Patterned tiles are HOT! They can be in the form of texture, shape, color, or the way that they are laid on the wall or floor. These tiles, are more often than not, large-format porcelain tiles.
Textured Tiles
Tiles with 3-D waves, fabric-look, and wood-look are some of the most current textured styles covering the pages of design magazines and blog posts.
A 3-D wave effect can be pressed into the tiles in such a way that creates a large but subtle rippled effect is created that covers the entire wall manipulating the light causing areas of shadow and brightness.
New manufacturing processes allow for the creation of tiles with realistic textures like linen and wood. Wood planks can now be made to look and feel so realistic that they are hard to tell from the real thing.
Wood-look tile planks can create drama and add line, form, and pattern to a room all by using the texture to devise a finished ambiance.
Mexican Talavera and Italian Encaustic Style Tiles
Original Mexican Talavera tiles were hand-painted on 4” and 6” ceramic squares. These colorful tiles have long been used as accent tiles on floors, on countertops, as backsplashes, in bathrooms, on tables, and around fireplaces.
While the original tiles are still imported from Mexico, one of the biggest new trends has been developed by borrowing from the original and turning it into both larger square tiles and hexagon tiles.
Another popular look that’s been borrowed from the past is encaustic cement tiles. Most often thought of as Italian or Spanish, they were originally re-created in Viviers, France in 1850 copied from tiles made in monasteries from the 12th until the 14th centuries. The style took off during the Art Deco period.
Both styles can be found in grays and browns, but are best known as bright and colorful repetitive patterns using florals and geometrics.
Fish Scales and Mosaic Flowers
What makes these patterns different from the tiles above is that the pattern is created from putting tiles together in a particular way.
Fish scale tiles look like little round-topped fans that can be made of glass, marble, terra cotta, or porcelain. They are all the rage now, used to make a statement in bathrooms or kitchens. Some of the most beautiful designs have a glass-like enamel glaze.
Mosaic flowers are created with tiles of different shapes, that when put together on a wall make a flower pattern. Like fish scales, they can be made of many different media. One of the most popular currently is glass.
Patterns Provide Polish and Panache
Rooms that take advantage of all that tiles have to offer are memorable and provide the owners of the home a chance to create their own unique style. Tiles are beautiful, striking, and impressive. They are also relatively easy to care for with just a little bit of cleaner once the grout is sealed. Tile is also waterproof and durable and can stand up to all that kids, pets, and time has to throw at them.
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