PERIOD STYLE WALL & FLOORING TILE
Period style tile is a durable finishing material that approaches a true art form—one reason that tiles have become collectibles.
The use of tile is once again so popular, wall & floor tile is in a category of its own. Today, traditional tile design is used throughout the house, not just in the kitchen and bathroom, but also in fireplace surrounds, entryways, wet bars, indoor fountains, and as murals.
Many people prefer to start in one of the tile subcategories, to get a feel for the products and how they compare:
Art Tile: artisan-made tiles for all uses, and including reproductions, specialty glazes and patinas, and deco tiles
Mosaic/Glass/Metal: small mosaics and non-ceramic tiles
Period Style Floor Tile: tiles with body and glazes specially made for traffic, including true and faux encaustics
Handmade art tiles are among the hottest decorative finishes in homes today, whatever their style or era. Choices include glossy tiles in every color palette (with or without special effects like crackle glazes or aged patinas), matte, slip-glazed tiles in diverse and earthy field colors, and decorative (or “deco”) relief tiles that depict a motif. Revival tiles include De Morgan and Low style Victorian tiles, accurate reproductions of Arts and Crafts Batchelder tiles, boldly colored Moorish Revival deco tiles, and cuerda seca and tube-lined tiles.
Manufactured ceramic tile has gone far beyond the 4 x 4 square. Choose from hexes, octagons, oblongs, diamonds, and rhomboids in sizes that range from 1/2" to 1" dots to field and deco tiles of up to 6" or 8". Mesh-mounted basketweave and herringbone tiles update early-20th-century patterns in a host of fresh colors.
Composed of tiny pieces of stone or glass called tesserae, mosaics can be laid in almost any pattern, from a simple border to a full-blown mural with many nuances of color. Metal tiles make another cool accent, perfect in the kitchen or as a decorative effect on walls anywhere in the house.
Geometric and encaustic tiles, those Victorian favorites, are durable, matte-finish tiles that can be designed into kaleidoscopic patterns. The traditional encaustic method of building up the patterns by pouring different-colored slips into molds means that the colors don’t fade as the pattern wears down.
