You are wondering about what tile is appropriate for your bungalow. So, what is bungalow tile & what are the resources available to obtain it?
The tile most appropriate & at home in a bungalow, is of the Arts & Crafts Movement, unsurpassed in beauty & variety. While the masters of the period, such as Batchelder, are long gone, there is a wonderful group of modern day artisans, working in the Arts & Crafts aesthetic. They produce tiles that could enhance your bungalow, either installed on your fireplace, in your kitchen or bath, or mounted in a tiger oak frame in your study. I have collected these resources & hope that I have included enough images for you to understand what each company offers. It’s a very extensive list, but I feel that each maker, from the well-known to the more obscure, is worth viewing.
A LIST OF BUNGALOW TILE RESOURCES
ART uses modern manufacturing technology to exactly duplicate the sizes & colors of old ceramic tile, manufacturing to your design specifications, or suggesting colors and patterns to correspond with your era of restoration.
Their unglazed porcelain products have:
• flat tops (no cushioned edges)
• square edge (no rounded corners)
• impervious surfaces
• the style of the early 1900’s
ART’s Historical Color Palette is very informative about the tile colors that were used during different periods in design.
5/8” thick, Stoneware clay, hand glazed in lead free, food safe glazes. Suitable for all indoor applications. Each tile has a notch on the back for hanging.
Carreaux du Nord Fine Art Tile
They feature made to order art, border & field tiles for fireplaces, backsplashes in the Arts & Crafts, Art Nouveau & Prairie styles, in your choice of either a gloss or matte finish.
Beautiful, art tile by hand, durable enough for most household applications.
Specializing in classic, traditional & authentic ceramic tile & stone, they include Design Guides on their website to assist you in choosing appropriate tile. Their Subway Ceramics collection, available in The Bungalow Series, offers satin glazes in a variety of historic colors, as well as many complementary accessories. They also carry mosaic tiles & field & border patterns.
Custom Handmade Architectural Ceramics & Tile
Handmade relief tiles available in many different, lovely colors & two different sizes. They also offer matching field tile & borders in all glazes.
Experts in the manufacture and restoration of Craftsman-era tiles. They offer a full line of tiles in 3 sheens.
These distinctive, nature inspired, handmade tiles are available in a beautiful palette of glazes.
A family owned tile business, their in-house designers will work with you to choose the right tiles to create history, in your own, personal style.
Monte, the creator of these tiles, had worked as a potter for a number of years, when he was drawn to durability, warmth & beauty of copper, a material used by many other Arts & Crafts artists.
This company is actually a history museum, owned by Bucks County in Pennsylvania, & operated by TileWorks, a non-profit organization. The tiles are reissues of original designs & are still handmade in a manner similar to those created by Henry Chapman Mercer, the founder, a major contributor to the American Arts & Crafts Movement. They offer workshops & an apprenticeship program to teach the art of handcrafting ceramic tiles & mosaics.
Motawi makes handcrafted ceramic art tiles as well as designing larger-scale tile installations, including fireplace facades, bathrooms & kitchen walls.
Exquisite tiles, many inspired by Batchelder, are made to order by this mother-daughter duo, specifically for your project. They offer brilliant design services to make your installation perfect.
“We believe in the alchemy of earth and fire.”
Founded in 1903, Pewabic is one of the oldest continually operating potteries in the country. Shown above is a beautiful installation for a birthing center.
Reproduction of American Arts and Crafts Tiles, Ernest Batchelder and Claycraft Designs for fireplaces, fountains, floors, wainscot, kitchen & bath.
High quality, high fire decorative tiles, most of which are are hand pressed in molds that are made from their original sculpted works. Inspired by gardening, wildflowers & nature.
To see even more wonderful tiles, visit my Pinterest page!
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Thank you for putting together this extensive list. I’m told by Matt at Modern Bungalow in Denver, who used to carry both Motawi and Terra Firma for fireplaces, that Terra Firma retired and closed during the pandemic. Such a loss!
It truly is a loss, but I appreciate the heads up. I’ll delete it from the article.