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Which Zellige Tile?

last year

I’m trying to decide which zellige tile I want to use for my kitchen backsplash. Cabinets will be a creamy white (natural cream), Island will be a dark stained oak, and counters will be a white quartz (leaning towards Mont Blanc or Bianco Superiore).
I’m trying to decide between Clé Weathered White, Riad Snow, or Zia Pure White. Anyone have pictures of these tiles to help me decide? I want to make what I pick isn’t too stark white or gray, I want a little creamy to tie into the cabinet colors. Thanks!

Featured Answer

Erika McConnell

last year

Here is cle weathered white in my bathroom. The last pic is with windows covered in film and no natural light so prob a little darker than “normal”. It has shades of so many colors - grayish, bluish, pinkish. Personally, I felt the zia and riad you mention were too gray (could have been samples sent to me however). I have no idea if these go with your other selections :) also — make sure to have a skilled tiler with Zellige — I don’t think they necessarily have to have used it before but this is the time to make sure you have someone experienced with handmade tiles. The only one that is super white is the other cle white one — can’t remember the name now

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Comments (7)

Erika McConnell
last year
Also — I’m not sure if any of them are creamy. I have Calacatta marble floors and they have an off white undertone for reference. . The Zellige is prob technically gray but in person you see a lot of other variations
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HU 83098,,, I have installed the actual zellige. it's about 3/4" thick, irregular. some people don't want the thickness. It was fine for my project since my flooring was also a similar thickness zellige are glazed terra cotta. (I did apply a sealer to my zellige tiles. for some reason the glazing does tend to 'stain' or spot) Riad has some nice colors too. Ture zellige are handmade in Morocco Morocco recently required that true zellige tiles be made from a clay without lime or iron, both of which can damage the tiles, and labeled accordingly. Terracotta is typically fired and glazed just like zellige, but zellige is fired in a traditional olive-pit kiln. They are also heated unevenly to give the tiles natural visual variation. read this article if you like https://www.remodelista.com/posts/moroccan-zellige-terracotta-tiles-pros-cons/ it just depends on if your surface can accomodate the thicker tiles or not. otherwise, get the one you like best.
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I only have multiple samples of both brands 3-5 of each in their whites, I have not used either, yet. The Zia seems slightly less irregular than the Cle. Both require ordering overages, I think 15-20% is standard, but some people who have ordered Cle have ordered as much as 30-40% overages because of the high variability of the tile. It depends upon where you draw the line between "character" and "flawed", which only you can answer. I do think you need to have a very accomplished tile setter to get a great result with this tile. I found the smaller size of the Cle (2x2) so irregular that I ruled it out (it doesn't even sit flat on its back on the counter), and I have a very good tile setter. I like the way these look with a good installation but I would probably order 30%+ overage.
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@dianeknill6, did you move forward with the Zellige tile backsplash? Is it behind your stove? If so, have you had any issues from the stove/oven? We are looking to have a Zellige Tile backsplash. However, when looking at the Cle Tile as an option. We came across the below warning in their Zellige tile specifications, about placing the tile behind an oven. We will have a Thermador oven that we've read about a good amount of people having discoloration and scorching of Quartz and Marble from the rear vent. We've also reached out to Cle Tile, Riad, and Zia Tile, which they all seem to not be aware of the below issue. We're trying to find out if this is a Cle Tile specific issue, or something that happens with all Zellige tiles. Information is limited out there...
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"Zellige should not use a grout joint (should be butt jointed). Wedge spacers can be used to allow for variation in the butted tiles. Minimal maintenance is required on Zellige tiles. Mild soaps or neutral cleaners should be sufficient for most cleaning." Gotta be honest. No it doesn't look great. HOWEVER. You are not running a sauna. It's too much darn tile for ANY kitchen , it's overkill in any tile. It was beyond ambitious in this tile. Re do the back splash, perhaps with a different installer, and btw.......we know not how plumb your walls. The window wall? Drywall. Or bottom of cabinet height at most. Sorry.......but the entire concept of tile, protective and decorative - has gone beyond the pale. Yes, I well realize not what you asked : )
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Sharon Klein
last year
So I have been debating between all these also for the last couple months. For references, I am using Silestone Charcoal Soapstone (Quartz) on the perimeter counters (which will be by the tile) and Caesarstone Statuario Nuvo on the island. I found the Riad Snow Whilte to have too much of a "cool" gray tone to it. Alternatively, I find the Cle Weathered White to have too much of a pink/warm gray undertone. I really liked Cle Sea Salt and Zia Pure White but after I read some bummer reviews on here about Cle, I decidd to go with Zia Pure White. It seems to look the least gray to me and if it does have gray undertones they seem warm ish (warmer than Riad) and subtle. It tough though, I relate, been obsessing. I ordered samples of them all and put them next to each other with the counter color which really helped. I also ordered multiple samples of each.
Erika McConnell
last year
I had zero problems with Cle 🤷🏻‍♀️ but my GC’s designer also ordered everything and dealt with all that. we have enough overage for another bathroom or kitchen backsplash lol. Very few (if any) had so many flaws we couldn’t use them, but I expected them to be chippy.
Joseph Nichols
last year
Hi! Did you make a decision? I am doing bianco superiore quartzite, a white oak island in a mid tone and accessible beige cabinetry with a plaster hood (will be white dove in color). I am curious which tile you picked and how it came out.
watkinla90
6 months ago
What did you end up going with?? will you post pics please?
mwallbrecht
Original Author
6 months ago
Hi all, I ended up going with the Cle Weathered White tile. The overall color is perfect, but I wasn’t super happy with the way the glaze was put on…there were heavy white streaks along the bottom of most tiles, I’m sure due to how they were set to dry. It was too much of a hassle an led expense to try to return so I just used them a way, and really I don’t notice much now. The heavy glaze kind of blends in with the grout lines. I also ended up with a different counter top than originally planned (went with quartz instead of quartzite). The quartz is on the creamier side which goes with these tiles, but I think they would look great with a whiter counter also.

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