In the new BOH series What I Wish Designers Knew, we ask an industry expert to share the ins and outs of their category in the market—including how designers can evaluate materials, make informed decisions for their clients, and avoid common mistakes.
Beguiled by the beauty of natural stone and mesmerized by the artistry of mosaics, more and more homeowners are craving custom tile treatments for their foyers, kitchens, bathrooms and more. For designers just discovering this incredibly diverse, highly decorative category, good news: Business of Home mined the expertise of one of the foremost authorities in the field, Joshua Levinson, the CEO of Artistic Tile. Headquartered in Secaucus, New Jersey, the nearly 40-year-old company does it all: Offering hundreds of original patterns—including exclusive designer collaborations—and stocking a warehouse full of stunningly colored and veined marble tile and slabs, the brand drives the design, development, quality control and distribution of each stocked or custom product in its extensive library. For a crash course in tile customization, consider this your primer.
WHY CUSTOMIZE?
“Designers are hired for their creativity—to make special spaces that reflect the personality and taste of their client,” says Levinson. “A unique tile design achieves that.” Depending on taste and budget, custom could mean an entire original foyer floor, or an individual wall panel framed by complementary field tile for a seamless look that still “produces a tremendous pop.” The possibilities are practically endless.
“It starts off simple,” says Levinson, paraphrasing a typical client request: “‘I need a mosaic to match my shower wall.’ Followed by: ‘I want to do something that’s higher design.’” With multiple mosaic templates and water-jet patterns to choose from, the designer can pick and choose specific stones and colors, designating where to place them in the design. “It’s amazing how different a style can look depending on the materials and palette,” he adds.
TAILORING TILE
True visionaries may want to modify existing mosaic patterns or even bypass them completely, relying instead on Artistic Tile’s expertise and operations to execute their own original design. The company’s Tailored To program welcomes such challenges—and completes them in under four weeks. “‘Here is a sketch on a napkin of what I have in mind,’” says Levinson, again quoting a common designer scenario. Tapping into the talents of its in-house team, Artistic Tile transforms that scribbled drawing into reality, accounting for everything from technological capabilities to installation costs to determine the most efficient way forward.
For the backsplash in the laundry room of the Holiday House Hamptons 2024 Designer Showhouse, designer Shelley Cekirge partnered with Artistic Tile to produce something altogether new. Starting with designer Michelle Gerson’s award-winning Slide pattern—part of her Game On collaboration and rendered in waves of pastel colors cut from six different stones interspersed with rows of white marble—Cekirge initially asked the company to book-match the mosaics, a technique in which two sides of a design mirror each other, like the pages of an open book. To do so, Artistic Tile had to flip the original pattern to make the reverse part, as well as create a brand-new piece where the two sides would meet in the middle.
“I said, ‘We can do that, no problem!’” recalls Levinson. After meeting with Cekirge at Artistic Tile’s Paramus showroom, senior industrial designer Kyle Gulliford took the plan to the next level, rendering digital blueprints to not only book-match but diamond-match the original Slide pattern to form a central focal point. “We’re always happy to discuss the designer’s idea and work through any production issues to make it happen,” says Levinson. The final, multihued, diamond-shaped design is the very definition of custom.
MATERIAL WORLDS
“Artistic Tile has perhaps the largest selection of natural stone tile in the country,” says Levinson about the premium material at the heart of his business. The hundreds of varieties on offer include classic marbles like pearl gray Fior di Bosco and pink-veined Calacatta Rosa, durable quartzites and granites in such breathtaking colors as Verde Aurora and Galaxy Grey, and sparkling semiprecious gemstone slabs, including blue agate and amethyst.
Those slabs are joined by proprietary terrazzos, intricately carved choices, and exquisitely hand-crafted mosaics of mixed stone and glass. Tessera designs bring patterns that date to antiquity into today’s homes, while cutting-edge water-jet styles showcase materials in curvilinear and biomorphic shapes the Romans could only dream of back in Caesar’s day. “We can create amazing, luminous stained-glass pieces in colors not found in natural stone,” says Levinson.
Porcelain provides a durable, low-porosity option for high-traffic residential spots like basements and garages, plus commercial spaces. (The material is desirable to specifiers due to its affordability.) In addition to basic solid shades, it can be fired to resemble not just Calacatta and Travertine, but patinated iron and even woodgrain. Along with stone and glass, it completes Artistic Tile’s trifecta of materials. “Because it’s literally harder to cut into small pieces, we don’t do as many custom patterns with porcelain, although we continue to experiment with different production techniques in order to provide high-design options for large, hospitality-type projects,” says Levinson.
FINISHING TOUCHES
Once the stones are selected, the next step is to choose a finish. “Artistic Tile generally stocks materials either polished or honed,” says Levinson. “Over the last few years in the market, honed has gotten much more popular.” Retaining the smoothness of polished stone without the reflectivity, the primarily matte look of a honed surface is perceived as more low-key and authentic.
For the most variability and a weathered effect, brushing—also known as leathering—brings more texture to the surface. “Each stone takes the finishes somewhat differently based on its particular geological composition,” Levinson explains. “A stone made of both harder and softer materials best shows off the appeal of brushing, because the softer spots will erode a bit more in the process, resulting in organic undulations.”
Less common than polishing, honing or brushing, corduroy finishes—as in the namesake fabric—add geometric rows. “Fluting is a more dimensional, raised, rounded effect suitable for wall applications, whereas with corduroy, the grooves are subtle enough that the ridged surface remains level for flooring,” says Levinson. At Artistic Tile’s recently opened slab-finishing work center, the company continues to explore such textural treatments.
“The choice of finish comes down to application, not just aesthetics,” Levinson continues. How much wear will the tile endure, and how committed is the client to maintaining it? Black marbles like Nero Marquina, for example, look beautiful when polished, but their soft makeup means they’re quick to show scratches. To keep up glossy appearances, black marble flooring requires polishing “on a fairly regular cadence.” As any tourist who has ever trod upon centuries-old slabs in European cathedrals can attest, a polished surface will become honed over time. “We’re just creating the same look in a much quicker window using diamond abrasives,” he says. (What Artistic Tile doesn’t use is any chemical or acid solution to alter its stones—a method some companies employ for expediency’s sake. “It opens the pores on the surface and creates an inconsistent finish,” Levinson states.)
SIZE MATTERS
Beyond patterns, materials and finishes, customization applies to dimensions too. “Standard tile sizes can serve as a jumping-off point,” says Levinson. “The designer might say, ‘I really like this style, but can we scale it up? Can we scale it down? Can we take that element out and put this element in?’” Calculating the cost, yield and waste projections, Artistic Tile may make recommendations, adjusting an 8-inch square down to 6 inches to get more pieces out of the natural stone tile with no overage. “We’ll model it in advance before ever cutting anything,” he explains.
Smaller sizes equal more cutting, which requires more labor, but the upside may be saving on material. “What’s the fine point where everything comes together: the benefit of the highest yield, the best production cost and the desired aesthetic?” Levinson hypothesizes. “There’s a lot of flexibility, but to keep your client happy, you don’t want to throw any one of the legs of that triangle out.” Lately he has noticed a growing appetite for larger patterns and cuts of slab. “We just completed a full residential entry foyer in an allover pattern of big geometric shapes, and I see that trend continuing.”
CUTTING REMARKS
To cut stone and glass into the small, incredibly precise, curvilinear puzzle pieces that make up its extensive array of tightly nested mosaic patterns—and customers’ original designs—Artistic Tile utilizes abrasive water-jet technology, the industry standard. A high-pressure, concentrated stream of water metered with garnet abrasive is blasted at Mach 3 speed through a narrow orifice, slicing 12 inches or deeper into stone without deforming it. For straight-cutting larger slabs, traditional saw blades still get the job done. Lasers may be used to cut more delicate glass. Various tools in between cater to specific circumstances.
“We have been customizing tile in our Secaucus headquarters since the early 2000s. Over the decades, we have evolved from a single-head water-jet to the much faster and more effective saw-jet—cool machinery that combines the advantages of saw- and water-jet cutting,” says Levinson. The equipment can be programmed to use the appropriate type of blade to slice straight or curved shapes. The company also continues to deploy water-jets with up to four heads functioning in tandem to increase production. “They’re better suited to more detailed patterns, and they have a smaller footprint, so they’re easier for the operator to handle,” he adds. By the same token, smaller multiblade saws make straight-cutting grid-style square mosaics more efficient, slicing numerous neat rows of stone at once like ribbons of fettuccine.
The beauty of mosaics is in the marriage of pattern and material. Because no two stones are alike, Artistic Tile adjusts them before cutting, to level the playing field. “Anytime we’re mixing several colors of stone together, or pairing glass with marble, for example, we check the thickness first, and if there’s a difference, we calibrate the materials so that they’re the same,” says Levinson. “It’s one of the features that distinguishes the quality of our products, and it makes for a much better installation.”
STICKY SITUATIONS
Patterns have been selected, palettes confirmed, stones calibrated and cut. It’s time to put together the mosaics by hand. When Artistic Tile first began manufacturing in-house, it had to staff its mosaic department from scratch—craftspeople couldn’t be hired from elsewhere, because the niche didn’t yet exist. “The entire team is female, and each member has incredible attention to detail and an eye for color,” says Levinson. “They put enormous pride into their work.” Each tile is double-checked to make sure the joints are aligned, the colors are compatible, and the surface is smooth, with no minuscule chips or sharp edges sticking out.
“There’s a real magic to mesh mounting,” Levinson continues, referring to the process of adhering mosaic tiles to a webbed backing so that they can be installed in large sections rather than as individual pieces. “You need to have enough glue to hold the material in place, but not so much that it jeopardizes the bond or causes stones to slip out of position. It’s probably the most common mistake I see in the industry: too much glue.” Face-taping the front of the mosaic to secure its pieces until the tile is installed can also present problems. If the tape holds on too tightly, it’s very difficult to peel off—like trying to unwrap an old cough drop. “But if it releases too easily, you end up with chips flying all over the place. It’s a delicate balancing act!” he says. To make layout on-site as straightforward as possible, Artistic Tile’s custom jobs include trimmed, numbered sheets of mesh-mounted tile accompanied by a map indicating how to position them, printed at the warehouse before the sections are packaged for shipment. Because of the company’s capacity to control all aspects of the process in-house, every last detail is considered.
PERFECT PARTNERS
In addition to its Secaucus headquarters, Artistic Tile has nine showrooms and more than 200 authorized dealers across the country. But in the unlikely event that his company is not in your region, Levinson offers some advice when it comes to choosing a vendor to realize your bespoke tile vision. “You want a partner who knows what they’re doing from beginning to end,” he says. To start, look for a wide assortment of quality materials, an extensive palette of colors, and an abundance of mosaic styles to enhance your scheme. Transparency about everything from the total cost to the production time frame and installation plan should accompany the aesthetic options. “Custom tile design is not always an easy process, but your vendor should make it as easy as possible for you,” he notes.
To support the relationship, Artistic Tile provides prospective clients with renderings and samples, and designers are encouraged to tour the facilities and observe the operations for themselves. “People love to pick up the mosaic pieces and play around with them in the trays—it’s such a tactile interaction,” says Levinson. Project materials are photographed as a lot and linked on the sales order, allowing the designer to review everything in one place with a click. “If we execute the request properly and work with the designer to get them what they need, they’re typically going to move forward with the transaction,” he says. “We want all our custom orders to be turnkey.”
This story is a paid promotion and was created in partnership with Artistic Tile.
Homepage image: The palette of Artistic Tile’s Moon water-jet mosaic can be customized to combine glass and stone materials | Courtesy of Artistic Tile
