TILE DESIGN: Don't Be A-Skeered of Color

Moorish revival staircase dating from the 1920s:
Now that's some real tile work.

Quick—what color is the tile in a tract-house bath? That’s right—a bland, off-white.  Developers choose off-white ceramic tiles for a simple reason:  They’d much rather bore prospective buyers than risk offending their tastes.

Boring tile colors haven't always been the rule, however. Ceramic tile work reached a peak expression of color and pattern during the Twenties, with the popularity of Moorish and Middle Eastern design. Inspired by the incredibly ornate mosaic work of Islamic architecture, such designs made full use of tile’s color and pattern possibilities. Entrance foyers were frequently inlaid with ornamental motifs or mottoes, and bathrooms became showcases for intricate mosaic tile decorations.

The Art Deco movement of the 1930s brought tile to a high point of another sort. Rather than the intricate tile ornament of the Twenties, Art Deco delighted in bold geometric designs featuring zigzags, stripes, and zigurrat shapes. Colors became more strident as well, with combinations such as pink-and-purple and yellow, gray, and black.

Art Deco tile work of the 1930s wasn't afraid of color either.

During the Modernist years, abstract tile designs based on modern art became popular. No doubt you remember those pastel-tiled showers sprinkled with constellations of multicolored squares.

Given this, er, colorful history, you needn’t feel obliged to use bland tile schemes just because developers do. The real fun of ceramic tile lies in its unlimited potential for adding color and pattern.

•  To explore the possibilities of designing in tile, try drawing on graph paper with colored pencils, using an appropriate number of squares to represent each tile. Better yet, if your computer has a drawing program such as Sketchup, set up a grid of the correct proportions and experiment with color and pattern that way.

Classic 1x1 tile pattern of the
Mid Century era, with its
characteristic preference for
pastel colors.

Remember that, in addition to creating patterns with color alone, you can form designs by placing tiles diagonally or by cutting them into smaller shapes. One suggestion: the larger the tile size, the simpler the design should be. Fussy depictions of objects should generally be avoided altogether. Don’t aim for a rendition of the Last Supper behind your drainboard. Try to stick with straightforward geometric designs.

•  Many tile manufacturers offer decorative pieces designed to complement their regular tile lines.  They’re usually available in a range of colors; some also have embossed textures or hand-painted designs. By combining them with the basic field tiles, you can create some striking combinations. However, try to use such pieces sparingly, both to avoid diluting their design impact and to keep costs in line.  

Glass tile: Pretty hip, but like all other fads, it will
date stamp your remodel "right around 2017".

•  Tile grout is also available in a range of colors. However, be aware that eye-popping grout colors may call more attention to minor defects in the installation, as well as distracting from the tile colors themselves. Colored grout may also be harder to match later on if it becomes necessary.

•  One obvious caveat applies to both tile and grout colors: Unlike paint colors, they’re permanent. Choose color combinations because you like them, not because they happen to be in vogue at the moment. The current fad for glass tile, for example, is sure to date-stamp your remodel with "Designed in 2017". Rather than going with the latest thing, choose a personal favorite you can live with for a long time.