#GROUTING ZELLIGE TILES HOW TO#
#GROUTING ZELLIGE TILES INSTALL#
#GROUTING ZELLIGE TILES PROFESSIONAL#

This will prevent the thinset from 'burning' In very arid, warm climates, soak each tile in water for 1-2 minutes.For best results, open multiple boxes and pull tiles from different cartons as you go. Zellige tile from many different boxes should be mixed to achieve the best overall blend of colour and imperfections.Follow the adhesive manufacturer's instructions as directed.This is what makes zellige so beautiful installers can use wedge-shaped spacers to help shim tiles vertically in places where they do not touch. The tiles are irregular in shape and will touching in some places and not in others. We recommend a butt-jointed installation for zellige.

#GROUTING ZELLIGE TILES INSTALL#

For wall installations, install using appropriate setting materials that will not allow the tile to slip or sag.Geon Tile recommends using Schluter Systems Ditra or equivalent. Install your tile over a suitable and stable surface with a sub floor membrane/substrate.Prior to installation, remove dust and debris from tiles using a damp cloth.

#GROUTING ZELLIGE TILES PROFESSIONAL#

For larger or more complicated installations with complicated cuts or major imperfections in the substrate, Geon Tile recommends a professional tile installer.

#GROUTING ZELLIGE TILES HOW TO#

Instal them without any gaps between tiles the grouting should be invisible.Īs for how to decorate with them, there are all sorts of ideas you can steal from the House & Garden archive, including a range of creative uses by our Top 100 designers.When installation instructions are followed carefully, zellige tile is a great DIY project. They will look imperfect, and probably quite shiny, too. The tiles should be hand-made, glazed, and should comprise only clay, without lime or iron in them. It’s worth keeping in mind that genuine Zellige has certain requirements to be described as such. You can buy Zellige tiles from any number of outlets in the UK and abroad, including Bert & May, Zellige Tiles, Terrazzo Tiles and Habibi Interiors. In 2019, they were even used in Hermès’ showcase of their new homeware collection at the Salone del Mobile in Milan, in which beautiful plates, vases and trays were set in the midst of astonishing pavilions decorated with 150,000 imported Moroccan zellige tiles those shimmering walls in rich hues of blue, purple, yellow and green set the design world’s hearts a-flutter. That said, you’re as likely to find contemporary Zellige in a trendy French farmhouse or the bathroom of a Manhattan apartment as you are in North Africa, which is no bad thing and evidence of the huge, huge popularity of the style. Often, the hand-made tiles would be made in lozenge or star shapes and fitted together into elaborate, tesselating patterned schemes in different colours, with an emphasis on blues, whites and greens (though you’re more likely to find them in simple squares in contemporary Western homes).įor the best examples of Zellige, the Alhambra in Granada can’t be beaten nor can the madrasas – the Islamic schools – of Fes and Meknes in Morocco. The fact that Islam forbids depictions of Allah or Muhammad means that pattern and decorative arts hold a high status within Arab aesthetics, and zelij was just one of many ways of adorning mosques or other important buildings. Historically, Zellige’s etymology has been traced back to zelij, a style of North African mosaic work found in Islamic art. That variety of tone, flatness, depth and shade is perfect for lending character to whatever space is being tiled – hence Zellige’s popularity. In short, Zellige (pronounced zell-idge) is a type of tiling that originated in Morocco, in which handcrafted tiles were made from a special blend of local clay and then glazed and fired, resulting in a surface with various irregularities that give each tile a unique look. Zellige tiles are one of those buzzwords or phrases that arise time and again when people talk about interiors.

Grouting zellige tiles