Decorative tiles: cement tiles and other options

With this post we want to open a new section of the blog where we will be giving you some tips and ideas for your projects.

Today we will talk about decorative tiles: an old fashion that is coming back. We can find this type of tiles at different prices and used in different ways giving a touch of colour to our homes.

• Cement Tiles

In this project Foreign Bear Studio uses hydraulic cement tiles to mark out spaces. On the left image the tiles are defining a semi-exterior space connected to the courtyard and on the right image the tiles mark out the dinning area like a rug would do.

Cement tiles used by Foreign Bear Studio 

In both cases the cement tiles are combined with concrete flooring.

Mosaic del Sur not only offers a great variety of patterns but they also offer the possibility to design your own mosaics and they will manufacture them in 3 to 5 weeks. These tiles are made in Spain, a country with long tradition in manufacturing this type of tiles. 

Manufacturer: Mosaic del Sur
Tile type: hydraulic cement tiles
Use: Interior (floor and walls)
Size: 20x20 cm
Thickness: 16mm
Price: 70£/m2*




Manufacturer: Mosaic del Sur
Tile type: hydraulic cement tiles
Use: Interior (floor and walls)
Size: 20x20 cm
Thickness: 16mm
Price: 63£/m2*

Manufacturer: Mosaic del Sur
Tile type: hydraulic cement tiles
Use: Interior (floor and walls)
Size: 20x20 cm
Thickness: 16mm
Price: 63£/m2*

Manufacturer: Mosaic del Sur
Tile type: hydraulic cement tiles
Use: Interior (floor and walls)
Size: 20x20 cm
Thickness: 16mm
Price: 63£/m2*

Manufacturer: Mosaic del Sur
Tile type: hydraulic cement tiles
Use: Interior (floor and walls)
Size: 20x20 cm
Thickness: 16mm
Price: 66£/m2*

Manufacturer: Mosaic del Sur
Tile type: hydraulic cement tiles
Use: Interior (floor and walls)
Size: 20x20 cm
Thickness: 16mm
Price: 66£/m2*

Manufacturer: Mosaic del Sur
Tile type: hydraulic cement tiles
Use: Interior (floor and walls)
Size: 20x20 cm
Thickness: 16mm
Price: 70£/m2*


*Price excluding VAT and transport cost. When bought in Spain they will be cheaper: instead of 70£, they will be 70€.

You can buy them here.

• Porcelain stoneware with cold digital printing glazing

The product designer Patricia Urquiola is presenting the AZULEJ collection  together with the Italian brand Mutina.

Rectified porcelain stoneware by Mutina

This is the way she describes the collection:

“With the collection Azulej, we would like to evaluate the memory of the hydraulic cement, experimenting an innovative digital printing technique which enables the production of a high diffusion product. The patterns deliberately combine different aesthetic languages: memories, geometrical schemes, floral design, all developed both in a longitudinal and diagonal direction. The process has exponentially developed, and we have managed only to sketch some possible combinations..and now, it’s up to you!”

This are rectified porcelain stoneware with cold digital printing glazing and they resemble the hydraulic cement tiles with the advantage of easier maintenance. 

The collection has 3 series: Grigio, Bianco, and Nero and you can see the three of them in the picture above. Each of them has different tonalities but the same sort of patterns. 

Manufacturer: Mutina
Tile Type: Rectified porcelain stoneware
Use: Interior (floor and walls)
Size: 20x20 cm
Thickness: 10mm
Prize: 118€/m2

Manufacturer: Mutina
Tile Type: Rectified porcelain stoneware
Use: Interior (floor and walls)
Size: 20x20 cm
Thickness: 10mm
Prize: 133€/m2

You can buy them here.

• Budget tiles resembling cement tiles. 

With these budget tiles that resemble more expensive cement tiles you will be able to achieve great results for less than a third of the price.

As well as the Mutina version, this is a porcelain stoneware tile, but this time they are manufactured in Spain instead of Italy. 

Rectified porcelain stoneware by Vives

In the center image above we can see the results of using this type of tiles in an interior project by Casa Sueca. These tiles are sold as an assortment and they can seem a bit overpowering for the amount of patterns that they add to the space. Is that why we should combine them with plain colours and avoid adding many more textures to the space. 

The same collection includes plain grey tiles so you can combine both of them to define different spaces.

Manufacturer: Vives

Tile type: Porcelain stoneware
Use: Interior (floor and walls)
Size: 30x30 cm
Thickness: 7mm
Price: 17€/m2

You can buy them here.

• Red body floor tiles: another budget option

Here we are showing two collections of red body floor tiles: the Terrades Grafito in black and white, and the Tassel Perla that are two of our favourite collections. The manufacturer Vives offers other collections that we find quite interesting as well.  

Red body floor tiles Terrades Grafito and Tassel Perla by Vives

These tiles are an interesting budget option and offer a great range of patterns to choose from.

Manufacturer: Vives

Tile type: Gres red body
Use: Interior (floor and walls)
Sice: 20x20 cm
Thickness: 8mm
Price: 18.62€/m2

Manufacturer: Vives

Tile type: Gres red body
Use: Interior (floor and walls)
Sice: 20x20 cm
Thickness: 8mm

Price: 18.62€/m2



You can buy them here.