Tiling for Use and Decoration 
THE MODERN TREND TOWARD EXTENDING THE USE OF TILE TO ALL DEPARTMENTS 
OF THE HOUSE—THE AVAILABLE STYLES AND WHAT IS OFFERED FOR EACH SITUATION 
BY Russell F. Whitehead 
Photographs by Jessie Tarbox Beals, Mary H. Northend, Wurts Brothers and others 
T FIE revealed possibilities of the use of clay as a building ma¬ 
terial have been many and varied. With the beginning of 
permanent buildings, buildings with walls and roofs, we find the 
problem of ornamentation for these surfaces being solved by the 
use of colored clay combined with a rude decoration, and the art 
of baking clay into tile antedates our oldest historical records. 
Why the evolution of interior finish should have resulted in 
the development of wall 
tile it is not difficult to see. 
In eastern countries the 
climate was hot, interiors 
were dark, furnishings 
were few. Tile offered a 
surface which was cool, 
which reflected what little 
light there was, which was 
easily cleaned and which 
supplied a subject of con¬ 
tinued interest. 
The northern climate 
demanded warmth of tex¬ 
ture in wall coverings, and 
with the use of window 
glass abundance of light 
was obtained, rendering a 
reflected surface unneces¬ 
sary. However, there 
came an appreciation of 
the decorated clay indus¬ 
try in Italy which is com¬ 
monly attributed to Lucca Della Robbia—certainly the successful 
development of it to a point where it could be fittingly used for 
important applications in association with other rich material was 
due to his efforts. Della Robbia discovered a method for produc¬ 
ing opaque glazes which could be applied directly upon the body 
of the clay. This opaque glazed work is generally known as 
Faience. 
The art passed on from medieval Italy to the Dutch tile 
makers who carried it to Holland. We are all familiar with the 
seventeenth century Delft tiles with their decorations in blue and 
violet brown. It is to the successors of the Dutch who established 
themselves in Lambeth that the British Isles owe their industry in 
this line. It may be interesting to recall that one Van Hamme was 
granted letters patent to make tiles in England in the early part 
of the seventeenth century. These tiles were known as English 
Delft and made in Bristol, 
Liverpool and Fulham. 
The beginning of apprecia¬ 
tion in America for tile use 
as a decorative feature traces 
its origin back a little more 
than one generation. 
For a while in this twen¬ 
tieth century the pure and 
hygienic surface of the plain 
glazed tile was deemed appro¬ 
priate for bath rooms and 
kitchens only. As a matter of fact, there are few materials which 
add so much to the real usefulness as well as the appearance of a 
bath room as do tiled floors and walls. Then, as the possibilities 
of the color and texture were revealed and the perfectly incom¬ 
bustible nature of burned clay asserted itself, fireplaces were 
fitted with tile, and finally, as it was realized that what was beau¬ 
tiful in a mantel was also beautiful in a vestibule, etc., position 
after position has been 
captured until there are 
few places in the dwelling 
where the simple and in¬ 
teresting surface of glazed 
pottery is out of harmony. 
We find tile used for the 
decoration of walls, floors, 
cornices, ceilings, wains¬ 
coting and friezes —tiles 
for laundry and pantry as 
well as bath room and 
kitchen. Large porch tile 
is growing in every-day 
use to take the place of 
the more expensive ma¬ 
terials used for porch 
flooring. Vestibules, en¬ 
trance halls are both 
turned over to the tiles. 
Whole rooms have been 
designed in the material. 
The designer is called 
upon to do an essay in encaustic painting — floors, ceilings, mould¬ 
ings, in fact all the decoration become a built picture in tile. 
Our story should here pass from the historical to the consid¬ 
eration of the practical and decorative use of the material for our 
own every-day problem. We are building a house, planning to 
build one or just dreaming one and some one has said, “use tile 
for this or that place or room.” Are we justified in considering 
the material and will the final result obtained be satisfactory and 
within the funds at our disposal ? 
The present-day market offers such variety in color, size and 
decoration, together with a large number of surface treatments 
for each piece, that to be understood we think a little ought to be 
said about the material we are considering. 
In the first place, the glaze desired determines the method of 
manufacture. The transparent glaze reveals the structure of the 
tile and the nature of its sur¬ 
face, while the mat glaze in 
its construction is thick and 
opaque, concealing both. 
There are three possible con¬ 
ditions of shaping the clay 
ware — liquid or step, plastic 
or clay, and dry or dust. 
The clay from which the 
tile is made is mined and 
transported to the several til¬ 
ing centers and is always re- 
The various designs of porch tile are not only attractive in color but have the 
advantage of great durability and are unaffected by weather 
For the rough texture brick fireplace tiles forming a various paneled 
design come in many patterns and colors 
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