matte handmade 3x12 subway tile

last year

Hi there , we have Silestone Eternal Statuario for countertops in suede finish , and a champagne brass Brizo faucet called “Litze” . We will be painting our cabinets in Farrow and Ball “Railings” . My question is should we do the tile matte ( like the store suggests) or is there such thing as a semi gloss?
Many thanks!!

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Ally C
Original Author

last year

To tell someone after they paid over $6,000 for a new countertop that it “should” be stone is a bit much .

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PRO
Patricia Colwell Consulting
last year
last modified: last year
IMO the black is quite contemporary and IMO handmade tiles are not.Your faucet is also contemporary .Why not a simple large format tile in a white to work with the counter in a stacked pattern (which BTW should have been real stone instead of plastic quartz) Matching grout use the brass for pulls and keep it simple then add a color either in the walls or in the stools.
Ally C
Original Author
last year
Why “should” my counter not be quartz? We were going with marble but it just didn’t make sense as it would need to be where the cooktop Is as well and it would have looked terrible and far more lived in than the rest. As for the black, im thinking more English kitchen than contemporary. I like the play of old and new. Our house was built in 1873.
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I'm using a matte subway in an off-white, but I selected a grout as close to the tile color as possible. It was all about what I was trying to accomplish for the tile. I would not change grout based on gloss/matte. I would go by the color that gave me the overall look I wanted with the tile. The subways I'm using are handmade, so they have wavery, imperfect edges, and they're probably close to 1/2" thick. I want to enhance the shape/texture of the tile itself, so I opted for a grout that would disappear. If you want to enhance the presence of the tile a bit more, since yours has a lower profile, then I think a light grey would look nice, especially with the countertops. Have you looked into the beveled subways? They might give a nice enhanced tile look, too, similar to the use of darker grout.
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Any experiences with Fireclay handmade ceramic tiles?
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You are welcome--glad I could help. As I understand it, they use the local clay and recycled materials to create their product. San Jose is known for its clay soil, which can make gardening a challenge here. The reason the price point is higher than other manufacturers is that they can't keep all of the many custom colors that they offer in stock, so they make the tiles on a per order basis. Because the tiles are hand made, they have a hand made look and feel with all the slight variations in size, color, and the patina of hand made tile. The owner is well-known in our area and I know he has received awards for having a green product. I think they also make the old California style tiles that are used in our California Spanish style homes bungalows. The catalogs on their Web site give a good idea of their many offerings. Thanks for the compliment on my kitchen! I hung out here on the garden web during the planning and implementation stages in the 2008-2008 time frame. It took me a whole year to find the tiles for my backsplash and the time and money to finish up the kitchen. I'm mid-steam in a bathroom remodel right now, so I hang out in the bathrooms forum now. Yeah, the bone yard is awesome. Local artists go there all the time and I think they even give a class there on how to make stepping stones from the overstock and seconds there. Good luck!
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They're both beautiful glazes, although I'm partial to Gardenia. There is a great benefit in waiting till your counters are installed before you choose bs tile. Seeing your tile samples in your space, in your light against your materials changes everything. You might decide White Wash is it for you, or you might love Moonshine. I'm not trying to get you to spend more money, but have you considered the glazed thin brick? At $18/sf it's barely more expensive, and there are some seriously beautiful glazes here too. You can use the herringbone layout with these tiles as well. Below are Cotton and Supernova.
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mxk3 z5b_MI
last year
I don't think the countertop is necessarily contemporary --- I think it depends what you do with it -- but the faucet definitely is. Is that the look you're going for in a historic house?

IDK about the matte tiles. Can you get some samples and see how you like them? I ended up ordered a Pratt & Larson matte for my own kitchen (not installed yet so no pics), but I found I had a devil of a time finding the color that coordinated well with my countertop in a matte finish. There is not nearly the color choice in matte tiles as there is with gloss.
Ally C
Original Author
last year
Tbh I’m not sure .. I like how English kitchens don’t look too “done”… I also like the play of modern and old.. I think I’d get some contemporary lighting , but a Persian rug runner ..
PRO
Patricia Colwell Consulting
last year
Maybe if you had posted pics of the cabinets then I would have better idea of the space and BTW quartz cannot go behind your range or any other cooking appliance stone in polished finish is close to bullet proof and will IMO always trump plastic quartz .
Ally C
Original Author
last year
I really like both of these
M Miller
last year
Setting aside matte or not, I think you will tire of the 3x12 tile long skinny look quickly, and regret it.
Ally C
Original Author
last year
Yes it doesn’t feel right .. I usually know when I love something instantly. Good advice .
kj s
last year
Can I ask why you chose Silestone over quartz? I am debating between the two. I love your inspiration pictures!
darbuka
last year
@kj s…Silestone IS quartz.
Ally C
Original Author
last year
Silestone IS quartz! It’s the brand name like Cesarestone , MSI, Hanstone… so our quartz is Eternal Statuario by Silestone ( who are the original makers of quartz)
kj s
last year
Apologies. My brain is on remodel thinking overload. I was thinking of sintered stone, not silestone. And the typos on the last post...Sorry.
Ally C
Original Author
last year
No apology needed! I get it. I’m losing my mind and sleep lol
Jenn Powers
last year
Have you considered a zellige tile (check out Zia Tile or Clé)? Seems like would be a good match with your taste based on materials. They aren't matte but are handmade and beautifully imperfect. And Railings is my absolute favorite F&B color. We just got semi-custom cabinets that are thermafoiled, not painted, and Railings was the inspiration color!
Circus Peanut
last year
I'm currently hunting for 3x3 arts & crafts tiles for my bath in matte finishes and have sampled a number of them so far -- check out Macintones at completetile.com (which are re-branded McIntyre Tile), also Seneca tile in OH is apparently starting up manufacture again soon. The Macintones are available in a zillion sizing & shape options and the matte finishes I have from them are subtle and gorgeous. Also: Winchester and Claysquared make nice matte finishes.
Ally C
Original Author
last year
Thank you Jenn Powers , I have looked, and LOVE those tiles .Sadly they aren’t available in Canada and to have them shipped is astronomical :(
Sherry Brighton
last year
@Ally C Sonoma Tile has some lovely matte finishes and tile choices. I don't know where you are in Canada but they do have authorized dealers there. I purchased tile from them and it was lovely.

@Circus Peanut if you are looking for arts and craft field, try Matowi Tileworks
clt3
last year
Quemere Designs also makes a matte tile.
Ally C
Original Author
last year
Also, If my counter is suede /matte do I have to go matte with the backsplash?
Circus Peanut
last year
last modified: last year
Sherry, I wish we could afford Motawi (or Pewabic), it's GORGEOUS and exactly what we want, but is around $150 - $180/sft and we're doing a wainscot with shower so need about 240sft. (!!) :)
Circus Peanut
last year
last modified: last year
@Ally C I'm no designer, but personally I'd think the contrast would be pretty. If you do a glossy tile you could choose one that's crackled for a more British, less modern look. (They all crackle over time, but you might not want to wait 50 years for that, lol.)
Holly- Kay
last year
last modified: last year
Circus Peanut, I went to the site you mentioned and used Macintones and also Macintyre Tile and nothing came up. I’ll try google because I’m very interested in seeing it. I did find a beautiful 3 x 6 crackle tile on that site that I want to save.

Edited to add that I found it! Thank you CP!
Circus Peanut
last year
You're most welcome -- here you go!

https://www.completetile.com/products/ceramic/mcintones_ceramics

matte handmade 3x12 subway tile

Ally C
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matte handmade 3x12 subway tile

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