Mosaics have always been a favorite sight of mine, ever since I was a little kid. I’d sit down and count all of the blue tiles, or trace out the patterns with my fingers. Even now, I inspect them closely, looking for imperfections in the glass or clay or how it relates to the feel of the room as a whole.
And my favorite type of mosaic tile lately has been recycled glass.
This love is based on two big things- first and foremost is how it looks. The aesthetic of a room is paramount to one’s enjoyment of it. It’s also a gorgeous medium that can transform a bathroom from a stark, 80s influenced black and white powder room to a soothing, oceanic cove with the use of mixed blues and greens. These are only two small examples, but the possibilities are literally endless.
The other reason I (and PlumbTile as a whole) has taken to recycled glass mosaic tiles is their sustainability. They come from reprocessed glass, with some makers of the tile having between 70 and 100% of their material from post consumer content. The tiles are durable as well; so frequent replacement won’t strain wallets and the environment in order to maintain a tiled surface.
A local maker we’re quite fond of is Oceanside Glass Tile. They have been featured on this blog before, but it’d be almost criminal not to mention them here.
Villi Glas has been known to really get back to the roots of glass tile design. They don’t often stick to standard designs, producing irregular shapes that are closer to what ancient mosaic artists would have had to work with thousands of years ago.
Raffi Glass is another left of center maker that rejects the assembly line process of only making square blocks of glass. They still have strong geometric shapes in their collections, but they often interlock or are also irregular, like the above mentioned Villi Glas.
