Searching for tile can be very overwhelming since there are literally thousands of options to choose from. I have a couple favorite companies and Walker Zanger was the top choice for our home. The choices and style options are for every design style. Jenn and I wanted to make sure we found tile that was unique, but also maintenance free in the bathrooms and high traffic areas. We took a drive to the Port Chester, NY location to see the showroom and decide on what we wanted. Lisa Cales, the Branch Manager, took us through all their new styles to see what we would like.

The First area we started with was the mudroom area. This area is the second entrance into the home from the front of the house and the garage. It also has rear sliding door going out to the backyard. It is a room that is going to get a ton of use since as a family we will always be coming in from the garage. It will also have a custom built-in-cubby for shoes and coats. We knew we had to go with a porcelain tile that was maintenance free and easy to clean. We wanted to find a tile that was more on the contemporary side. Lisa showed us a couple options and we chose Stark Grigio in a 12x24 size. This tile will be laid in a brick style pattern throughout the entire room. The tile looks a lot like a concrete or natural slate. This will look great and will also have a heated floor mat underneath it.

The next area is the entry way and this had to be very unique since it is the first thing you will see when you enter the home. Jenn and I knew that we wanted to make this a patterned tile and have it bleed into the living room and hallway. Now you are saying what do I mean by bleed into these areas? The tile will not have an exact finish line and it will be done in a very haphazard way. I have done this before on my show America’s Most Desperate Kitchens and it was one my favorite designs. The hexagon tile bleeds into the living room from the kitchen and there are 3 different colors.

We chose 3 different hexagon tiles that are a marble but, smaller hexagon then what you see in the images above. We chose a Black, Gray, and our favorite Carrara with inlay steel! These three tile options will be laid with no exact pattern and be mixed throughout the font entrance area. The colors are Ellington Ebony, Ellington Cinder, Ellington Savoy Carrara Steel.

The kitchen backsplash is always a statement area of the kitchen. We wanted to continue the look of the hexagon pattern and give it a contemporary look for the kitchen. This tile will go form the counter to the ceiling behind the hood since there are no upper cabinets and four open shelves. We finally decided on Stardust Moon Rock. It gives us the contemporary look with the hexagon, but the tile is also distressed and has a crackle look to it. This will gives us a little of the old world feel and rustic look that we also have inside the home.

Now it’s time for the bathrooms! Let’s start with the girls bathroom since this is my favorite tile in the entire home. Lily has been telling me she wants to have color in her bathroom and when I saw this tile I knew this was it. You might not fully understand my vision, but trust me this is going to look AMAZING! A brand new tile that Walker Zanger just came out is called Kaleidoscope. This Art Deco look is a collection of triangle and square porcelain tiles in fun matte colors. The patterns you can create with them are endless and give you the opportunity to make your bathroom unique. I first saw the dark pink and then the light pink triangles and fell in LOVE. Lily loves pink and I feel it is a play on the old school pink tile that was in so many 1960’s Ranch home bathrooms. With the triangle design it gives it the contemporary design that we love and is throughout the home. We also chose a white triangle to anchor the pink choices. The unique design is going to come with the install of the tile. The install is going to be an ombre effect with the dark pink first and then slowly it will turn into light pink and then to white. See an example below that was done in a herringbone install.

The three tile choices are Kal White matte triangle, Kal Dark Pink matte triangle, and Kal Light Pink matte triangle.

The master bath is an area that Jenn knew exactly what she wanted! Since we did our last home she said she wanted a Carrara marble tile for the entire bathroom. Now I have nothing against Carrara marble I also love the look, but it is the maintenance. Marble like all natural stones is porous and needs to be sealed constantly. We had to find an option that gave Jenn the look she wanted, but the maintenance that I wanted. Lisa showed us the porcelain option that Walker Zanger makes of the Carrara marble and it looked exactly like marble. I could not believe it! The price point is much cheaper and there is no maintenance at all. We decided to do the walls in 12x24 Cava Bianco Carrara Brushed. This is a mat look and it makes it look much more like a natural stone that is honed. For the floor in the shower and overall bathroom we went with Cava Bianco Carrara 3x12 Brushed. For the floors we also decided to do them in a herringbone pattern to give it a more traditional look.

We could not be happier with all of our choices from Walker Zanger and before you know it we will be time for the install. Lisa, the Branch manager, was amazing and answered all of our questions throughout the day. We were in the showroom for a couple hours and we had so much fun choosing all of the finishes. Before you go to the showroom make sure you bring your plans and you have an idea of what you are looking for. The sales team will lead you in the right direction, but you need to have an idea of what you are looking for. There are literally thousands of choices so you need to be prepared before you go.