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In my last interior living room article, I touched very briefly on the subject of tiles. This time I’ll elaborate a bit further.
Stone, metal, glass, and prefab hybrid. These are all tile styles that have become so popular over the last few years thanks to technological advances in mass producing it. As a result, one would think ceramic tiles are outdated, in a “good for grandma’s house” sorta way. Grab a chair, you are in for a shock.
First, the pictures.
Pretty darn sexy, yes? All the pictures feature ceramic tile compilations. Ceramic tiles these days are almost red carpet material. Yes they can be a price premium. It’s mostly the deco tiles that will set you back your prettiest penny. But if you have the cash, there isn’t much else to say – except to say it’s bloody well worth it.
At any worthwhile ceramic tile showroom you can easily spend hours upon hours just trying to pick a design and commit to it. And of course with anything ultra cool, once you have made up your mind you’ll inevitably walk by yet another selection of tiles and be transformed into a drooling, indecisive idiot. I’ve been to a ceramic tile showroom in west LA recently that literally blew my mind. It was complete sensory overload.
Ceramic tiles are made of a certain type of clay, which is fired at a certain temperature. At this point someone waves a certain magic wand and presto! Ceramic tile. Ok, that last part isn’t necessarily true, but at least now you know a few steps in the process. The difference between this and porcelain tile (to the consumer) is that ceramic tiles tend to be more artisan, less perfect, more irregular, more striking. On the other hand, porcelain tiles tend to be much more streamlined, much more perfect. Because porcelain tiles are fired at a much higher temperature, it is much more durable than ceramics. Yet most people tend to gravitate towards ceramic tile.
Typically the more perfect something is, the more beautiful we find it. When shopping for tiles, that’s not the case. Ceramic tiles’ beauty lie within the flaws and inconsistencies. Ceramic tiles just have an undeniable charm, and for the most part they look handmade. Of course looking handmade comes part and parcel to actually BEING handmade, but I just thought I would point out the obvious. OK, pointless fact time is over.
To digress momentarily, if you are planning on taking on a tiling job anytime soon, directly below is a tool you will definitely need. As I always say at Interior Living Room, click the fancy-shmancy picture and be wisked away to Amazon land, where you can buy it at a bargain.
What you see to the left is a 24″ Tile Cutter, a heavy duty cutter used by professionals to cut up to 24″ square tiles.
So, back to the point… I’m a huge fan of using ceramic tiles, but I have to be honest, they are a frickin’ pain in the behind to install. Within the process of making ceramic tile, there can be as much as an 8% warping during the cooling process, for whatever reasons. So, when you do start tiling you can normally see a few tiles sticking out and looking odd. It will start to look less and less like you’ve been poked in the eye once you are around 50% completed with the tiling. At this point, the irregularities come together and you start to see the imperfect magnificence of it all. So if you’re new to laying ceramic tile, try not to have a cow when you see what looks like blatent flaws in the product, because when it’s all finished those imperfections will only add to your satisfaction.
Ceramic tile has a limitless design application really. You are only at the mercy of what you’re capable of dreaming up. There’s so many different colors, glazes, shapes, sizes, elements, repeating patterns, … ok, ok… I think you get the picture.
When in Rome, learn frickin’ Italian. (oh, and do as the Romans do) When in a tile showroom, learn what tile goes where (oh, and do what the Romans do). Here are a few factoids worth your attention when shopping for ceramic tiles:
- Field tile is anything that will take up the most space on a wall or floor. It’s typically tile that lacks elaborate designs and decoration.
- Base molding tiles run along the floor, at the bottom of a wall.
- Rail molding tiles are normally used to top off a half wall of tile, creating a textural separation between your normal wall and the tile design.
- corner (or crown) molding tiles are used where the top of the wall meets the ceiling.
To add flare to your tiling, you can use a border molding, which will run along the wall in a row, or you can insert a deco tile. Deco, or “decorative tiles” are used as accent pieces, in between moldings. You woudn’t use deco tiles together because in the first place it would just be too expensive, and in the second place it would end up looking as tacky as your ’80’s acid-washed jeans.
Deco tiles are only used as beautiful accents, splashes of decoration within an overall wall or floor tiling. Just by placing a few deco tiles strategically in your design you will make the most of your efforts.
So whether you think your interior living room needs a feature wall of ceramic tiling, or you just need to tear up your washroom and go nuts, ceramic tiles are a worthwhile and wonderful option to consider.
