Tile as wallpaper

Tile somewhere other than in the kitchen, laundry room or bathroom--this is a trend I see repeatedly at tile shows, in catalogues and in showrooms.

 

The idea of tiling non-traditional rooms is interesting because I don’t see it much in North America, and in my work, I go into a lot of well-designed homes. So, is tiling the bedroom, living room, etc, really wildly popular elsewhere? I don't know. Then again, I don’t know why not, because it is hard to imagine anything more elegant than a wall-sized mural of the most gorgeous tile you’ve ever seen. Think of New Ravenna Mosaics and it's hard to conceive of a place you wouldn't want it.

Many Italian glass tile companies show exotic, erotic or exquisite tile murals. (But sheesh--have you seen the ads? You'd think they were marketing to strip club owners.) Those tile patterns are stunning, but personally, I wonder if I’d want to change that out after a while.

The idea of tile wallpaper—a luxurious, repeating pattern—seems more manageable. Several glass mosaics companies have classic tile patterns I could imagine in a dining room wall above the chair rail, or something romantic--but not clichéd-- for the wall behind the headboard in the bedroom. 

There's Bisazza and Sicis, with their stunning murals, of course. Previously, I've written about the classic Mosaico Italiano stone mosaics. Also, Hakatai and the Canadian company Interstyle, both of which have beautiful glass tile. Oceanside has very unique and lovely glass tile and mosaic lines.

Trend USA is a glass mosaic company with an interesting line called Wallpaper. It was hard to narrow down the selection because there are dozens of designs, but the black and white patterns are very striking. When I saw these photos, I really started thinking about mosaics that really were never meant for a kitchen backsplash.

This organic vine pattern seen above and at right is called "Glorious 3" and the zebra design below is appropriately called "Wild 3". Pretty groovy, I'd say.

Images courtesy of Trend USA.

Art Tile

Is all handmade tile Art Tile?

There could be justification to say that it is, I suppose. Made-by-hand, artisan designed...Yes, I get it. Tile manufacturers are highly skilled craftspeople, and there are lots of beautiful handmade tiles, for sure.

Earlier this week I had a phone interview with Southern Maryland artist, Parran Collery who was both charming and articulate. She told me about her inspiration from nature and how she designed her own unique glazes.

As you can see from the photo, her Eartha Handmade Tiles are eye-candy, and absolutely gorgeous. These tiles are art for the walls, so I don't think there's any question that this handmade tile is Art Tile.

What do you think defines Art Tile?

Turkish tile

Recently, my mother went to Turkey and brought back these photos of the interior of some of the mosques she visited. I love all the abstract designs and the bright colors.

Ultra-Thin Technical Porcelain

For several years, tiles have been getting larger and larger. This year, several manufacturers have introduced ultra-thin, high-performance, large-format porcelain tile. These tiles are very light, minimizing transportation burdens and reducing installation costs, which is great for the environment.

Here are some of the new introductions:

SlimmKer by Inalco is 4 mm thick porcelain, available in 18” x 35.” It is easy to cut or perforate, and is lightweight. A new anchorage system allows for easy replacement, reducing landfill waste and demolition mess.

Ceramiche Ceasar offers large format porcelain, 3m x 1m and only 4.6 mm thick, mounted on fiberglass, with 40% recycled content.

Lea North America introduced SlimTech, a 3mm thick tile. According to Cesare Cabani, "The tile has all certifications for eco you could possibly get." Slimtech is the result of a rolling and compression technology, which totally modifies the traditional production process, the tile is extremely resistant, easy to install and flexible.

Provenza's EcoMood is a very thin tile for walls and floors with texture available in large format. It consists of 40% certified recycled content.

Kerlite by Cotto D'Este offers a range of colors and sizes in 3mm thick porcelain tile for interior and exterior cladding. Optional fiberglass backing adds one half millimeter to the thickness. The tiles are available up to 3m x 1m.

Villa Lagoon Tiles

These cement tiles were designed by Lundy Wilder, who built a hurricane-proof house in Gulf Shores, Alabama. The house survived direct hits from major hurricanes, Ivan and Katrina.

Doesn't the pattern look like a stylized representation of radar images of the eye of a hurricane with spinning clouds? Maybe that was Lundy's intention? Either way, it is a classy pattern and these tiles would look just as great outside of hurricane alley.

Up next

I've been interviewing lots of interesting people for my next article about tile. More information and some gorgeous images coming soon.

Crossville's recycling program

Word has it that Crossville has begun its newest recycling program.

Marketing manager Laurie Lyza explained the process to me at Coverings, "We're going to be able to recycle fired tile. This is a huge investment, but it will solve the problem of how to make new tile from old tile."

Previously, it was not possible to recycle post-industrial and post-consumer tile. Crossville already reused scrap powders and unfired tile (as do other manufacturers.) Still, hundreds of millions of pounds of damaged tiles went to landfills each year.

"We'll implement a tile take back program for previously installed tiles, resolving the issue: 'What do you do with a product that was designed to last forever?' Well, we're working out the details and this summer we will start productions with our fired tiles," said Lyza.