BEGUILED by Tiles

The bathrooms are full of beautiful vintage tiles. They tell history in a range of colors, shapes and patterns.

• VISION FOR THE FUTURE. Sara inventoried each set of existing tiles, determining which she could leave in place and which ones needed to be replaced. “A lot of the tiles have broken pieces from the demo or other damage from the years of neglect,” she says.

• NEW KIDS ON THE BLOCK. Sara will replace the tiles that are beyond repair. This means she’s on the hunt for the perfect vintage replacement pieces that will seamlessly fit into the surviving tiles. Local shop Shreveport Salvage has been her saving grace. She’s dug through their stashes and found many matching pieces. So far, the solid pieces have been the easiest to replace.

• VARIEGATED VARIANCE. Variegated tiles have beautiful, ethereal surfaces with subtle shading differences, and the Villas have a variety. “These are the hardest to replace,” Sara says. She’s on a mission, actively scouring the internet for them, reaching out to architectural salvage shops and vendors who make reproduction tile.

• NEW OLD TILE. Once Sara has the “new old tile” in place, an installer will come and chip away the broken pieces and start the replacement process. It would be easiest and fastest to replace all the tiles, but Sara is committed to honoring the Villas’ past and sees each tile as a time capsule. “My team says I’m crazy, especially in regards to keeping the variegated tile in the designs,” Sara says. “However, they’ve learned to trust me and have come to understand that my crazy choices result in beautiful unique spaces that garner lots of attention.”

(above, left) This photo captures one of the sillas’ kitchens. “vou can see the termites were gnawing away on the wall to the right of the upper cabinets,” para says. In the rafters above, para’s team has started to replace and strengthen the rafters where the termites have threatened the home’s structural integrity.

(above, right) Termites often work behind the scenes, weakening the infrastructure of a home until it has no internal scaffolding to hold it up. Seeing the damage firsthand can be astounding, as termites themselves are tiny, only about half an inch long. But despite their small size, they can have a big impact.

The sillas feature some vibrant color combinations that are full of life—and uncommon. “kowadays, you won’t really see a color combination like this blue and pink tile,” para says. “I love it because it’s so unusual. It’s a true representation of eclectic vintage style.”