The primary purpose of setting up decorative ceramic tiles is to please the eye. Decorative tile patterns can break up the monotony of a room, set off a space and create its own space, accent or separate, while yet doing it in a manner that gives pleasure to the eyes. Such tiles can add texture to your walls, can make them glow or seem strong and solid. Decorative ceramic tiles are an inexpensive and artful way to increase the value of your home and its aesthetic value for you.
Ceramic tiles are generally fine wall and floor coverings for walls and floors that might get wet. This is why they are most often found in kitchens and bathrooms. This is a general rule, not a hard and fast one. Not all ceramic tiles resist water. The glazed ones do, but many tiles can absorb water. Those that resist water are called vitreous, or impervious tiles while those that absorb water are called non-vitreous or pervious. If you’re putting up tile primarily for decorative purposes, and secondarily to protect walls or floors against water, be sure when you go looking for your tiles, you get impervious ones.
Decorative ceramic tiles are either created specifically to be ceramic manufacturer decorative or are decorative because you arranged these in a decorative manner. Even tiles of the same color may be used decoratively. Many tiles simulate other materials such as marble, granite, or polished stone. A square of marble-like ceramic tiles might be set into the floor at the front door. As well as protecting the floor beneath from rain-soaked boots, the marble look imparts an expensive and classy feel. Brick looking tiles on the kitchen walls gives a rustic kitchen feel. Ceramic is made of a crystalline oxide. It has a subdued, crystalline appearance if not colored. That appearance alone adds a gentle sparkle to your floors and walls. Glazed, even if only a single color, reflects the light in the room, increasing its brightness. A single color scheme, such as white, gives a uniformed elegance throughout. Decorative tile in a solid color can be very pleasing to the eye.
Decorative ceramic tiles have some decoration on the tile itself. These may be in a myriad of patterns, from circles to squares, from tapestry-like nets to intricate designs reflecting classic to impressionistic styles of art. Selecting the design is the same as shopping for a painting to hang in your living room. It takes the best of your aesthetic sense to choose the one that’s going to be a pleasure to look at on a regular basis. Like all good art, decorative tiles should be chosen with a consideration to its environment, where you intend to install it. A ceramic mural might not be appropriate for a kitchen wall, but totally apropos for a bathroom, for instance. Ceramic tiles with intricate designs might be too dark for a kitchen floor that you have to clean food and grease off of often. The dark colors in the pattern might hide spots and make cleaning it well difficult.
Decorating with decorative ceramic tiles should be carried out as an artist would create a painting. First, envision your decoration. Envision it in a changing environment. Imagine how it will affect you and others. Know what you want to feel when you’ve put it together. Above all, remember, decorative ceramic tiles are laid out to please the eye. Choose the scheme that first pleases yours.