I went surfing on the Daltile and American Olean websites to check what might be new (retro) in their tile lineups. Sure enough, I see that Daltile has introduced a wonderful looking line of 1/2-inch, glazed porcelain, ‘Athena Mosaic’ tiles — suitable for floors, walls, counter tops and even exteriors — in 41 colors — including an unashamedly-named “Avocado”. Not “Dried Split Pea”. Not “Fresh Algae”. Not “Cow Poop After Eating Grass”. No: Avocado. Good on you, Daltile marketers, for proudly standing behind Team Avocado! There are a bundle of other great colors in this collection, as well –>
In case you haven’t noticed, I’ve been loving all the outrageous 1970s colors, lately. And this tile collection delivers plenty, including the Charlie Brown striped shirt Mustard… the Camel… the Orange Burst… the Galaxy Blue. These wold look fabulous in a 1970s bathroom. The aqua-tinted Spa, on the other hand, would be great in a 60s bath — and I know how much everyone loves their aquamarine. What’s nice about this collection is that it includes a little something for everyone: Daltile has the low-chroma (washed out) contemporary colors for folks into today’s mass market greige look… but they also have the all-out 60s, 70s — even 80s — retro coming on strong. Scared to commit? I count four off-whites, including Pepper White.
Check out the new Daltile Athena mosaics here.
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Gowah-juss!
Oh man, I want to do every surface!
yup – me, too. but need a 70s house that’s falling apart!
Thank you Pam for publishing!! I am going to be passing along this info to all of my customers! LOVE LOVE LOVE! Thanks for always being on top of it Pam:)
That’s awesome… Welcome back Avocado!
These are gorgeous! We have the blues in the glass version. They look fabulous and are good quality. Plus, mosaics are easy to install as a DIY project, but oh my aching back from doing the backsplash. I didn’t need to cut too many tiles, but the few I needed I was able to take to Lowe’s, and they will cut them as long as it’s not a huge job and you mark the cuts (and you bought them there).
What’s the earliest you would plausibly see this size tile? Because I love them but I don’t know if I could commit to a ’70s or even a ’60s look.
But I do like them. I wonder if the white ones could dethrone subway tiles? I LIKE subways but they’re so everywhere I’m wondering what’s next.
I am not sure, Jordanna… I need to do more research on this question…
I saw these tiles today. Very cool 1/2″ mosaic. The gal quoted me $40/retail.
Hi Pam,
Question on mixing matte & shiny tile finishes:
Not sure you’ll see this question, but do you know whether matte finish tiles (like the Aegean shades of aqua/white in this collection) can be mixed with shiny glazed tiles? I mean, can I do that with any historical precedent? And/or, do you think that would look odd?
Finally have a plan for my turquoise bathroom reno (2 years in the “thinking” phase!)….taking out ALL the tile in the tub alcove only (along with tub) and replacing with a shower tiled in ALMOST exact color match, Daltile Aqua Glow. Shower doors will cover transition areas to original tiled walls in the rest of the room, and I am sure the color difference won’t be noticeable.
(My original plan involved saving as many originals in the alcove as possible & using a contrast color below, but this presented a lot of problems, mainly due to water damage behind walls).
When I saw this post, I sent for a sample of the mosaic tiles in Aegean, and the lighter aqua is a dead match for the Aqua Glow, except in a matte finish. I wanted to make a decorative inset/border around the new shower alcove with these, adding also black liner tiles on either side of the mosaic tiles to tie in a black floor. Black doesn’t appear anywhere else in the room so I need to do that. Another option is to order some black mosaics and randomly replace some white tiles in the Aegean mosaic.
So black liner tiles (if I use them) would probably be shiny (I know there’s a technical term for “shiny” in tile glaze!), as are Aqua Glow 4-inch field tiles, but the mosaic border would be matte. Can I ask what you think? I’m not able to find anything that addresses this particular question. My house is a 1952 Cape Cod.
I did contact Daltile to see if the mosaics come in a shiny glaze, but it’s been a couple weeks with no reply. Thought maybe you’d know off the top of your head about mixing glaze types (or have an opinion on it)!
Thanks for your time, I absolutely LOVE your blog!
Andi, can you send me some photos? Use the Contact to engage. I will take a look and maybe feature your question on the blog. Thanks, “two years thinking” – I sure understand!