I think the type of installation is called broken tile mosaic. I can't determine the type of tile used from the photo. Certainly some designs are superior to others. Landscape designer Roberto Burle Marx used the method extensively in Brazilian outdoor spaces to great effect, but the photo shown is definitely off-putting to my eye. (see: Copacabana beach walk)

If you hate it, remove it and replace it. Painting it might work, but it will still look like the same kind of installation. If it is a high fire, shiny glazed tile, it might not take paint so well, especially with foot traffic.

It’s the classic look of broken quarry tile mosaic. VERY desirable. It lasts a lifetime if you take care of it and don’t mess around and ruin it.

"VERY desirable" is a matter of opinion. If yours looks anything like the borrowed photo you posted, I call it butt-ugly regardless of what the proper name for it might be (just a tile mosaic IMO, and not a well executed one at that).

If it were mine or one of my clients', I would lobby to have it removed and replaced with solid, unbroken tiles for a neat, clean look. Or tiled flagstone.

Broken tile mosaics might be OK for accent pieces inserted into a walkway or used to decorate concrete slab pavers randomly placed in walk but it is overpowering used in the manner shown. And not at all professional looking.

Quite common in 50's/60's houses in a nearby city, and I love it. Yeah, matter of opinion. If you're sure you hate it (live with it a whole year before you decide) then I'd take it out and replace, rather than paint.

There are primarily two different ways to create this product: 1) fitting together broken tiles as best one can (as is shown in the picture) such that the joint are of varying width and 2) where tiles are cut to perfectly match the edge of the adjacent tiles, whereas each joint is of uniform width. The end result between the two methods is dramatically different in quality and class, with the uniform joints outpacing the random joints by a wide margin.

I suggest what downgrades the look besides random joints is the high contrast grout, as it makes each varying joint even more pronounced. If the grout was more similar in color/tone to the tile, it would improve the look ... which, I guess, is your thought about painting them. It could be done as there are masonry paints for floors. However, it would be taking the look into a "plastic-like" direction, being someone artificial looking, and add a potential maintenance component, as paint can chip off over time. I suggest that concrete ACID STAIN would stand a much better chance of turning out. However, I have no experience with the effect stain would have on the tile, so it'd be an experiment. My guess is that the tile would be changed much less than the concrete. If you are interested in doing this, I happen to have a quart and a half of English Red stain (from DirectColors.com) left over from a patio staining project and would be happy to donate them to your cause, if you would like them. (If you buy them, they are $25/quart) You'd only need to pay for shipping, which could be estimated by weighing any quart & 1/2 of liquid plus the plastic bottles. Would be sent from zip 33602.

(If Melissa is not interested in the stain but any other reader is, I'd be happy to send to anyone, anywhere for the cost of shipping.)

Thank you everyone for your info and opinions! We've lived with it for 3 years and hate it. And I'm thinking painting would likely be a bad idea.

Next question- can you lay tile over it?? (Please don't persecute me if this is a dumb question!)

This is the photo of our back patio, from the listing before we purchased the house.

Our plan is to give the exterior a boost. Will be painting the gutters, trim (and shutters in the front) a dark grey.

I actually think that is a great back patio. I don't always love that tile either, but I think your patio looks fabulous. I'm jealous. :-)

If the tile is solid and in good condition, probably you can lay tile over it. However, take into account what happens at the edges of the new, raised tile. Aren't there surfaces that need to be met flush? If you have mismatched surfaces, the end result is going to look very cheap and unprofessional. It would be better to demo the unwanted tile and get rid of it before laying the wanted tile.

I know I'm a little late to the party, but I have been trying to figure out what that is called as well. I have it on my front porch and I hate it too. I have tried to figure out how to cover it up or something.

A cheap and quick fix for that patio would be an outdoor rug. :)

Rachel very pretty indeed!!

Thank you so very much Chessie.

Is there usually structure under? Have on my front porch. On crawlspace and tile is very broken and falling apart like shale stone

Personally I love it! It’s a retro classic look. I would not have put it with brick walls but it would look great in a sunroom.

I don't hate it.

I have it in my front room den, and on my lanai. we want to cover it with wood flooring. What is it called?????? i would love to know aswell

It's commonly called "broken quarry tile mosaic."

I have it on my porch and I hate it. I'm not sure how to cover it or replace it. My house is brick and I wish the porch was too or even poured concrete. I would NEVER paint brick or anything like that, but this tile... I just hate it.

I would paint it with porch paint; I think the contrast of the grout is what makes it so ugly to me and if it's all the same color that would be eliminated. Who knows how it will hold up or how often you'd have to repaint, but if you hate it and are contemplating replacing it, you have nothing to lose. I'd probably do gray to complement the brick's grout.

Here's one tutorial, I'm sure there are others:

Painting tile porch

before:

after:

That tile you have looks great! Well installed and looks lovely against your beautiful lush green lawn. It is not a “cookie cutter patio”. I like it.

I have this floor in my kitchen and family room 1960 ranch. I like the look but it is filthy and nothing I do seems to clean it. Suggestions? This is the mop after my fifth cleaning. (We just bought house.)

Scrub witb soft scrub until clean and shiny, then seal with tile sealer

We call it 'crazy paving'' in the UK, although generally more in reference to concrete or stone slabs.

Sue, I would use a bucket or water, and some good detergent and get on my hands and knees with a scrub brush, and give that floor a really good scrubbing. Once you get it clean, give it a good rinsing and buff it down with a clean towel. A mop will never clean a floor that dirty.

I agree with cat_ky that it is time to get out the big guns on that floor. We have it in our sunroom and someone had sealed over dirt. Our floor was flaky and dirty. (this was some years ago). . We emptied the room, purchased Tile Lab stripper and cleaner as well as Nanoscrub abrasive cleaner from Home Depot. We brought in our wet vac to deal with waste/rinse water. We used long handled scrub brushes and followed label directions, one section at a time. I believe we initially used the stripper and then the scrubber, rinsed copiously and vacuumed. It was hard work but we are very happy we did it. I would never seal a floor like this. Now we can mop it normally with a neutral cleaner we get at Sam’s.

Sanded and seal your floors. It will brighten your kitchen too.

Sue Millager, you might try steam cleaning. I've had great luck using a steam cleaner to clean grout lines that were filthy. It's tedious to do each individual grout joint, but you can also try just a bigger head to do the whole floor.

The only thing I do to mine is vacuum and mop it. Sometimes I’ll use mop n’ glo to make it shine. I’m on Instagram @rachelrsimon for more pictures and video. We have it on our front and back porch as well. 🌿

It looks like glazed quarry tile- in irregular or tumbled shapes.