A singular memory from a business trip in June to China is of an old man in a Beijing park standing with a long-handled brush in his hand. He dipped the brush into a small pail and drew characters of the Chinese alphabet on the pavement.

Seeing thousands of other senior citizens in the park engaged in a variety of activities, I wondered if this man was performing a low-impact exercise. I asked a Chinese interpreter if the characters had any meaning.

“Poetry,” he replied.

Then I asked him what was in the pail.

“Water,” he said. “Once it dries, the characters will disappear.”

“How unlike an American,” I said with a laugh. “When we go to the effort to do something, we want it to last. We like to leave our mark.”

I had traveled to China to represent Bath & Kitchen Pro on a tour and trade mission organized by the Ceramic Tile Distributors Association. Being in the company of tile distributors probably led me to make the connection between my experience in the Beijing park and my recent bathroom remodel.

Like most of your customers these days, my wife and I wanted our remodeled bathroom to be comfortable, functional and, just as importantly, impress visitors with its design. We wanted it to look different than other bathrooms. We wanted to leave our mark.

And as with most of your customers, the woman of the household drove the project. With home improvement being almost her second full-time occupation, my wife devised the bathroom design and picked out all the materials with the guidance of our contractor.

The design called for ceramic tile not only on the floor, but also on the walls. Other than giving my opinion (only when it was asked), my sole contribution to the design was to insist on electric radiant heat under the 18-by-18-inch floor tile.

The wall tiles, however, comprise a more complicated design. The variety of styles included chiseled-edge subway tile, a mosaic feature strip and bull-nose edging at chair-rail height.

Everything appeared to be going well until the tile installer looked at the design. He assured my wife that her design wouldn’t work and suggested a much more conventional tile job. The kind of installation, in fact, that he had done in many other bathrooms. One that he’d be much more comfortable doing.

After listening politely to his advice, my wife contacted our general contractor and told him in no uncertain terms that she wanted her design on our new bathroom walls. The work began with the various shapes and sizes of wall tile.

When it was completed, we had the unique bathroom design that we wanted. And, if I do say so myself, it looks really good. The tile, stone and plumbing never fail to impress our friends, neighbors and relatives when they visit.

What’s interesting, though, is that even our tile installer had impressed himself with his work. Once he had finished, he told my wife how nice the bathroom looks. He had done a great job by stretching his talents.

As installers and designers, you have the opportunity to work with your customers to allow them to express their individuality in the bath and kitchen. Together, you can create rooms that make lasting impressions, ones that won’t evaporate into thin air.

Bob Miodonski
Publisher