Blog

2020 has been a year unlike any of us have ever lived, having completely changed the way business is done in every imaginable industry.  Here at Concept II Tile in Rochester, we understand and appreciate the toll this strange year has taken on so many, as well as the need to make home improveme...

Bathroom remodeling projects present a rather unique opportunity to let your creativity soar, especially if you’re planning on creating a one-of-a-kind custom bathroom tile design.  From artistic patterns and brilliant mosaic arrangements to custom tub surrounds, countertop accents and ba...

There’s certainly no shortage of ways to get creative with tile when remodeling your home, and this is especially true when it comes to custom kitchen tile projects.  Whether you’re considering new kitchen floors, a custom kitchen tile backsplash, or a one-of-a-kind tile countertop...

Replacing old, outdated flooring with something more modern and stylish is an exciting way to ensure that your home is looking its very best during this year’s holiday gatherings. Whether you’re new to the Rochester area and need to replace your new home’s original floors, or a lon...

If you’re the kind of homeowner who’s never been keen on products from big-box home improvement stores, Concept II Tile offers a luxurious alternative to store-bought and mass production tile products.  We take pride in offering the best selection of high-end, premium and practical...

Tile floor is ideal for any area of the home and is most commonly found in kitchens, bathrooms, foyers or hallways, laundry rooms and sunrooms. Rectangular tile has been by far the most popular floor tile over the past 10 years. With the variety of options for tile materials, the first dec...

Choosing tile that is true to your old house without looking dated can be tricky. In this article we've reviewed some old house bathroom tile trends that we'd love to see in your old house and some trends that would be more challenging to pull off. When choosing tile for your old house, keep...

When choosing flooring, many people consider their lifestyle and the wear-and-tear the floor will need to endure. Dogs can be particularly hard on floors - tracking dirt into the house and digging nails into the floor when they run and play. Clients come to our tile store looking for flooring...

Introducing, some of the newest tile boards to the Concept II Tile store from Artistic Tile. Artistic Tile is a family-owned designer tile company offering innovative collections and custom pieces made from the highest quality materials. Their collections include tile made of stone, porcelain, gl...

This Concept II Tile guest bathroom design is seemingly simple, but many little details make this design work. The vanity in this bathroom design is sleek and simple. It is a wall hung zebrawood vanity with a full width lower drawer. To continue the minimalistic look, the Italian fa...

If you've recently been shopping around for tile you may have realized that tile prices vary widely. One of the questions we get quite often is why a similar type of tile can vary so greatly in price from one manufacturer to another. A great example of this is in a marble mosaic tile. Clients wi...

Concept II Tile store is not your ordinary tile store. When you visit our showroom, you will find a vast selection of some of the finest tile options. The comment we hear most from first-time visitors is, “everything here is beautiful,” and we think that is true. On their own, c...

Choosing the right pool tile is more than just design esthetics, it can mean the difference between a long-lasting product and a short-lived one. Using high quality pool approved tile for your pool is imperative. At our tile store, we have several excellent options for pool tile which are not only...

Making the decision between handmade and machined subway tile is a tough one, but hopefully, after reading this article you’ll find the decision a little bit easier to make.   The good news is that if you’re choosing subway tile, you’ve already made one great decision. Sub...

Why Bars Are Making A Comeback Built in bars were popularized in the 1970s and 1980s, but recently have made a comeback. More and more people are seeing their home as a place to entertain family and friends, opting for open floor plans, great rooms and even outdoor kitchens. Having the ultima...

“Wood-look tile is a great option for people who want the aesthetic of wood in a space where real hardwoods would not be best suited: bathrooms, laundry rooms, mudrooms, and even some kitchens.” – Designer, Nicci Winrock Wood Look Porcelain Tile – The Benefits...

Have you ever been to our tile showroom? I only ask because if you haven’t shopped for tile lately, or if your experience is limited to the big box chains, you aren’t seeing the whole picture in tile. One of the most exciting developments is the supply and demand for encaustic ce...

arabesque noun ar·a·besque Simple Definition of ARABESQUE: • a complicated decorative design made with many lines that curve and cross each other • a ballet position in which the dancer stands on one foot and holds one arm forward while the other arm and...

Have you ever been told to go to “your happy place”?  Maybe it was at the end of a yoga class, or in those countdown seconds before a surgery? Well this is image you see above is mine and you are welcome to use it anytime. I look at images of tile all day long, sometimes at...

The waterfall, as a tiled shower design, termed tile waterfall, is a reaction to the widely used horizontal decorative tile band that has been around since Roman Bath houses.  Sometimes called a listel (French) or listello (Italian) this has been a go-to way to add color/design/sparkle/moti...

This drives my family and friends crazy. Everywhere we go, I’m looking at the floors.  I could tell you about the tile flooring in every restaurant and store I go to.  My brain is noting and cataloging every surface, for better or worse.  Of course this goes for har...

Every year the tile manufacturers come to the tile convention trying to outdo each other with bigger, and bigger tile. They are doing it for you, because you made that face, and complained about the grout.  (There are other reasons, more on that later.) Let’s take a trip, back throu...

I don’t love to clean. I know that some people really enjoy it. I appreciate clean, and the ability to maintain clean, but that has not been a priority so far in my busy life. I accept that daily cleaning is not one of my strong suits, but I can also say that I will be the first t...

During the last ten years of working in this field, one of my greatest pleasures has been the observation of the evolution of design vocabulary.  I’ve even kept a little notebook of popular words and phrases that clients use to describe what they want.  I could probably write a b...

When people walk into the Concept II tile showroom for the first time, they often have the same thought, “How do you pick?!” I know this is true because as a Tile Designer at Concept II, more often than not, I hear it said out loud. “How do you pick?…”...