These San Diego Sisters Make Decorative Tile That’s So Cute and Colorful You’d Never Guess It’s Recycled

The San Diego duo behind LIVDEN tiles share a passion for sustainable products, and a love for digging for vintage treasures.

Hilary Gibbs and Georgie Smith with Bio Pic Printed Tile
Hilary Gibbs (left) and Georgie Smith are step-sisters and co-creators of the sustainably made decorative tile brand LIVDEN.
Written by Christine Lennon May 12, 2021

The co-creators of LIVDEN tile, Georgie Smith and Hilary Gibbs, have been a part of their unique family business—transferring patterns and images onto natural stone—since their parents blended their two families when they were young. Their mom, Melinda Earl, started Stone Impressions when she patented a method for hand-printing stone tile back in the mid-90s.

LIVDEN tile backsplash sustainable tile
The Cosmos print tile, like all of their designs, is available as a terrazzo tile (using 65% recycled content) made in Florida, or paperstone, which is manufactured in Washington state.

Courtesy of LIVDEN

The step-sisters combined their experience in the family business with their interest in eco-friendly and sustainable products and playful design and developed their own brand: LIVDEN, domestically made paperstone and terrazzo tile made mostly of post-consumer recycled materials.

sustainable-recycled-tile-livden
From LIVDEN’s Marigold collection, the Arches and Petals patterns are available in seven colorways, and in terrazzo or paperstone tiles.

Courtesy of LIVDEN

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Their terrazzo tiles are manufactured using 60–65% recycled glass. And the paperstone option, made with recycled melamine and paper products and natural pigments, makes for a surprisingly durable and water-resistant product.

sustainable tile wall LIVDEN
Paperstone tile on a restaurant wall (LIVDEN’s boxing pattern in coral) is an interesting alternative to wallpaper.

It’s cute. It’s colorful. It’s designed in California and made in the U.S. And as a bonus, the tile may qualify for LEED points if you’re applying for certification.

LIVDEN sustainable paper stone tile
LIVDEN’s paperstone tile, shown here in the Lola pattern, is made from 90% post-consumer recycled paper.

Here, the sisters and lifelong San Diegans share their favorite local design destinations.

Balboa Island

“Balboa is filled with gorgeous design elements, from the gardens to the ornate building exteriors. It’s one of our favorite places to walk around when we need a little inspiration,” says Hilary. “The hybrid architectural style of the buildings mixing Plateresque, Baroque, Churrigueresque, Rococo, Gothic, and Spanish-Colonial add something completely unique to our community.”

Consignment Classics in Encinitas

“We love going to Consignment Classics because you never know what you are going to find. The one in Encinitas is massive and they are turning over inventory regularly. I got this mid-century TV vanity at a steal that works perfectly in my living room,” Georgie says.

Sea Hive Marketplace in South Oceanside

Sea Hive is divided into sections, with each section devoted to different styles of antiques, furniture, and clothes.  You can get lost in there for hours and come out with one-of-a-kind statement pieces for your home.

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