THEN and now
With the revival of tile-making comes a revival of historically inspired installation design, too. To those familiar with the use of tile in the past, the rooms on this page may look like survivors from an earlier era. The white bathroom could be in an early-20th-century house; the purple-walled bath in a Jazz Age apartment; the fireplace surround in a California bungalow. Yet all were designed in the past 20 years. Indeed, those new to tile may find these installations bold and modern.
A dip into the archives reveals that tile was used in ways both utilitarian and decorative—in all periods. Flamboyant examples proliferated in the golden age of American tile-making, ca. 1910 until 1940—not all of it typically Arts & Crafts, as many assume. White mosaics and earthy amber and green tiles belong to this period, but so do brilliant Spanish-Moorish tiles and storybook Moravian tiles made by Mercer in Pennsylvania.
> cuerda seca A tile-making method using a waxy mineral mix to create a barrier to separate glazes. > deco A decorative tile featuring a distinct pattern or design, or relief. > encaustics Long-wearing tiles with an inlaid pattern produced from different colored clays layered into depressions in a mold.
> geometrics Made using the same method as encaustic tiles, but without a pattern; colored blocks are typically square or triangular.
> grout Specialty mortar product used to fill joints between tile units, creating a water-repellent surface. Not to be confused with caulk.
> Hispano–Moresque A style blending historical Spanish and Islamic influences including brilliantly colored Persian and Isnik designs. Popularly re-interpreted by dozens of Southern California tile makers in the 1920s and ’30s, most famously Malibu Potteries.
> listel / listello A narrow border, used as a linear design element, primarily on walls.
> mural Compositions where each tile is one piece of the overall picture.
> panel A linear composition creating a vertical or horizontal mural, often seen in fireplace surrounds.
> scenic tiles Those that picture a vignette, such as a landscape or figure (e.g., a knight on horseback). May be part of a mural or panel; especially popular in the 1910s–20s.
> tube lining Also called Cuencastyle tiles, those made with thin lines of clay that form basins to separate different glazes (think of cloisonné.)
> unglazed tile Dense tiles without a surface glaze. They have good slip-resistance, but require sealing.