Why Tile?

Making choices about flooring and wall coverings shouldn’t be too difficult. But it’s not just about color, texture, and design anymore. You worry about traction, allergies, and how easy it will be to clean a surface, not to mention the daily warnings and exposés about toxins and emissions.

Here are five things you’ll definitely want to consider when shopping for surfaces. 

1. Tile Is Beautiful

The possibilities are nearly endless when it comes to tile. No matter what style you’re going for, tile has what you are looking for.

Cutting-edge technology lets us recreate your favorite flooring surfaces with precision so you’ll get the look without the added maintenance, worry, or cost.

For the last five years, Daltile and the American Society of Interior Designers, ASID, have teamed up to present scholarships to aspiring interior designers across the country. 

This year, the sixth year, the Booz Allen Hamilton Innovation Center joined the partnership and provided the inspiration for the project. 

Students took the existing space at Booz Allen Hamilton and integrated FitWel components, which emphasize health and wellness in living and working spaces.

Brinda Sen Gupta (Booz Allen Hamilton), Tiffany Kernan (ASID Foundation), Baileigh Petty (scholarship winner), Gaby Goodman (Daltile)

Entries were judged by a panel of experts from the design industry on the design’s function, aesthetic, and the use of Daltile’s featured products. “We were so impressed by the creativity and innovation in the student submissions this year,” Shelly Halbert, director of product design at Dal-Tile, told Floor Covering Weekly at the awards ceremony held at the Daltile Design Studio in Philadelphia this week. “It [showcased] the amazing talent we can look forward to in the next generation of designers.”

This year’s grand prize winner is Baileigh Petty, an interior design student at Utah State University. 

Petty designed a juice bar break room in the Booz Allen Hamilton space that emphasized health and wellness with easy access to fresh produce and a clean-lined, inspiring aesthetic. “I selected tile products and colors that were natural and included natural elements that would create an atmosphere of comfort and refreshment,” she told us. 

Consideration for the Booz Allen Hamilton brand was also a top priority. “I took the brand colors and brand messages and integrated that into the design,” Petty says. Booz Allen Hamiltion is no stranger to creativity. The juice bar design is a reflection of the mission statements and focus of the Innovation Center-which is what makes this design such a great fit. 

The future is bright for Petty who plans to pursue a career in commercial design after she has completed her final year at school. We look forward to what her career will offer the world of design.

The Daltile Philadelphia Design Studio hosted the awards event where Petty was presented with a scholarship check for $10,000 on behalf of Daltile, ASID, and Booz Allen Hamilton. She said, “this is a huge boost to my confidence as a soon-to-be professional in the design field and will give me a great start.”

Three runners-up were also announced at the ceremony. Brianne Brooks, Amanda McRae, and Sasitorn Wangspa recieved scholarships for their excellent designs. Additionally, a grant was awarded to the school with the most entries. Utah State University claimed that honor with 70 student entries. 

We join with Daltile, ASID, and Booz Allen Hamilton in congratulating Baileigh Petty on her accomplishment and look forward to meeting more promising future designers next year.

We’re pleased to announce the sixth annual Daltile Interior Design Scholarship presented by the ASID Foundation.

Each year, Daltile teams up with the American Society of Interior Designers to present undergraduate interior design students with the opportunity to earn scholarships. The themes and challenges revolove around creative designs that meet the needs of real life situations.

This year’s theme is Imagine What’s Possible: Design for Innovation. We’ve partnered with Booz Allen Hamilton Innovation Center to provide students with a real space to create for.

The challenge for students in 2017 is to reimagine the Booz Allen Hamilton Innovation Center and  incorporate Fitwel components to create a stimulating and comfortable space for employees.

Fitwel is a future-looking building certification, similar to LEED, focused on occupant and community health and well-being. Using the existing Innovation Center footprint, students should look at the entire space and identify areas of opportunity throughout the floor plan that can be redesigned to increase occupant health and comfort, on budget.

The grand prize winner will take home $10,000 and runners up will take $2,500. Additionally, a $10,000 grant is up for grabs for the school that has the most student entrants.

Entries will be accepted August 15 to September 29, 2017. An awards ceremony will be held in November at ASID’s Career Exchange Program at NeoCon East held in Philadelphia.

Join with us in developing a passion for interior design in the rising generation! Spread the word to your colleagues and acquaintances at colleges and universities around the nation.

Love the industrial loft look? It’s a sophisticated choice for offices, restaurants, boutique hotels, and even a unique home or apartment. Real-deal cement floors, exposed brick, metal walls, wood pillars, and the like can be a bear to take care of and keep looking pristine. While a bit of patina finishes the industrial look, you wouldn’t want to go overboard.

That’s why cement-look porcelain tile is the right choice to get easy care plus keep the urban look you want.

Benefits of Porcelain

• Low porosity, especially compared to cement. This means that you won’t have to deal with the moisture issues the come with cement.

• Colors! Cement look porcelain comes in many great neutral colors that don’t change over time. No dyes, no sealers, no mess.

• Graphic technologies at Daltile offer you the rusty, brushed, cracked, or discolored sensation of aged cement without actually having any of the problems that come with those signature looks.

• Easy cleanability that comes with porcelain makes it a must for commercial spaces that need constant and thorough cleaning.

Cement Look Porcelain You’ll Love

Daltile knows the demand for cement look porcelain tile and comes out with more and better options all the time. May we humbly suggest a few of our favorites?

Reminscent™ is a smooth, updated approach to the cement look. It has an unpolished finish that brings out the cement-like qualities of the tile. This contemporary industrial loft highlights the color variation of aged cement that hints at natural stone. Shown in Aged Beige on the floor and Memento White on the wall.

This simple kitchen features Ironcraft™, a rough finished cement look with a slight metallic sheen. The unpolished finish brings out the texture of the brushed look making it feel a bit more industrial. The solid surface quartz backsplash in ONE Quartz Surfaces Mercer Grey, rounds out the industrial feel.

This open floor plan takes the raw elements of industrial style and mixes it with the grandeur of classical design. The living room floor features Ironcraft in Casper Grey.

A New World for Slab Countertops

Just when you think large-format porcelain tile couldn’t get any bigger, porcelain slabs appear. Introducing Panoramic Porcelain Surfaces™ – huge porcelain tile that can go nearly anywhere.

Think of everything you know about porcelain floor tiles. Now imagine having all those benefits on the countertop, the wall, or fireplace with very few joints and lots less grout—that’s Panoramic.

Panoramic (on the right) next to a regular sized natural stone slab

Roy Viana, director of Natural Stone and Slab at Daltile said it like this, “we all know what a great performer porcelain is; just translate all those capabilities to a slab and you’ll understand the value of these large porcelain surfaces.”

Europe has already been designing with these extra-large format surfaces for a couple of years. Now they’ve hit the American market and they are making a huge impact. They increase the scale and style of porcelain tile on par with natural stone slab and that’s opening up a whole new world.

The Specs

• Two giant sizes: 63 x 126 inches, 64 x 127 inches
• 6 mm and 12 mm thicknesses
• Can be easily cut to customize

What It Looks Like

• Four marble-looks in matte and polished finishes
• Four monochromatic colors in hot urban neutrals

How You Can Use It

• Floors
• Countertops
• Vanities
• Shower walls
• Tub surrounds
• Fireplaces
• Large feature walls
• Exterior cladding
• Outdoor patios
• Outdoor countertops

Cleanability

• Easily cleaned with multi-purpose cleaners
• Fewer grout joints to keep clean
• Low porosity of porcelain makes it stain resistant
  

  Panoramic in Statuario on the walls and vanity

Other Perks

• Withstands heat
• Scratch and chip resistant
• Stain resistant
• Can be installed over existing solid surfaces (with the right preparation)

Get more details about Panoramic Porcelain Surfaces from a Daltile representative or visit a local Daltile Stone Center.

Summer Programs for Students

Summer 2017 Interns visit the Daltile Design Studio in Dallas

Education is important, but there’s nothing quite like life experience. At Daltile, students are getting both. Students in the Dallas area and nationwide get the chance to learn what their future careers might be like on site at Daltile’s Dallas headquarters.