Vintage Tile Tour, Continued

By Bill Buyok, Avente Tile

As we conclude our tour of the Original Los Angeles Spec House, I'll pick up where we left off from last week's post.

First, a little background information! If you love tile, then you can't miss this rare opportunity to tour a house with tiles installed in nearly every room, including some Royal Delft cloisonné decorative tiles. Located in the Fairfax District of Los Angeles, the home tour was arranged by Joe Taylor and Sheila Menzies of The Tile Heritage Foundation for a collector. As we finished walking through the kitchen area, we traced our way back from the utility room off the kitchen to the living room. That's when we spied a glazed mural in the kitchen that I had previously missed.

A Dutch-themed mural in the kitchen dates back to the 1920s.

The glazed murals in this home are just amazing! Each mural looks like an oil painting, with the tile-maker's skills and understanding of glazes nothing short of exceptional.

Falling behind the group, I caught up with them in the main bath, where there were two large murals. The one above the bath was inspired by Maxwell Parish and the other, in the shower, was of Yosemite Falls.

The shower nook frames a waterfall mural

Yosemite Falls is the subject of this hand-painted mural from the 1920s.

A playful Maxwell Parish inspired theme is found on the mural above the tub.

The hand-painted tile murals in the master bath are certainly the focal points. However, the tile feast is made even more extraordinary with the use of Royal Delft cloisonné decorative tile accents placed around the room. Here are just a few:

Royal Delft cloisonné decorative tile accent: swan.

Royal Delft cloisonné decorative tile accent: swan.

Royal Delft cloisonné decorative tile accent: Columbus' Ships.

As you step back from the walls, you can't help but notice the quaint floor tile pattern created with plain tiles.

The master bath's tiled floor pattern

Finally, a peek at the small private bath off the main bedroom - as was the custom in houses of that era. The rich, cobalt blue field tile framed the bath beautifully, while the use of stained glass provided ample light and privacy in this small 1-3/4 bath. Playful water nymphs were the subject of the mural for this bathroom's hand-painted tile mural in the shower.

Fretwork trim frame rich cobalt blue tile in this bathroom.

Playful water nymphs are the theme for this mural.

Can you believe all of these tiles are in one home? I want to thank the Tile Heritage Foundation for making this possible. A special thank you to the home owner who so graciously opened his home for all of us to see. This is truly a gem and I'm so thrilled that the tiles have been preserved in their original condition. What a wonderful treat it was. Thank you all, again!