Tile and the World Tiles with You

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Putting off painting a dresser last Sunday I lingered long over the New York Time’s T Magazine.  I was enchanted that a “rogue cowlick” is considered stylish as my youngest is ensured to be haute with no effort at all.  Enchanted, too, by the piece on Andre Dubreuil and his family’s chateau.  A man who displays his porcelain around his bathtub because it “looks nice there” is a man after my heart.
But it is the tile, too, that is so engaging.  So lively and cheerful and chatty.  It steps right up and sticks out its hand and says “Hello!” rather than fading into the background and being, well, background.  And white (bread.)

And as my new tag line is “If Someone Can Do It, I Can Do It” I’m wondering how difficult it would be to tile….something.  An as yet undetermined something that needs some waking up.  Some pep.  Which could be me, I suppose, as I spent hours putting off the simple task of painting a dresser. Heaven knows I have parts that could use some clever covering up.

Do read the piece on Dubreuil here if you missed the New York Times on Sunday.  Image, top, photography Martin Morrell; production Gay Gassmann.  Center is, of course, Tom Scheerer again from his book Tom Scheerer Decorates; photography Francesco Lagnese.  The image, last, is Michael S. Smith from his book Elements of Style, which originally appeared in Elle Decor; photography Henry Bourne.

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7 thoughts on “Tile and the World Tiles with You”

  1. Tiles are a true beauty! The real trick in my opinion is to just Tile it, the right way 😉 .. All it takes is teh right aesthetic sense & BOOM! The outcome is very heart throbbing!

    Love
    Jessica x

  2. There is nothing like looking at gorgeous tiles and seeing how they can make a wall glow with their beauty and design!

    xoxo
    Karena
    2013 Artists Series

  3. I've tiled floors and backsplashes and honestly, it is not that hard. In my opinion, the hardest part is mixing the grout and the tile adhesive, but if you have a drill and the right attachment, that can be an easy task, too. Go for it.

  4. Tiling is easy, but tiling in a living space, like getting a tattoo on your face, is something you reaaaaalllly need to be sure you want before you do it.

    ~ESM

  5. You, my dear, are terribly clever. I love your title–"Tile and the World Tiles With You." How long does it take you to think up such magic? I taught news writing for a number of years, and one exercise we always had fun doing was coming up with catching titles. Yours gets an A+++. Besides, I loved the images you highlighted. I do like antique European tiles–the subtle ones.

  6. My husband and I sojourned to Jersey City last month to purchase colorful Moroccan tiles for the main bathroom of our 1940's Connecticut (faux) colonial, as I couldn't bear YAWB (Yet Another White Bathroom). The major retailer tile showrooms only seem to carry subway or basketweave tiles, or those horrible tan builder grade 12 x 12 slabs.

    A few weeks later we went to Italy and I sought out tile stores there, curious about the offerings: the stores were stocked with colorful, affordable hand-painted beauties, not a tan tile to be seen. I was so sad that we didn't have such lovely selections here in the states.

    It made me want to give up my lawyer job to design tile! Or at least become a tile importer… 😉

    I think the YAWB trend is starting to turn as I have seen more colorful tiles start to appear in magazines.

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