4 Simple Tips for Using Mexican Tile in New Construction or Remodeling Projects

Are you building a new home or remodeling an existing home? NOW is the time to start thinking about tile! You don’t want to compromise on your dream design because a harried contractor is running out of time!

Mexican Tile Designs has an enormous inventory of solid and decorative tile, trim tile, murals and sinks in stock, but if you are planning to use tile throughout your home perhaps including: a kitchen counter and backsplash, bathroom counters, backsplashes and tub/shower surrounds, stair risers, wainscoting, window trim, door trim or other decorative features; it is best to start planning well in advance.

Here are 4 simple tips:

1.   Not all tiles are created equal:

Mexican tile is hand made in small batches. Often times when we order tile throughout the year, there are slight variations in the color and finish. This can become a challenge when tiling a large area. There could be small variations in the tile if they do not come in the same batch shipment. Our advice is to order all of your tile for large areas at one time. This ensures consistency with the tiles.

2.     It is best to let your design “sink in”:

We’re not talking about the tile around your beautiful Mexican sink…we’re talking about the design. Give yourself plenty of time to do all the design planning necessary to fully realize your vision. Then once you come up with your design, you should take a little time to think about how it will look and feel. Environmental conditions like sunshine and seasons can change the appearance and mood of your design. Get advice from your contractor and the experts at Mexican Tile Designs. Our design staff has helped 100’s of homeowners, restaurants, five star hotels and even celebrities with their tiling projects.

3.   Delays cost money:

One of the biggest challenges contractors face is timing a project. Delays in materials can throw a wrench in the process and cost significant amounts of money and delays in your schedule. Make sure to order your tile well in advance of the date it is needed on-site. Work with your contractor to make sure the materials arrive when they need them. Better that your tile is at our warehouse ready to ship than waiting for our Mexico suppliers to make it.

4.   Order a few extra tile:

It is industry practice is to order 5-10% more tile than actual dimensions may require in order to accommodate cutting and any incidental breakage. This is especially true of Traditional red clay Talavera tile. When using ceramic tile, 2-5% extra is usually sufficient. It’s also a good ide to put a few tiles of each color and design safely aside in a cupboard or closet on the rare chance one later breaks. It may be hard to replicate that tile years or decades later!

Best of all, we offer significant discounts for multi-room or whole house projects! Call for details.

 Benefits of Planning Your Tile Installation 

*Ensure that the tile you want is available when you need it

*Save money on quantity discounts: additional discounts for whole house/multi-room orders!

*Save money with direct & pallet shipping

*Free expert design advice from our world-class experts in tile

Are you ready to begin? Call us today to start planning the home of your dreams! Phone toll free : 866-320-1628, email: info@mexicantiledesigns.com

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Mexican Tile = Global Tile

When you think “Mexican Tile”– it’s time to think globally!  Over the last one hundred years Mexican tile has grown beyond the early Aztec, Mayan and Majolican designs of the late 1800s and early 1900s to incorporate truly global designs.

Mexican Tile Designs now carries tiles with Tuscany, Arts and Crafts, Southwest, Art Deco, Modern, Celtic, Moorish and African influenced designs.  Look at these examples:

        

Mission                           Celtic                              Southwest

        

Spanish                         Moroccan                      Moorish

          

Modern                            Italian                          French

Arts & Crafts

Ancient designs have been interpreted with modern and even oriental flair as evidenced by the work of renowned Ceramic artists Ken Edwards and Gorky Gonzales.

             

Gorky Gonzalez                         Ken Edwards

We have a decorative tile in just the right color and design for your project.

In contrast to the monochromatic , bland look popular in the last few years as evidenced by fads of travertine and granite, these global tiles will bring color, creativity and vibrancy into your home.

Please give us a call for complimentary design help! 866-320-1628 or email: info@mexicandesigns.com and let us help you make your dream come true.

Ideas for Creating Spectacular Stair Risers using Mexican Tile

Give your staircase a New Year’s makeover! A staircase is just a way to go up and down unless you make them EXTRAORDINARY using decorative Mexican Tile on the risers (the vertical portion of each step).

Just look at these fabulous examples:

Stair risers using mixed Talavera Mexican Tile

 

Stair risers using Blue and White theme Mexican tile

 

Stair risers with each stair a different theme of Mexican Tile

You, too, can have a unique, colorful and exciting staircase! Yours can totally reflect your own tastes and creativity.

But where to start?

The cheerful, helpful team at Mexican Tile Designs can help. Just call us! 866-320-1628.

TIP: most stair risers accommodate a 6” tile, but remember that a 4” tile set “on diamond” is also 6”! Then you can cut solid color 4” tile into triangles to fill in the spaces between the decorative tile. Many stair risers are more narrow, where a 4” tile will fit just fine. If a 4” or 6” tile doesn’t fit your risers, Mexican Tile Designs also has custom sizes available, so you can order a size that fits perfectly.

Choose from three different lines of tile, each unique with a different price point so you are sure to find something that fits both your taste and your budget. If you have a lot of stairs, look for quantity discounts.

1. Traditional Talavera red clay Mexican Tile:  rustic, beautiful, less expensive, this tile has been used for centuries to bring Spanish influence, color and excitement to staircases, backsplashes, bathrooms and more. For stair risers, people often choose within a theme, such as: blue and white, fish, birds, or a mix.

Stair risers using a different theme of Mexican Tile on each riser

Perhaps you want each riser to be different and unique, or all the same. Here are two stairways where each riser is the same:

Stair Risers using a single design Mexican Tile 

Stair risers using a single theme Mexican Tile

2.  Especial Ceramic Mexican Tile: These white clay high-temperature fired ceramic tiles are a mid-price point and have a slightly more refined, consistent look than Traditional tiles. Choose from hundreds of gorgeous designs. Perhaps you’d like to alternate solid color Mexican Ceramic tile with decorative as in these striking stair cases, one alternating solid and decorative tiles, and one alternating solid and decorative risers:

Stair risers alternating tiles of decorative and solid color Mexican Tile 

Stair risers alternating steps of decorative and solid color Mexican Tile 

3.  Prima Premium Ceramic Mexican Tile: these exquisite raised-relief tiles instantly add incredible beauty to your home. Each tile is truly a work of art. Photos of these tiles, simply don’t do them justice, order a sample to see for yourself. Here are a just a taste of these tiles:

               

As you can see, the possibilities are endless!

You CAN have spectacular steps, whether it is two steps going into the kitchen or 15 steps going up to the bedrooms. Beautify your steps today!

Call us toll free to help! Mexican Tile Designs 866-459-4305.

Ideas for Using Mexican Tile in a Kitchen Backsplash

Whether you are building a new kitchen or remodeling your old kitchen, there’s nothing like the color, brilliance and beauty of authentic hand-painted Mexican tile to enhance a kitchen backsplash. A backsplash is the area right behind the sink. The area behind a counter is also referred to as the backsplash. It is an area that you see every time you use the sink or counter and often what you first see when you walk into the room. The right tile choice on the backsplash can easily brighten and add interest to the entire room. I want mine to be spectacular!

Mexican tile comes in so many gorgeous patterns and colors that it’s easy to create the kitchen backsplash that is uniquely your own. Here are some great examples I’ve found:

In the first example, a 6×6 raised relief Prima tiles were used join together into a pattern, while the second example uses a solid color tile with raised-relief decorative floral tiles interspersed to create a simple yet elegant linear design.

These next examples all use solid color tile with a decorative BORDER pattern to bring in color and excitement to the kitchen backsplash area:

      

       

As you can see, the border tile is often off-set with solid color complementary trim tile pieces. In all of these examples some of the shades of solid color tile are also set on “diamond” orientation, while others are set in “square” orientation.

In these last examples, a colorful, beautiful array of decorative Mexican tile is used to fill the entire backsplash area:

       

As you can, it all looks beautiful!  It’s hard to go wrong using Mexican tile.  To find your own unique and amazing kitchen design, first decide on the colors you LOVE.  Then choose solid color tile and decorative or border tiles that are in those colors.

If you want some help, Mexican Tile Designs offers free design help for their customers.  Start your project today by calling toll free 1-866-320-1628.

How to buy finished or unfinished Saltillo floor tiles

There is absolutely nothing like Saltillo floor tile to add warmth, charm and Old World ambiance to any room. I absolutely love it—I mean look at this room, nothing else gives you that look!

But how do you choose when there seems to be such variation in selection, type and quality?

It helped me to first understand a few terms:

 CLASSIC SALTILLO PAVER: these are red clay floor tiles, typically from the Saltillo region in Mexico where the clay is found in abundance. Typically they vary in shades of rose, peach, tan–depending on the clay and humidity when they are fired.  This color variation adds to their timeless appeal. Classic Saltillo are cast in forms that are removed once dry enough. They typically have small surface irregularities that add to the charm. If you’re really lucky, you may even find one with a dog or coyote print! The tiles have a smooth face like in this photo of a pre-sealed, unfinished Classic natural Saltillo tile:

We also offer an Antigua version – which increases the number of dents and irregularities and adds an ancient, weathered look to the tile. This photo also shows a beautiful decorative border.

SUPER SALTILLO: these are identical to the classic Saltillo but an additional step in the production rounds the face edges to give a rounded, more finished edge. Super Saltillo have a more pillowed look. These come in Smooth only.

SEALANT: A PRE-Sealer is often applied to Saltillo tiles at the factory that makes the surface water repellant. This keeps them from being saturated with water during the installation process.If Saltillo becomes saturated with water, salts present in the clay will migrate to the surface adding an additional cleaning step to the installation process. Mexican Tile Designs only sells pre-sealed Saltillo in order to protect the quality and the appearance of the tile.

FINISH: There are several types of top Finishes that can be applied to Saltillo tile that give it that warm reddish and amber glow that we all love. Mexican Tile Designs sells several quality products for this purpose. Typically, several coats of a penetrating sealer such as Stone Glamor are applied. This is followed by a final topical finish such as Mex-Seal. It is applied like liquid wax. The topical finish provides a satin gloss finish that is extremely durable. Our stairs have about 9 years of traffic on them and they still look great. If you live in one of several states (such as New York or California) which limits the type of finishes that can be used, we can offer several other alternatives.

It is possible to buy Pre-finished tile, but I strongly recommend against buying these. While it may seem the easier and sometimes cheaper alternative, it can be a disaster. I had a friend with a beautiful Pre-Finish Saltillo floor. A contractor accidently dropped his hammer and chipped a tile. No matter what she used to try to match the finish, it just never blended in and the chip remained visible. But if she’d applied her own top finish, she could have easily sanded the chip and applied the same finish to make the spot virtually disappear and blend perfectly to the rest of the floor.

In this photo below, what looks like gloss is actually worn areas on pre-finished tiles where the finish has worn off. To match this with new finish would be nearly impossible, since the factory finish cannot be duplicated. If you had finished it yourself, you’d know exactly what to use and it probably wouldn’t have worn off in the first place.

On my next blog I’ll talk about how to choose the right shape and size of Saltillo that’s perfect for your project.

In the meantime, if you have any questions, remember that Mexican Tile Designs will always give free friendly design help! 1-866-320-1628.

How to use trim tile to finish a Mexican tile kitchen or bathroom countertop

There is nothing quite so striking as a Mexican tile countertop, whether in your kitchen, bathroom or outdoor bar. The possibilities are endless: you can use only solid color Mexican tiles such as a deep cobalt blue, sprinkle in Decorative Mexican tiles, add a row of Border Mexican tile, or even incorporate a Tile Mural.

Many people know the color and design they want on their kitchen or bathroom countertop, but don’t know how to trim the edges to give a beautiful finished look.

I’ll explain several options here:

1.  Trim it with cut tile:   this is the least expensive option, but requires an experienced tile setter and may not result in the finished look you are hoping for. In this option, such as in the bathroom countertop pictured above, cobalt blue tile is cut into a 1”x 4” strips to finish the top of the backsplash. In this example, 2” x4” Quarter Round Trim Tile is used to finish the front top edge of the countertop. A 2” x 4” Flor de Liz Decorative Border Tile is then applied to the vertical edge.

2.  Trim it with Surface Bullnose Trim Tile or Bullnose Return Trim Tile:  Surface bullnose is a Mexican Trim tile that has one edge that slightly curved in order to flow over the edge of the countertop, or to create a finished edge flush to a painted wall. Bullnose Return Trim tile is very similar but with a more pronounced curve on the leading finished edge.  Both most commonly come in 2” x 4” or 4” x 4” sizes. In the Mexican bathroom countertop pictured here, the edge of the  countertop is finished with cobalt blue surface bullnose.  A piece of Double Bullnose Trim tile (a finished edge on two adjacent sides) finishes the corner of the countertop.  Below, along the vertical edge, a row of 2″x4″ cobalt blue tile is used.

                             

3.  Trim it with Rail Angle Trim Tile:  Rail Angle is a Mexican trim tile designed to fit over a 90 degree edge. It has a sculpted profile that provides an elegant, rounded edge to your countertop and is my personal favorite. It generally comes in 2”x 4” and 2” x 6” sizes. In this example this lovely Mexican tile countertop is trimmed with Rail Angle that matches the Terra Cotta field tile.  The corner is finished with a Rail Cap Outside Corner trim tile.

4.  Trim it with V-Cap Edge Trim Tile:  V-Cap is a type of Mexican trim tile with a straight 90-degree shape with no rounded edge. It also works great for edging countertops and provides a clean, simple line. Check out this example of a beautiful Mexican Tile Countertop and see if you can see the difference between V-Cap and Rail Angle for your Mexican Tile Countertop.

No matter how you trim your Mexican Tile countertop, it will be sure to bring beauty into your home, not to mention plenty of compliments!  And remember that there is nothing like a hand-painted Mexican Sink to add pizzaz to your bathroom!

Mexican Tile Designs provides FREE design help to insure that your tile project turns out exactly how you dreamed it would be!  Just give us a call at 1-866-320-1628 or email us at info@mexicantiledesigns.com

Day of the Dead Mexican Tiles available now!

Mexican Tile Designs has a full collection of authentic Mexican Day of the Dead tiles!

These tiles are raised-relief, colorful designs on a black background and include skeletons playing baseball, skeletons playing basketball, skeletons playing cards, skeletons drinking beer, skeletons dancing, mountaineer skeletons, a doctor skeleton, a skeleton bride and groom, and many more including several decorated skull tiles!

Please check out our Day of the Dead tile page !  We are actively growing our collection !

Please call us at 1-866-320-1628 or email us at info@mexicantiledesigns.com and let us know if you are looking for a specific design!

Here is our Catrina Day of the Dead tile murals:

Gorky Gonzales Collectible Art Tiles

Mexican Tile Designs is extremely proud to carry an exclusive line of collectible Mexican art tile from the studio of renowned ceramicist, Gorky Gonzales Mexican Ceramic Art tiles.

These beautiful art tiles come in borders, solids and traditional Mexican designs of horses, Mexican cowboys, women, Day of the Dead, and other motifs.

Here is just a sampling!

Gorky Gonzales is a master ceramicist who won the National Award of Sciences and Arts in Mexico and has been featured in prestigious galleries around the world. Gorky has dedicated his life to the rescue and preservation of the traditional Majolica pottery technique and designs, which dates back to the 17th century.

Gorky studied ceramics in Mexico and then received a scholarship to study in Japan under the tutelage of Tsuji Seimei and Kei Finiwara, both considered Japanese National living treasures. You can see the Japanese influence in his work.

He returned to the central Highlands of Mexico where he, his wife Toshiko and son Gorky Jr. along with a group of skilled craftsman, devote themselves to creating some of the most beautiful and distinctive pottery and ceramics in the world.

Gorky Jr. has followed in his father’s footsteps– continuing and expanding this exquisite line of collectable ceramics and has honored Mexican Tile Designs with an exclusive collection of Gorky art tile, murals and sinks that will add an incredible and totally unique look to any decorating project.

Find our growing selection of Gorky tiles at www.mexicantiledesigns.com today!

NEW raised-relief Malibu-style tile!

Mexican Tile Designs has doubled our Prima tile line of hand-painted, raised relief decorative tiles! 

Each tile in our Prima line of premium Santa Barbara style tile is painstakingly painted by hand over stenciled lines that separate the different colors and prevent them from running during the firing process.  The technique was developed to give this vibrant tile the look of an elegant mosaic. 

The Prima tile line is also sometimes referred to as Malibu tile or Santa Barbara tile because the technique was rediscovered in this county in California.  Some people also refer to it as Moorish tile.  It is especially popular in ocean front properties, outdoor kitchens, Arts and Craft bungalows, and mountain homes.  The color schemes for this tile cover the range from earth tones to brilliant colors. Our Prima decorative tile line combines the use of both matt and gloss glazes that together with the raised relief aspect create a captivating visual and tactile experience.  Mexican Tile Designs carries over 7 unique Mission and Arts and Craft style tiles alone in this line of incredible raised relief tile.

To make these beautiful tiles even more perfect, they are extremely durable, having been fired at very high temperatures.  Prima hand-painted, raised relief Mexican tile can enhance any indoor or outdoor project, including in the kitchen, bathroom, water features, pools, outdoor kitchens and patios.

Check out our entire Prima line of premium Mexican Tile!

Mexican Tile Designs is happy to fill any order, no matter how small!  So order samples today of this exquisite, sensual tile line and experience their quality and beauty first-hand!

Remodel your Shower with Mexican Tile!

There’s something about showering in a bright, beautiful shower that makes you want to sing and starts your day off right!  Hand-painted Mexican ceramic tiles from Mexican Tile Designs can help you affordably create a totally unique and gorgeous space that defines your bathroom.

Here are a couple of examples from the simple to the wild!

As you can see, you are only limited by your own imagination.  But if that does limit you, we at Mexican Tile Designs are happy to help you with a Mexican tile shower design!  Just give us a call toll free at 1.866.320.1628.

One way to begin is to choose your solid color Especial Mexican tile for the background.  Although, if you find a decorative Especial Mexican ceramic tile or Especial ceramic border tile you love, you can easily find a solid color or colors to match it.

At Mexican Tile Designs, all three of our hand-crafted, hand-painted ceramic Spanish tile lines are suitable for showers: Traditional rustic Mexican tile, Especial premium ceramic tile, and Prima raised-relief Malibu-style tile.

Take a look at our website and peruse all three hand-crafted tile lines, our huge selection of Mexican-style ceramic sinks, and our Mexican tile murals to get your own design ideas for creating a new, beautiful bathroom!