Its an epidemic...people around the world are falling on their knees. Check out this article in today's NY Times about cleaning grout-
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/03/garden/03fix.html?_r=1&ref=garden&oref=slogin
Showing posts with label design. Show all posts
Showing posts with label design. Show all posts
Thursday, July 3, 2008
Tiles on my mind
While we are at it (and while I am still obsessed with it) I thought I would deviate from tiling nightmares into tile dreams.
The absolutely fantastic Spanish Tiles with moorish influences and Mediterranean colors are an unbeatable kaleidoscope of colors and designs. The aquamarines and yellows are great in bathrooms, kitchen and my favorite, steps.
You can find a more detailed history of Spanish ceramics here.
Closer home similar Arabesque tiles are found in many mughal monuments. Chini Ka Rauza is the tomb of Allama Afzal Khan, Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan's prime minister and gets its name from the colorful tiles (chini) that cover the walls of the tomb. Blue, green and yellow glazed tiles embellish this medieval mausoleum in Agra.
Not too far from Agra, one can find the traditional Jaipur tiles ( I am told one can find them around Delhi's Janpath too). I don't see a whole wall of these , but maybe a few accents here and there.
And then again, there are those southern beauties-Attangudi Tiles
To quote an article in The Hindu
"Long before even mosaic tiles became fashionable, the people of a little village called Attangudi in Tamil Nadu had perfected the art of making decorative cement floor tiles. These tiles needed no special machines and not even baking, as the ingredient used was not clay, but sand and cement. Just bare hands, a clean glass, and a mould were enough. Certain designs didn't even need the mould."
(Read the complete article here.)
The Hindu article mentions that Attangudi tiles come at a rate of approx. Rs 25/square foot, which is a lot lower than the Rs. 35/square foot that I am paying for the run of the mill Kajaria variety!!
Then again the unfortunate truth is that the traditional though prettier, cheaper and more eco friendly is less accessible than the mass produced more expensive variety.
Does anyone know where can one source Attangudi Tiles from?
The absolutely fantastic Spanish Tiles with moorish influences and Mediterranean colors are an unbeatable kaleidoscope of colors and designs. The aquamarines and yellows are great in bathrooms, kitchen and my favorite, steps.
You can find a more detailed history of Spanish ceramics here.
Closer home similar Arabesque tiles are found in many mughal monuments. Chini Ka Rauza is the tomb of Allama Afzal Khan, Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan's prime minister and gets its name from the colorful tiles (chini) that cover the walls of the tomb. Blue, green and yellow glazed tiles embellish this medieval mausoleum in Agra.
Not too far from Agra, one can find the traditional Jaipur tiles ( I am told one can find them around Delhi's Janpath too). I don't see a whole wall of these , but maybe a few accents here and there.
And then again, there are those southern beauties-Attangudi TilesTo quote an article in The Hindu
"Long before even mosaic tiles became fashionable, the people of a little village called Attangudi in Tamil Nadu had perfected the art of making decorative cement floor tiles. These tiles needed no special machines and not even baking, as the ingredient used was not clay, but sand and cement. Just bare hands, a clean glass, and a mould were enough. Certain designs didn't even need the mould."
(Read the complete article here.)
The Hindu article mentions that Attangudi tiles come at a rate of approx. Rs 25/square foot, which is a lot lower than the Rs. 35/square foot that I am paying for the run of the mill Kajaria variety!!
Then again the unfortunate truth is that the traditional though prettier, cheaper and more eco friendly is less accessible than the mass produced more expensive variety.
Does anyone know where can one source Attangudi Tiles from?
"Tiles" and Tribulations
I don't know how they did it!
All I am doing is a simple but much needed renovation and am cross eyed and bow legged from all the effort. I don't know how my parents got a whole dang house built from scratch. Its a bathroom makeover and a few other fixes and it is going to take foreverrrr plus two days!
Now on to more pertinent and useful facts. You may think that all bathroom tiles are being designed by moonlighting set designers from Indian TV soaps but if you are persistent and willing to go the extra mile ( specifically to Jagat Puri Sanitary and Tiles Market in East Delhi), you are likely to find what you are looking for.
Tiles are expensive, though you may get a good deal if you ask for "seconds"...then again these will not last you that long and several in the box maybe chipped and cracked, which makes the whole "seconds and thus cheap" issue redundant.
The bigger the wall tiles, the lesser the grout between them making them easier to clean. Same goes for tiles with "texture", less texture the better, though some designs can be hard to resist! The standard bathroom wall tile sizes are 10 x 13 inches and 18x 12 inches. There are square ones too but then we go back to that old grout and If that wasn't a concern I would love to get this!
Same may not true though for floor tiles, which need to have some texture so you wouldn't slip and break your fannydolittle. Your karigar needs to create a slant in the bathroom floor so the water will drain in the direction of, well the drain. This is a highly specialised skill. Once the slant in the floor is determined (and it is well within your rights to ask him to demonstrate its efficacy), the person who will lay the tiles will slice and grind the tiles to adhere to the aforementioned slant. SO, in this case, the smaller the tiles the easier the lay (ha ha!) and fewer slices of tiles.
All I am doing is a simple but much needed renovation and am cross eyed and bow legged from all the effort. I don't know how my parents got a whole dang house built from scratch. Its a bathroom makeover and a few other fixes and it is going to take foreverrrr plus two days!
Now on to more pertinent and useful facts. You may think that all bathroom tiles are being designed by moonlighting set designers from Indian TV soaps but if you are persistent and willing to go the extra mile ( specifically to Jagat Puri Sanitary and Tiles Market in East Delhi), you are likely to find what you are looking for.
Tiles are expensive, though you may get a good deal if you ask for "seconds"...then again these will not last you that long and several in the box maybe chipped and cracked, which makes the whole "seconds and thus cheap" issue redundant.
The bigger the wall tiles, the lesser the grout between them making them easier to clean. Same goes for tiles with "texture", less texture the better, though some designs can be hard to resist! The standard bathroom wall tile sizes are 10 x 13 inches and 18x 12 inches. There are square ones too but then we go back to that old grout and If that wasn't a concern I would love to get this!
Same may not true though for floor tiles, which need to have some texture so you wouldn't slip and break your fannydolittle. Your karigar needs to create a slant in the bathroom floor so the water will drain in the direction of, well the drain. This is a highly specialised skill. Once the slant in the floor is determined (and it is well within your rights to ask him to demonstrate its efficacy), the person who will lay the tiles will slice and grind the tiles to adhere to the aforementioned slant. SO, in this case, the smaller the tiles the easier the lay (ha ha!) and fewer slices of tiles.
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