Sunday, November 15, 2009

French and Belgium Encaustic Tiles.

During my last trip to Hong Kong, I was mesmerised by the beautiful French encaustic tiles that adorned the floor of Agnes B's Le Pain Grille Cafe. It has such a lovely colour and matt finish. They add character as well as makes the room a little more special and quaint.

Encaustic tiles are tiles that have patterns on it and they are not the product of glazing but the different colours of clay that are used to make those patterns. They range from 2 to as many as 6 different colours on a single piece of tile.

I love those salvaged vintage encaustic tiles from France and Belgium for their lovely colours and patterns. Some of them are as old as 200 years. They have been lovely salvaged off the floors of old homes, restored and cleaned up. These are then ready to be re-installed in a new home. Alternatively, you can always purchase new tiles which with a little hunting, you might be able to find at your local specialised tile shop.


The Agnes B. Shop with the lovely tiles. The little shop's colour theme of white, grey and wood is so me. Love it.


A closer look at the tiles and the edge.


Another Agnes B. restaurant in HK.


A closer look at the encaustic tiles. These and those in the shop are new, not salvaged.


French Tiles c.1900. from Salvo Web.


Belgium Tiles, 1905. from Uniquities.


Belgium Tiles (1890 - 1914) from Recycling the Past.


French Tiles c.1900. from Uniquities.


A closer look at the French tiles.


Some ideas of what to use the tiles for. I would also recommend using them as a splash back for your bathroom sink or in the kitchen.


1 comment:

Melanie Stephens said...

I'm so excited by your pictures of the restaurant in Hong Kong. We shipped these tiles off to Hong Kong ages ago, but never got to see photos of the final installation. Thank you! The other photos of cement tiles are lovely as well. This medium is full of infinite possibilities.

Warm regards, Melanie