Tuesday, May 24, 2011

Portuguese Tiles for a Residential Kitchen Retrofit

It's delightful when a customer takes the time to share a photo from a tile project using Avente's Tile. It's even more exciting when Avente can help a customer with special or custom requirements. Last Wednesday some great folks in Chevy Chase, Maryland, sent three photos of their installation.

Charming Kitchen with New Portuguese Braganza Tiles
Charming Kitchen with New Portuguese Braganza 3"x3"
& Existing Field Tile


This was an interesting project because they were using four decorative 3" x 3"corner tiles as inserts to create a 6" x 6" floor medallion and they wanted to keep the existing field tiles; it was just the decorative inserts that needed to be replaced.

Detail of Portuguese Braganza Floor Medallion Inserts
Detail of Four Portuguese Braganza Tiles to Create a Medallion


They purchased samples and were charmed with the Portuguese Braganza because it matched the existing style and their preferred color scheme. However, there was a problem. The tile body was significantly smaller and would require wider grout lines than they desired.

Our friends in Maryland had one question: Could Avente create the tiles in an actual three-inch square format? After discussing the project with our tile artisans, we decided we could and six weeks later our folks in Chevy Chase, Maryland were ready to begin their project. Tiles are sold by their 'nominal size' and not their actual size. A nominal size is a 'trade size' that roughly means 'about' that size. For instance, 3" x 3" tiles may be 2-7/8" square or 3" square.

Visit our site to read more about Nominal vs. Actual Size.

Installation using Portuguese Braganza Tiles as Floor Medallion Inserts
Installation using Portuguese Braganza 3"x3" Tiles as Floor Medallion Inserts


I am so pleased that their kitchen turned out just the way they wanted it! And, I'm glad that Avente could play a part. It is also a tribute to the lasting quality of tile as our friend in Chevy Chase, Maryland writes:

As a testament to the demonstration of how great an old ceramic tile floor can look, the orange tile was laid when we moved into this house - almost 30 years ago!

Cheers! May your new and old tiles continue to serve you well.

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