| Ceramic tile a versatile wall option Choosing tile for your home once meant picking from among a handful of pastel ceramic squares. Flynn has done kitchen walls in floor-to-ceiling tile, and Mathison recommends tiling a single wall from top to bottom in an entryway for a striking effect. In his own kitchen, Flynn recently used 2-foot-by-6-inch rectangular tiles in a muted mix of grays and browns. It's possible to remove old tile and install new on your own. Even the highest quality tile will look unattractive if it's been put in place incorrectly. All three designers are fans of using tile all the way up to the ceiling, rather than the more old-fashioned approach of doing partial tile walls with a snub- nosed edge. The effect is very midcentury modern, "similar to the outside of a Palm Springs home. Many glass and mirror stores will cut them in custom sizes for you, she says. ". "Although I do actually love it, glass tile has become so popular and embraced by builders and developers that I fear it will be associated with 'early millennium,' similar to how flocked wallpaper is thought of as 1970s or mauve being indicative of the 1980s," he said. But glass tile can be expensive, Flynn says, and it's gotten trendy. Porcelain tile is now made to realistically look like any thing from aged wood and rough fieldstones to sleek Italian marble. "It's an almost limitless look" that will make a small shower area feel larger. "Wooden tiles are rather pricey," Flynn says, but Quinn points out that manufacturers such as Porcelanosa now offer porcelain tiles that look strikingly like real wood. "You think of tile more in utilitarian applications," she says, "but it can be a beautiful accent. Here, Quinn and interior designers Brian Patrick Flynn and Mallory Mathison share ideas on embracing tile's new possibilities. "It makes the entire room more cohesive, and it can also give the illusion that a space is larger than it actually is," says Flynn. Mirrored tiles are another option, and Mathison promises they don't have to evoke the 1970s. Simple changes like using "two different-size subway tiles - 2-by-4 and 3-by-6 - alternating stripes of one and then the other," will make a bathroom more stylish and interesting, without becoming outdated quickly. Cork is a dream because it helps soundproof a space, plus it supplies a really warm, organic texture rather than the sleek ceramic surfaces we're used to seeing. Glass tile has become popular. |
Sunday, 10 June 2012
Ceramic tile a versatile wall option
