I’m Going Loco for Kirei’s Coco

I totally dig Kirei’s textured new tile collection, Coco, crafted from up to 40 percent post-industrial recycled content: i.e. reclaimed coconut shells, a waste byproduct of the food industry. The backing is made from sustainably harvested wood, so install as you would any other wood tile. More here, including some great installation shots! Elegant yet crunchy…

Tile as artistic muse: Los Carpinteros

Just came across this in cyberspace, which I had totally forgotten about! Cuban art duo Los Carpinteros’s tongue-in-cheek “Home-Pool”, a fiberglas and polyester resin likeness of an in-ground pool, cleverly morphed into a scale model of a house. The faux-tile detailing is brilliant!

More at the collective’s website or Sean Kelly Gallery.

Encaustic continues to take over the retail world

Spied last night at the opening night extravaganza at the new Anthropologie store in the Meatpacking district: gorgeous swaths of encaustic cement tile in a patchwork classic geometric patterns! Love how it wraps up from floor to walls and from walls to ceiling, especially around the stairwell to the lower level…

Yucky old grout: dig it out?

Here is a great question. OK, it’s from my mom. But it’s still a good question! I’m posting it to see if any readers have thoughts on cleaning/replacing/revivifying past-its-prime grout. 

Q. “Hi Tilest!! My 15-year-old shower grout is failing, and it has become very difficult to keep clean. I assume I need to replace all of the grout? Bummer!”–Ginger

From what I know–which is admittedly not much–removing grout can be messy and kind of annoying, but also relatively standard fare for trained professionals. Plus much cheaper than replacing tiles, and the aesthetic payoff can be huge.

Please leave a comment below if you have advice on replenishing grotty grout! I know many others readers share the same predicament.

FYI, mosaics are much trickier to regrout than larger-format tiles, but the small size of the tesserae can also hide a multitude of sins: