Always Meliss

Project Background

What happens when a first-time homeowner who is passionate about “fashion, beauty, and home” gets to help design her semi-custom home? A stunning result that perfectly reflects the modern transitional aesthetic full of neutral colors, cozy vibes, and warm wood tones that she and her husband both love.

An Arizona Native Returns Home

Melissa lives with her husband Jesse and their two rescue pups, Maddie & Thelma, in Scottsdale, Arizona after spending four years in often frigid New York City. She describes their reason for moving back to her native Arizona as “…we’re just warm weather people.” However, even people who love the warmth will enjoy the delicious coolness of tile underfoot when the blistering summer heat arrives in Arizona!

Maybe that’s why she chose tile floors for nearly every room in her new house. Fortunately, one of the flooring options offered by their builder was Arizona Tile’s Porta Nuova Rovere tile. These  6-1/2″ x 40″ ceramic plank tiles have the natural wood look they coveted. They would have liked hardwood floors, but they needed something that was easier to maintain since they have an active lifestyle and two energetic dogs

Enjoying the Natural Beauty of Wood with the Easy Care of Tile

They used the Porta Nuova Rovere tile throughout the entire first floor of their home. They also installed it in a herringbone pattern on the floor of the lounge and entertaining space in the loft. The plank size and shape, warm oak color, and natural wood-grain appearance of these tiles create the impression of actual wood floors. The noticeable variations in color and grain pattern throughout the different pieces create movement across the floor.

The resemblance to hardwood floors is really quite remarkable! However, that’s where the comparison ends. Unlike real wood floors, these porcelain tiles are resistant to water damage and don’t require regular care and upkeep. Perfect for an active family!

A Bedroom Upgrade

Unfortunately, their builder’s only flooring option for the bedrooms was carpet. They went with the most basic, zero-cost option because they knew it would only be temporary. They didn’t intend to live with cheap carpeting underfoot when gorgeous tile plank floors awaited. And temporary it was! They had the tile installers back in their home within 48 hours of closing on their new home.

They used the same herringbone pattern as the loft in the main bedroom and its large walk-in closet. Several guest bedrooms still await their upgrade and the laundry room features a different  Arizona Tile pick. It may have been one of the other five Porta Nuova wood color choices or perhaps something entirely different by way of contrast. One thing’s for certain, there are plenty of options to choose from when you visit Arizona Tile!

Laundry Room Update

The bedroom, loft, and first floor were not the only areas of the house that received updated flooring. They also upgraded the tile in the laundry room to Reverie 11 tile. Reverie tile offers patterns reminiscent of vintage designs and creates the impression of hand-painted tile.

Join Melissa on Her Journey Through Life

Her blog, AlwaysMeliss.com, is dedicated to inspiring women to “be their best selves.” In it, she expresses her personal style while inspiring others to do the same. Her beauty, fashion, and lifestyle blog is full of inspiring fashion ideas, beauty and hair tips, and (of course!) ideas for creating the cozy home of your dreams. She even manages to slip in an occasional fitness or travel tip!

She may even keep her followers up-to-date on the transformation of the remaining guest rooms. Since she described her experience working with Arizona Tile as “amazing”, there’s a good chance you may see beautiful tile replacing the carpet in those rooms as well. In fact, she even said she looks forward to working with Arizona Tile again, since we “…were super easy to work with, affordable, and great quality.” Thanks, Melissa!