceramic wall tiles, carpet and area rugs.
Below are several photographs that illustrate the cool-and-warm-tone combinations gaining favor:
