Candy Store

Look at these beauties. They arrived last Friday in a padded envelope and as soon as I opened it and removed the contents, I got goosebumps. Chill blains. And also, a little teary-eyed. In case I needed any confirmation about what a closet interior designer I've become, simply witness my reaction to 2-inch squares of glass tiles.

The tiles are from Susan Jablon Mosaics, in New York. She's been on my radar for a while, since I looked her up from an ad in the back of Atomic Ranch magazine, admiring her mid-century mosaic line. My plan for the new kitchen is to install her subway tiles as a backsplash -- they are smaller than the average subway tile, at 1x3, but they come in sheets.

For all of last week, I'd pretty much abandoned the plan to go with the tile. I'm in charge of doing the installation myself (er, just as soon as I figure out how) and it all suddenly seemed overwhelming and too taste-specific for a tract-house kitchen and just too damn much all around, taking into account the whole kitchen-gut project.

And then my samples arrived. I ordered a bag containing every color in the glass tile line, since I wasn't sure which exact one I wanted and sample sheets of the subway tiles run about $15 each. (Which is also their price per square foot, fyi.)

This changes everything, I thought, as soon as I opened the bag and took out the first tile. They are beautiful. They are slick and cold and lovely to the touch. They are the Platonic ideal of color. Okay, maybe that's a bit much.

But still. I want to eat them, or lick them. The website didn't do them justice, and my pictures really don't, either.

SO. Tile backsplash project is back on. Pretty sure I'm going with 1906 up there, the pale aqua.

You are all so lovely though, my lovelies. I wish I could pick you all.