Cuban Heritage Cement Tiles featured in This Old House

The email arrived at 8:54 AM. The message read, "I wanted to let you know that our kitchen featuring Avente Cuban Heritage Tile is in this month's This Old House magazine. I have attached a photo so you can see how it came out. Thanks for the beautiful tile!"

Cuban Heritage Cement Tile Backsplash.
Photo courtesy of Buckminster Green.

Moments like these make my day! When I get a photo of a tile installation from one of our wonderful customers! Yep, that moment is gold. I know the customer was looking for something special and found it at Avente Tile. Then, they worked through the design and installation issues. The project is done and, now, they're just lovin' it. But, they still took the time to send me a picture. I had one of those moments yesterday.

So what are you waiting for? Pick up the October issue of This Old House. On page 37, they feature the Cuban Heritage Design 110-2B cement tile on the kitchen backsplash. You can also hop over to Buckminster Green's Gallery. The first three images show different views of this installation.

I want to thank the fine folks at Buckminster Green for choosing our tile and making my day! Buckminster Green is a general contracting company in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania specializing in green home remodeling. You can view the entire Cuban Heritage cement tile catalog online or check out the details on the Cuban Heritage Design 110-2B.

Create a Cement Tile Floor Plan with Large Patterns & No Border

You've found the cement tile pattern you love. The next step? Layout the pattern in the room. You'll then know how many tiles to order. Also, the tile layer will know exactly how you want the floor to look. A tile floor plan is always recommended and shows the pattern layout in a room. To create a tile floor plan you should follow these steps to achieve the best results. Make sure to use a scaled drawing and include an allowance for the grout joints (usually 1/16").

Cuban Heritage Installation with CH110-2B

In this example, we chose the stunning Cuban Heritage Design 110-1C cement tile. This tile comes in an 8"x8" format and we won't be using the double border since we are flooring a small bedroom. We want to see the pattern throughout the room; but, to avoid chopping up the design we've picked a complimentary solid color tile, Heritage Indigo, that will be used around the room's edge.

Cuban Heritage Design CH110-1C

Heritage Indigo

Here's the steps you need to follow to create a cement tile floor plan for a room. This plan doesn't use a border and is based on using a pattern that requires eight (8) tiles to make the design (CH110-1C).

1. Find the center of the room. Do this either with a chalk line for smaller rooms or more precisely by measuring each side of a rectangular room. When finding the center or a room, ignore closets, niches or alcoves connected to the main part of the room.
   
   
   
2. Place the center of the pattern in the center of the room. Notice the cement tile we chose requires eight (8) tiles to complete the pattern (four cross and four medallion); so, sixteen (16) tiles are placed in the room's center.
   
   
   
3. Continue the pattern in all directions until their isn't enough room to complete the pattern without cutting a tile.
   
   
   
4. Fill the remaining, irregular space around the edge of the patterned field tile with a complimentary solid color cement tile or stone. Connecting closets or small rooms should use the same flooring material as the edges.
   
   
   
5. Voilà! The cement tile layout or plan is complete.
   
   
   

Wasn't that easy? I admit, it does take some time and patience; but, you'll be glad you did. Time spent planning finalizes the design and ensures you have ordered the right quantity of tiles and they'll be installed exactly how you want them.