On The Surface Blog

Special Order Trends from Phoenix

Roland Arnold, a Sales Representative in the Phoenix market for Arizona Tile is well-known in the industry and respected throughout the Phoenix Valley. Roland works with designers to fabricate residential and commercial spaces that delight customers.

Roland was pleased to share with us the designs that are trending right now in his area of the country. “Tuscan is OUT,” says Roland, “In really high end, there’s a definite trend toward an ‘Antiqued’ look… think more like French Norman, textured stone floors, etc. On the other end of the spectrum, people seem to be going with a more streamlined look, leaning toward minimalism.”

Special Orders

Many customers count on our ability to special order unique and unusual surfaces for their designs. Roland has seen the following trends in recent special orders which resonate with the Antiqued look he referred to earlier.

• Antiqued Giallo Paillanti French Pattern floor
• A hand inlaid mosaic of a European Street Scene
• Brushed finish Beaumaniere slabs
• Special order Autumn Leaves Blend of Scabos Travertine, 5cm block slabs for stair treads, Bushhammered Rebecca Cream 18x36 for wall caps and pool decking

Roland recently helped source surfaces for a unique fireplace. “The last, really big, special project was a hand carved cherub fireplace for a music room, the cherubs are draped in “fabric” and were an exact copy of the homeowner’s favorite garden sculpture, the heads had to be slightly turned downward, and eyes closed in remembrance of the homeowner’s daughter. This just won (in part) an ASID Design Award for the designer.”

Another special order also made from Crema Viejo B Travertine became a unique carved frame for our client’s artwork.

Roland recently created the amazing design that will become the bottom of a swimming pool. The inspiration for the overall idea was the Neptune pool at the Hearst Castle.

The photo was taken at the factory where this was built/waterjet cut. It will be cut into pieces, shipped and reassembled onsite. In order to have stones such as these in a pool, specifically marble, the water has to be specially formulated. This pool is not cleaned with chlorine or salt, but by using an electric charge to ionize the water.

We hope that Roland’s recent projects will inspire you to use natural stone surfaces. By thinking outside the box, you can create amazing pieces that are only limited by your imagination. To learn more about our custom orders and our talented design teams, contact the Arizona Tile location nearest you.