How To Care For Your Encastic Tiled Floor

If your tiled floor is in an Edwardian property and beautifully coloured you are probably looking at an Encastic tiled floor. Most of the encastic tiled floors we restore have had a real beating. Smashed tiles, glue where carpet was probably stuck to it at one stage, old solvent based polishes.

The point is, once restored the floors are superb and an absolute joy to look at. It requires quite a bit of work but they really are worth it. The tiles themselves are clay information with the various rich terracotta colours burnt in making them extremely durable. They are made by mixing wax and turpentine and then heat bonded. Even when heavy objects are pulled across the tiles and deep scratches occur the colour will still be there unlike most modern day tiles.


The word encaustic comes from the Greek word enkaustiko which literally means "burnt in" the tiles are still available today for repairs from good stone suppliers such as our www.marblemasteruk.com/shop.

Clean the tiles is a relatively painless task as you can use a mild alkaline detergent and a good stone sealant from the shop to easily look after them.

Marble Master offers a restoration service for Georgian and Edwardian tiled hallways and fire surrounds.

Call us for more information on 0800 7317232


About the author:

Edward Green owns and operates the highly successful Marble Master Ltd Company. Marble Master specializes in Restoration and Refinishing of all types of natural stone and consultancy services to Architects, Restoration Companies and Interior Designers. http://www.marblemasteruk.com

Home Fragrance in Vogue


The home fragrance market is booming. From perfume, toiletries, candelliers and cosmetics to pre packaged foods. It is currently a multi billion dollar industry that continues to show strong growth. The strongest growth has taken place in the last 5 years and is expected to continue through 2007 and beyond. Western Europe, Japan, and the US continue to lead with 65 percent of demand and over three-quarters of world wide production of home fragrance products. Rapid growth of home fragrance sales has also been registered in Asia/Pacific, Latin America, and Eastern Europe.

Market researchers attribute the growing trend of home fragrance popularity in the US to the fact that we are spending more time at home. We are using home fragrances to UN-stress ourselves and make our indoor environment a healthier and more pleasing place to be. And we like it, it makes us feel good. Consumer research is quite convincing. People feel better about themselves and are more comfortable at home when a home fragrance delivery system in use.

Market researchers also point out that consumers are eagerly embracing home fragrance products that neutralize odors and bacteria in our indoor air, not just cover them up. A stylish home fragrance delivery system which can be displayed as decor in the home or work place. Consumers desire an attractive as well as efficient home fragrance delivery system.

There are many home fragrance delivery systems available to us today. From the plug-ins, solids, and sprays, to name a few, which temporarily mask or cover up odors and are readily available in the local supermarket. To the stylish and very much in vogue Fragrance Lamps which you won't find in the local supermarket. Fragrance Lamps can be found in specialty gift and decor shops, and on line. One such Fragrance Lamp is the La Tee Da collection of fragrance lamps. http://www.coronetgiftsolutions.com/la-tee-da_effusion_lamps.asp La Tee Da is leading the way in home fragrance effusion lamp technology. La Tee Da's exclusive scalloped burner design enhances the home fragrance experience. La Tee Da fragrance lamps or effusion lamps as they are sometimes called are made of hand blown art glass. These fragrance lamps come in a wide variety of colors, shapes, and sizes. La Tee Da fragrance lamps befit any decor, home or work place.

Sonia Perez of Coronet Gift Solutions http://www.coronetgiftsolutions.com in Florida says her retail customers are becoming creative in their approach to home fragrance. "They like to have different fragrances for each room of their houses. Say, Verbena in the bedroom and Sandalwood Mahogany in the living room or den." Some of her customers fragrance 3 or 4 rooms, each with a different fragrance. Sonia recommends fragrance lamps because of their style and their ability to sanitize the air while they fragrance it. "Fragrance lamps are great! And collectable too." She also supplies interior designers who love using fragrance lamps as a decor embellishment. "The La Tee Da lamps work well as an attractive accent piece to the design scheme and at the same time fragrance and sanitize the room or entire house, and their clients adore them" .Pure indoor air has become a priority with consumers says Sonia. "Women want more than just pretty air; they want clean air at home and at the office."

The La Tee Da fragrance lamp catalytic conversion process is the same as that used by the old time European catalytic burner (effusion lamp) of Justus Von Liebig. Using this catalytic conversion La Tee Da fragrance lamps are highly efficient at sanitizing indoor air, not masking it. These fragrance lamps kill bacteria, including odor causing bacteria, and the unpleasant smells from dirty laundry, pets, mold, musty closets, and bathrooms. Frying fish tonight? No problem. La Tee Da to the rescue! Cooking odors neutralized, fast. Not just temporarily masked. Automobile manufacturers utilize the same catalytic conversion process on the cars we drive to reduce or eliminate noxious fumes, smoke, and odors from automobile exhaust.

In Europe, before the days of modern electronic indoor air purification, the catalytic burner (effusion lamp) was used extensively in institutions such as hospitals, medical clinics and other facilities that required a high degree of indoor air purity. German holistic chemist Justus Von Liebig discovered that through the oxidation of primary alcohols the effusion lamp was efficient in neutralizing bacteria, allergens, and other impurities in the air including smoke and foul odors.

Aware of the health benefits of the effusion lamp, the French began to add liquid fragrance to their effusion lamps. Leave it to the French to transform the effusion lamp into the home fragrance delivery system we today call fragrance lamps. http://www.coronetgiftsolutions.com/la-tee-da_fragrance_lampes.asp Fragrance lamps have for many years been a fixture in homes across the European Continent and are rapidly gaining popularity in North America. Why? Because fragrance lamps sanitize as well as fragrance your indoor oxygen. Neurologist Alan Hirsh director of the Smell and Taste Treatment Center of Chicago has studied fragrance and the positive relation it can have as an aid in learning, reducing or increasing the desire to eat, and in arousal.

Retailers and restaurateurs are taking notice of the power of fragrance. Case studies of restaurants and retail shops using fragrance delivery systems to create ambiance and a perceived pleasurable shopping experience are quite satisfied with the results of fragrance. Customer surveys consistently prove that fragrance ranks high among reasons for customer loyalty to a particular store or eatery. Also customer word of mouth advertising regarding the fragrant environment brings in new customers. Retailers are exploring the power of fragrance, or scent to stimulate favorable emotional and behavioral responses of consumers. Hirsh also points out that the Nobel Prize in medicine was last year granted to researchers who discovered how olfactory receptor cells enable humans to recognize and store in memory 10.000 different odors. Hirsh states, "I think we are going to be seeing interior decorating with smells in the future, the same way we do with color." Sounds good to me. Decorate my bedroom in Verbena, my bathroom in Lavender, and my kitchen in Cinnamon Apple. Fragrance me with Bayberry in the den and Fresh Cut Clover in the laundry room. Sound good to you too? You bet it does!

About the author:

Carol A Cass, the successful owner of “Interior Design by Carol” in Tampa Bay Florida was born and brought up in NYC where she resides with her husband and two children. Before relocating to Florida, Carol was a senior designer and general manager at one of New York's most prestigious design house. She designs unique and creative interior living spaces of all types and themes like water front to rural ranch. Carol received her Bachelors Degree in Interior Designing from the Harrington College of Design in Chicago. http://www.coronetgiftsolutions.com

A Fireplace Screen for decoration and protection

An essential part of a fireplace at your home would be a fireplace screen to channel and control the smoke that accompanies the fire. Décor and budget are the two most important considerations while purchasing a fireplace screen. You might just want to sit down with your interior design consultant to work out the details of your purchase.


Fireplace screens typically have three components and can be transparent or opaque. Screens come in materials that are metal as well as glass; they cater to a simple look as well as a more floral appearance. So the question lies not whether you something is available or not, but whether your purchase of a glass fireplace screen or a decorative fireplace screen enhances the feel of your home. The question that one should ask while purchasing a fireplace screen is whether it integrates into the personality that your home represents.

Once the design and the budget aspects are thought through, all that is left is the shopping for the fireplace screen. Now, if it is a first time purchase it always a good idea to visit a few showrooms and get a good idea what is available. There is nothing comparable to actually handling the material you are going to use to enhance your own home. The first time around, you might also want to have your interior decorator accompany you to these places, and if you trust them enough then you could just delegate. If, however, you want to order from the land of the web you might want to keep in mind your experiential learning.

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