Day 10 ~ Monday, January 24, 2011 TILE, TILE and MORE TILE

Another frigid day here in the Big Apple. Owen and I took a cab to Nemo Tile; they were open today. (Note to anyone interested in Nemo Tile: there website lists incorrect store hours.)

Bathroom Tile ~ Nemo Tile

Nemo Tile is a fantastic store. They have an incredible amount of tiles available: ceramic, porcelain, glass, terra-cotta, stone ..... you name it, they've got it. For me, the idea of selecting tile is incredibly overwhelming. If you saw my post from last weekend, you'll understand the shock and awe I felt trying to select the kitchen floor and backsplash tiles. On that trip, my trusty Posh Project Manager accompanied me. Today it was just me and my canine companion, who, as frustrating as it can be, chose not to inform me of his opinion. (God knows I will be washing the salt off the prince's feet in this new shower, the least he could do was help select the tile.) So, there I stood, helpless, clueless, completely stumped. How could I be so overwhelmed? I have read tons of interior design magazines, books and websites. I should definitely be fine selecting bathroom tile.

But, not to fear, Michael Hoeft, was ready to help me. Michael is an incredibly capable and charming salesperson. I told him right away, I am horrible at picking this stuff. I have no idea what to pick. I really would like your very honest, brutally honest opinion." And amazingly, he gave it! I loved him.

Michael helped me select several possibilities. He was very honest when I chose something that was not particularly wonderful.

"I've never sold that tile once. It is not very Manhattan. See how it looks scratched? It's kind of dreadful."

Thank god! How refreshing to have a salesperson say,

"No. I would definitely say no to that."

Thank god! I had someone who would be honest, someone who would actually be truly helpful. What a great gift. Relieved I had found someone to help me select the tiles (if you are an educator, you might say I had found my "critical friend"), I was prepared to make a decision. Thirty minutes later, I had the floor tile, the wall tile and the grout selected.

Now, I am sure, if you are the Designing Diva I am not, Michael would be also just as wonderful. I can imagine him grabbing tiles left and right, as you explained exactly what yoo were looking for - but, alas, this is not me.


Michael explained the Purchase, Payment and Pick Up Process

~ Nemo Tile has a very small amount of tile on site, but they have a ton of tiles at their warehouse in Queens.

~ In many situations, the homeowner (interior designer, architect, easter bunny, fairy godmother ....) chooses the tile and then either pays for it themselves, or their contractor pays (depends on how you work it out with your contractor).

~ The tile would be ready to be picked up the next day at the Queens warehouse by my contractor.

~ Me or my contractor picks up the tile at the Queens warehouse. So, it is important to give your General Contractor a copy of the paid invoice. Again, Michael was fabulous. He gave me two copies and explained the whole thing to me.

It is important to know there are two prices: one for regular folk and one for contractors. So, its in your best interest to have your contractor pay for it or work something out.

I paid for the beautiful tile, thanked Michael and left with 2 copies of my reciept: one for my records, and one for my contractor to take to the warehouse to pick up my tile.

Price and Availability

Now, comes the question about price. Okay, fair enough. Here goes: tile seems to be expensive no matter where you go. I have gone to Home Depot, Lowes and Nemo Tile. Nemo didn't seem to be more expensive when you compare apples to apples. All three store had "subway tile" in black and white for about the same price. All three stores had mid-range stuff, it seemed like a comparable price. Nemo definitely seemed to have a lot more choice in the high end area.

Nemo has the largest selection available for next day pickup. I also love a store with a salesperson who actually knows their product and who will be honest and help you choose something great. I am sure there are lots of great salespeople at Home Depot and Lowes, but I didn't find them. Maybe they had the day off?

To be fair, Home Depot and Lowes did have a lot more tile available in that specific store. But when Nemo can get you tile the next day, it seems like a non-issue to me. (No, I am not on Nemo's payroll. I just like to tell the world about a great product or service when it happens.

So, to Summarize:
I bought my kitchen floor and backsplash tile at Lowes. I do like my the kitchen tile. We were on our own as far as selecting this tile. Owen got some canine affection, but I didn't receive any kind of human tile assistance.

Nemo Tile rocks! The price is similar (what I saw, I didn't compare everything). Nemo has great salespeople: honest, kind, patient and dog lovers. What more could you want? Most of the Nemo tile is available next day from their Queens warehouse. There was one whole wall which was "special order" or "made to order". I am not sure what that meant, because it didn't apply to me.

So, if I had to do it again, was it worth it to drive to Jersey to go get tile at LowesNemo Tile with superstar salesperson Michael Hoeft.

I would love to hear your experiences. Drop me a line at manhattanRenovation@gmail.com

Nemo Tile info:

www.NemoTile.com
Manhattan Store:
48 East 21st Street
New York, NY 10010
212.505.0009 voice; ask for extension 236 for Michael, the fabulous salesperson directly
212.777.9053 fax


To Reach Michael Hoeft, the fantastic salesperson who helped me choose some rockin' tile,

call 212.505.0009, extension 236

Michael's email address is mhoeft@nemotile.com