Recent Cement Tile Projects

It’s been an exciting year so far at Avente Tile. We have worked on several commercial projects, a historic renovation, and shipped lots of samples. Thank you to our many customers who have picked some unique tiles and been patient with us. I always like to share photos of the samples. It provides customers with a better idea of what the cement tiles look like right out of the box. Furthermore, it helps show the tile in a different light compared to the product catalog images. Here's some of the sample cement tiles and colors that we have shipped so far.

You'll remember this tile from last month's blog post. Mark and Erin C. from central New York showed us how Finding the Right Cement Tile Adds a Personalized Touch to their kitchen. Here's some photos of sample stock before we shipped it to a customer.

From the Traditional Series of Cement Tile

Artist Series Fleur-de-Lis in Clover Polished 8" x 8" Cement Tile

I love the simple elegance in this pattern and the bright, warm yellow border. Wouldn't it be great for a sunny breakfast patio?

Traditional Santurce Cement Tile 8" x 8"

From the Artist Series of Cement Tile

I love these muted colors in the bold print. What I find extraordinary with this pattern is the way the cement tile appears to be layered. This unique series of cement tiles is created by artists from the Dominican Republic. It showcases their skills, while elevating cement tile to a functional art form. A portion of each sale supports charities that promote art in the artists' home country.

Traditional Joery Santos Cement Tile 8" x 8"

What do you think of these patterns? Would you considering using any of these cement tile patterns in your home? Let us know what you are thinking.

Spanish Tile as a Building Material

Ceramic tile use throughout Spain is prolific. Not only can it be seen on the floors and walls of Aragonese countryside homes, but ceramic tile also plays an integral role in the everyday functioning of many embellished palatial royal dwellings. It wasn’t until 2011 when I realized just how much of a role ceramic tile played, not only in the current day-to-day daily life of Spaniards, but the depth and complexity of historical value.

The Basilica Nuestra Senora del Pilar, as viewed from across the Ebro river, features vibrant blue, green, yellow, white and ceramic tile on its main dome, as well as its 10 smaller domes.

Last year, along with four members of the architecture and design (A&D) community, I was asked to join the second edition Tile of Spain’s “Reign in Spain A&D Tour.” Tile of Spain is the umbrella brand managed jointly by the Trade Commission of Spain in Miami, FL, and the Spanish Ceramic Tile Manufacturer’s Association (ASCER) in Valencia, Spain. The annual media tour to Spain coincided with Cevisama, the International Ceramic Tile and Bath Furnishings Show held in Valencia. 


The group of architects, interior designers and journalists, including myself, traveled to the cities of Zaragoza, Teruel and Valencia – admiring the Spanish architecture, culture, and culinary temptations – with Cevisama being our final destination. 


Shortly after our arrival to Spain, we were taken to Zaragoza, the capital of the region of Aragon. Located on the banks of the Ebro River, halfway between Madrid and Barcelona, Zaragoza hosted Expo Zaragoza in 2008, where the country showcased its commitment to water conservation, the preservation of the environment and its utilization of sustainable practices. Of course, ceramic tile and terracotta played an integral role in all of this.

The Spanish Pavilion on the grounds of the 2008 Water Expo features 750 terracotta pillars.

The Conference Center of Aragon utilizes 120,000 triangular pieces of ceramic tile on the exterior walls and roof lines.

Walking through the Plaza de la Seo in Zaragoza, we came upon two basilicas, the Cathedral of San Salvador (La Leo) and Nuestra Senora del Pilar. Without a doubt, ceramic tile played both an aesthetic and architectural role in both of these historical structures. The blues, greens and yellows are as vibrant as when they were first applied to the brick exterior of La Leo and to the many baroque domes of Basilica del Pilar.

The tower wall of Basilica of San Salvador (La Leo) features various shapes, colors and sizes of ceramic tile.

A detailed view of the wall shows the vibrancy of the colors and painstaking detail of this installation. 

In my next post, I’ll focus on Teruel (a World Heritage city designated by UNESCO). As a center for Mudejar art, a style influenced by Islamic tradition and more contemporary European architectural styles, the fortress-like city is characterized by extensive use of brick and glazed tiles within its architecture. In the meantime, you can check out the beautiful hand-painted ceramic Spanish tiles offered by Avente Tile. 

Tile from Around the World - Coverings 2012

Last week I had the pleasure of attending and working at The Coverings Tile and Stone Trade show in Orlando. It was absolutely wonderful to see the amazing amount of tile and stone offerings from around the world. There were tile installations that highlighted baths, back splashes and almost every possible area and surface in a home or office. So given all that I had to see I thought I would share a bit of that with you.

www.apavisa.com

Tile, glass and mirror and it makes a beautiful accent to this bathroom setting.

New Ravenna

Look closely and you may see the level of work involved in making sure that each piece fits together perfectly.

There were many colors and designs from a vast array of companies from around the globe.

If you look closely you will see that the darker pieces are actually wood- the dark pieces are walnut in this case. Due to the process involved these tiles, using wood, can actually be used on the vertical surfaces of showers with no  harm to them.

There were also many various tiles with different textures and patterns.

Wonderful examples that could be used as accents for part of a wall or more.

No these are not pieces of wood but tile. Tile manufacturing has advanced with technology and tile can be used for accenting walls in areas that were not common before. Now you can have the look of wood but with the last presence of tile.

Or maybe you would like the look of a wooden floor but with the life and aspects that tile affords? There were many options and vendors to see with many choices available.

Giovanni Barbieri

Tile for floor and wall.

Very small tile can be produced with various shading due to new advances in technology and when assembled- Viola- a picture with clarity is seen.

I would doubt that you would have something like this for your home but what about something like this for a lobby with a unique design that represented your business?

Throughout the show I saw tile that had commercial applications as well as residential uses and it was an aspect that you wouldn't normally see while visiting your local retail store.

The amount to see at this show was intense and I could have talked with others about their tile and stone for days. Viewing the various tiles from all over the globe is really something not to be missed and I hope you have enjoyed this sneak peak into what a tile trade show has to offer.

Disclaimer:

I was compensated by Coverings for assistance provided in their social media program during the show. This post is solely produced by the author and reflects my opinions and thoughts without relevance to the show or individual companies.