SWO Top Sellers: Peruvian Travertine Tile

Welcome back to our brand new blog series, Stone Wood Outlet Top Sellers. This week we're taking a look at one of the highest quality tile products available: natural stone Peruvian travertine!

Travertine tile is a type of sedimentary stone that is formed when limestone is put under extreme pressure for thousands of years. Limestone, travertine, and marble are all made of the same calcium carbonate deposits, with the difference being the amount of time the stone is exposed to pressure.

Travertine has a medium hardness rating - about 4-5 on the ten-point MOHS hardness scale. This makes it perfect for many high-traffic areas of the home, including hallways, kitchens, bathrooms, and more. However, travertine is a porous stone material, so the material should be sealed with a penetrating sealer to prevent stains and water from seeping into the stone and damaging it.

Travertine tile has a number of useful applications, including:

• Flooring
• Walls
• Shower surrounds
• Fireplaces
• Vanities
• Exterior applications
• ...and much more!

Visit one of our three Portland-area locations today to view our large selection of travertine tile products, or call our professionals today at 503-222-9663.

This travertine tile dining room is just application of the versatile natural stone product.

Floor-to-Ceiling Tile: A Trend That Will Last?

Tile has been used as a functional and stylish building material for hundreds of years. From porcelain tile flooring to glass mosaics, tile is one of the most popular building and interior design materials available. It's easy to see why: tile flooring, counter tops, and back-splashes marry style and usability in a versatile, long-lasting way. They are also pretty easy to clean - take a damp sponge to most any tiling and it wipes clean.

This combination of style, function, durability, and ease of maintenance has led to a hot new design trend for today's modern kitchens: floor-to-ceiling tile. Used by such designers as Christina Murphy and Lauren Liess and featured in such design mags as Elle Decor and House Beautiful, floor-to-ceiling tile projects are all the rage recently. With cabinets, cupboards, and appliances taking up so much room in most kitchens, little wall space is left for decoration. Floor-to-ceiling tiling adds a dramatic focal point in a room that is often overlooked when it comes to design.

There are some drawbacks, of course. Like tile flooring or counter tops, a floor-to-ceiling tile project is a major investment. Tile is one of the longest-lasting building and design materials you can use, so if you're considering a floor-to-ceiling project you will want to make sure you absolutely love the look. You will want to make sure you have the budget for it, too - even the most affordable tile can start to add up when you cover large areas such as walls.

What do you think of floor-to-ceiling tile in the kitchen? Would you ever consider such a project? Where else would you think to use this design technique? Leave us your answers in the comments section below!

Image courtesy of House Beautiful Magazine

Don't Take Our Word For It...

Fact: We love our customers. Whether you're looking for hardwood flooring, natural tile flooring, exterior decking, cabinets, or any of our other high-quality products, we're excited to help you find just the right product for your home improvement needs. And not to toot our own horn, but that high level of customer appreciation doesn't go unnoticed. We often get great feedback from our customers, and today we'd like to share some of their kind words with you (as well as their beautiful finished project photos!). Enjoy!

"I wanted to send you some photographic evidence of how your great service paid off for the customer. We really enjoyed our experience and the advice you and the entire Stone Wood Outlet team provided in making our "do-it-ourselves" project a complete success. We will recommend Stone Wood Outlet to all our friends." - Mike

"These are some pictures of one of the apartments I have refinished. The tile on the floor and countertop and the laminate is from your store. The quality and prices of your materials are great. Everybody that has seen the apartments have liked them a lot. I have enjoyed working with you, since you always have taken the time to explain options and how to best use the materials. The persons at your other outlet have also been helpful and knowledgable about tile and flooring. I can easily recommend your store to my other associates and friends." - Bruce

"We had counters put in last April that we purchased from you. We love them and had a great experience start to finish with you. Thanks again! We recommend you to friends!" — Mo and David

Visit one of our three Portland-area locations to learn more about our great flooring, tile, and cabinet products, or give us a call at 503-222-9663.

SWO Top Sellers: Acacia Hardwood Flooring

Welcome to a brand new series on the Stone Wood Outlet blog: Top Sellers! In this series we will take a look at some of the most popular products at our three Portland locations, explain why we think they're so popular, and make some suggestions as to how you might use them in your next home improvement project. This month's featured product is Acacia hardwood flooring. Enjoy!

Acacia hardwood is one of the most popular exotic imports we offer. With its origins in Australia and parts of East and South Africa, Acacia adds an exotic air to any room. Boards feature a beautiful array of colors, from dark brown heartwood to red-orange and yellow accents, that blend together in an eye-catching and sophisticated way. The wood has an air of romance, perfect for curling up next to a fireplace or having a candlelit dinner for two.

For all its beauty, Acacia hardwood flooring is also one of the most durable species of hardwood available. It is not photosensitive, meaning it won't lose its fantastic color over time. It has a very high Janka hardness rating and, with proper acclimation in the right environment, it experiences little warping. By properly installing an Acacia hardwood floor in your home you can rest assured that floor will be around for a long, long time.

Visit one of our three Portland-area locations to learn more about Acacia hardwood flooring, or give us a call at 503-222-9663.

The Case for Natural Tile Flooring

We recently came across this great video on YouTube regarding the difference between vinyl flooring and natural tile flooring. The host, Donnie, makes many good points about natural tile flooring - it can be cold, it can be uncomfortable to walk on, and it's harder to replace if stained or chipped. However, we feel like Donnie leaves out many important features of natural tile flooring in this video. They are:

Natural tile flooring looks more ... natural.
That isn't to say that vinyl or laminate flooring is unattractive. Quite the opposite. We carry many varieties of laminate flooring and are proud to offer them. And while laminate and vinyl are great, affordable alternatives to natural stone, it's pretty obvious they aren't the real deal. Natural stone has a look and feel that is hard to imitate, and even the most state-of-the-art material can't compare.

Natural tile flooring lasts longer.
Natural tile is one of the longest-lasting flooring materials you can use. Tile and stone has traditionally been used for outdoor building projects because of its durability and ability to stand up to the elements. Today, designers and builders have realized the potential of natural stone and tile as a long-lasting flooring material inside the home as well.

Natural tile flooring is fancier.
Again, vinyl or laminate flooring is a great alternative to natural tile or stone, but let's face it - it isn't as upscale. Natural glass, tile, or stone flooring is a very classy choice for a bathroom, kitchen, foyer, or any other part of your home. As mentioned above, the beauty of a natural flooring material is hard to match, and as much as vinyl or laminate flooring tries, neither really come close to natural tile in terms of pure class.

Visit one of our three Portland-area locations to learn more about natural tile flooring, or give us a call at 503-222-9663.