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Glass mosaic tile that looks like Mother of Pearl?

13 years ago

I would love to use real Mother of Pearl tile, but what I've seen is waaaay out of our price range. So I'm looking for a glass mosaic look-alike. I've seen lots of iridescent/opalized mosaics but not exactly what I want. I'm probably looking for something that doesn't exist again... why do I do this to myself?! LOL

Thanks in advance for any ideas!

Here is a link that might be useful: Mother of Pearl tiles

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Comments (14)

plumkrazy
Original Author
13 years ago
I love love love the Walker Zanger vintage glass. Haven't priced it yet, but I'm thinking this is out of my price range, too. Sigh.

So maybe there's a knock-off of this tile someone knows of??

Here is a link that might be useful: WZ Vintage Glass
Stacey Collins
13 years ago
Oooh, gorgeous tile.

I got my glass tiles from OKGlassTile.com and they were great to work with. They also had the lowest prices. I know they will custom-make a mosaic for you with the colors you choose, and they have some metallics. Susan Jablon will do that as well, and she may have more to choose from, but she's more expensive. You could start by ordering samples of all the colors you like off their sites (no cost) and see if you can put together a combination you like, then have them made up for you.
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Comments (35)
thanks jjaazzy! i too finally got to speak with john yesterday. my uneasiness about ordering from a source on another continent was put to rest. he is sending me three samples of the hammershell tile. i wanted to see the square and the rectangle patterns so he is making them up for me. the backing is porcelain and i knew about the coating from the website. so, for the hammershell tile the price is $28 US per square and he told me the shipping for 80 sq (my guesstimate) would be $300 US via UPS. i was planning to use it on the floor as a trim/border for marble or porcelain under the tub so it wouldn't be in a high traffic area. i had my suspicions about it's softness. i think by the tub would be safe though, just as long as we don't bring it out too far. i guess i'll make my decisions about that as we get a little closer. that's very strange about the shimmer under the halogens. i wonder if it would make a difference if viewed from another light source? i'll have to see it when it comes in. we don't have any lighting yet (they've just gotten to our roof) so i think i'll take it to a lighting showroom. THANK YOU for the heads up! in the meantime, let me know how you do with shelltile.net. i'll have to look them up as i haven't come across them before. i'll let you know when my samples come in. ...oh, and which of the tile are you looking to buy? thanks again!
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Comments (1)
Kate mine were solid one was MOP made up of 1/2" x 1.5" (guessing)pieces in kind of a hourglass shape tight together on a 4" tile. The other was the Abalone it looks like triangles placed really close together on a 4" tile. I wonder why he said he was going to make up something for you and then is sending something that looks like he had in stock. I am rather disappointed myself that your not getting what you wanted cause I wanted your opinion on it. I would like to email you privately to speak about other issues can you email me directly I think you can link on my profile I changed it today to accept email.
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Comments (3)
Hi Dee - I don't know that it will be any less but the other company that makes beautiful iridescent glass tile is Oceanside Glasstile. But, it is spendy too! We used the Tessera Beach Blonde glass mosaic blend in my daughter's bathroom as a border - and could only afford it because part of the room was a "gift" from my daughters' grandmother who wanted them to have a beautiful bathroom. Hey, I'm not too proud to accept the gift of tile! It is gorgeous though - It was a bathroom so I wanted those spa colors - pics below but it doesn't do the iridescence justice. I see they have several that are in a similar color palette to the one you like from Sonoma. I will tell you that we actually used Sonoma glass tile in our kitchen and wet bar, and after purchasing 14 different types of tile for our projects, it was worth every penny. It is perfect - we found no flaws which is notorious in glass tile. And they take great care with your tile. They sent the border tile for our kitchen individually shrink wrapped on a piece of cardboard! I mixed it with a less expensive tile in order to use it, because it is expensive. We used the Tantrum Rhythm border in Green Tea and then the Tantrum Field 1x1 tiles in Green Tea, Hemp, Canyon Red and Adobe in our backsplash with 5 Miraval Carved 2 x 2 tiles mixed in. Then, in our wetbar we used the Tantrum slivers in Green Tea. (We actually went with a Chinese tile company that has a glass tile that was "sort of" similar to Sonoma and it was terrible. We went through four deliveries of damaged or inconsistent color before our local tile company just decided that it wasn't worth it to try again. They gave us the Sonoma at the price of the other tile, so that was an unexpected gift. I won't even give you the name of that tile because I wouldn't wish it upon anyone!) Since you're looking for a paler palette, can you mix it with a different tile and use it as a border? Maybe a pretty glazed subway or neutral subway tile? Anyway, just thought I'd toss it out there. Maybe check on the Oceanside Glasstile? Good luck! Alexa No caulk yet in the wet bar! Here is a link that might be useful: Oceanside Glasstile
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Comments (3)
What's a little humorous about the DalTile stuff is that it's natural sea shell, and the brochure even says, "Even when dry, it has a liquid sparkle. And when wet, itÂs simply at home", but then elsewhere it says it's not suitable for wet areas or areas frequently exposed to water! :-) It says it needs sealing, then can be cleaned with "a soft cloth and neutral cleaner." Like the glass selection, it is gorgeous and would be unique. By any chance do you have a deep counter where your cooktop is, or a range that has a riser that will protect the backsplash a bit? Our rangetop is out from the wall a bit, because of having deeper counters to each side and pulling it out to match, and it really does a lot to keep most of the mess from landing on our slate backsplash...So the fact that it's not so easy to wipe down isn't as a big a deal.
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cat_mom
13 years ago
We almost used MOP (mosaic) in our MB--the price was pretty decent actually, or at least comparable to others we were considering. I know the tile place had other MOP tile that cost a lot more.

Are you anywhere near NY (southern part of the state)? If so, email me through GW and I can tell you the name of the place if you want to check it out.
pricklypearcactus
13 years ago
Wow that mother of pearl tile is stunning! Maybe you could consider mixing glass tile with the mother of pearl tile (in smaller amounts)?

Check out Oceanside Glasstile. They do a variety of recycled glass tile in a variety of iridescent colors.

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plumkrazy
Original Author
13 years ago
Thanks for the ideas! I'll check out those sites... that Oceanside is beautiful! And I called a local tile store that carries WZ. Expensive, but not much more than some of the other glass mosaics I was looking at. Cat mom, I'm in NC so I don't think I'll be able to get up there anytime soon. Thanks, though! :)
sue_b
13 years ago
When I needed some copper color iridescent 1 x 1 glass tile for my backsplash I bought several different sheets on ebay (about $15 each) so I could really see them and play with it. Search there and consider "Buy it Now" to get low priced samples. I put the words 'mosaic glass tile iridescent white' in the search box (Home category) and a couple came up. They don't photograph very well so it's hard to say how different it will be from real MOP.
plumkrazy
Original Author
13 years ago
Thanks for the ebay tip... hadn't thought of looking there.
plumkrazy
Original Author
13 years ago
I think I hit the jackpot!!!!

Here is a link that might be useful: Glass MOP tile
natenvalsmom
13 years ago
We are currently remodeling our master bath, and we are using the Walker Zanger Vintage Glass tile (color: Zinc Lustre, which is the color shown in the link in your second post). We love it! The tile is not currently 100% installed, and it is not yet grouted, so I am not ready to show pictures, but we are having it cover much of the bathroom. I like how it is subtly iridescent. It was definitely not inexpensive, but really makes a statement. I can't wait to see it finished.
plumkrazy
Original Author
13 years ago
Ohhh, I bet it is going to be gorgeous! Please post pics of it when its been grouted!
spruce40
13 years ago
Natenvalsmom - did you finish your bath yet? Do you have any pics of the vintage glass tile. I am considering this in our master bath and would love to see pics of the finished produce
mahatmacat1
13 years ago
plum, did you get the sample? Can you believe...I went to that website and ordered a sample of your tile at about 11:30 last night. If it's anything like what it looks like online, I think I know what I'm doing in the last bathroom (the 3/4 bath used as guest bath). Great find!

And natenvalsmom, can't wait to see a WZ bathroom. I *know* it will be gorgeous already.
plumkrazy
Original Author
13 years ago
Yes, I got a sample of it and its really pretty! Looks remarkably like real MOP even though its glass. But in the end we decided to go in a different direction (using
Sumi-e recycled glass, instead). Hope you like the sample!
mahatmacat1
13 years ago
Ah...that should be *gorgeous* too. I'll be awaiting the pics...

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