Zellige Tiles: And What Pro Designers Love About Them in 2021
Over the last few years, interior designers have become increasingly enamored by the potential present in terracotta tile, specifically zellige tiles. From the charming natural color and texture to the astonishing glaze created by the signature process, there’s plenty to love about zellige, and with each passing year, more and more professional interior designers are coming to agree.
As zellige grows in popularity in the US, many of you potential renovators have a lot of questions about this variety of tile. Questions like:
- What are zellige tiles made of?
- Glazed terracotta
- Where can I use zellige tiles?
- Basically anywhere, as long as they aren’t under heavy foot traffic.
- Why do zellige tiles look the way they do?
- Zellige tiles get their signature look from a mix of natural pigmentation, enamel glaze, kiln-firing over olive branches, and inimitable handcrafting
- Where do zellige tiles come from?
- Our authentic zellige is handmade in Morocco by traditional artisans
As good as this information is to have on hand when you’re making decisions about what tile to use for your next project, it doesn’t really answer the key question, “What makes zellige tile so special?” To answer that, we defer to our talented customers.
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Zellige Tiles and What Makes Them Special
Zellige tile is among the oldest building materials still in use today, with the current construction methods remaining largely the same as when they were conceived a millennium ago. A mainstay in North African, Moroccan, and Spanish architecture, this tile only recently made the jump across the Atlantic into American homes. In every application of zellige tile, there’s a healthy dose of the Old World tradition you can only get with the real thing. All of our zellige is sourced from Moroccan artisans, so you can rest assured knowing that we never take shortcuts.
The traditional construction methods and resulting rustic charm is one of the biggest draws for the designers that use zellige to create new and exciting spaces in American homes, but zellige isn’t just some gimmicky piece of decor. This variety of tile, while completely unique in its look, is actually incredibly versatile, especially when you consider how many colors are available.
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In this bathroom, you can see plainly just what’s possible when using this glazed terracotta tile. While the idea of zellige might evoke some rustic space full of earth tones and simple lines, you can see in this bathroom that zellige can be used to create something both sleek and intriguing. The zellige you see here is our 4×4 Steel Grey, a hazy tile with natural variations toward cool blues and a narrow spectrum of light and dark. This designer used Steel Grey zellige as a foil to the bathroom’s white floors and walls, as well as the presence of ample natural light. The result: a space made stylish and complex by the addition of multiple shades of grey that serve as a brilliant contrast to the natural brightness.
Additionally, this designer capitalized on one of zellige’s most unique qualities: the glaze. The natural light in this room is captured in all its magnificence by the zellige, which positively glitters and brings a new dimension to the space.
In contrast to the deep, rich colors present in Steel Grey, we have our ever popular Snow zellige, seen here in our smallest size, 2×2:
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This positively dreamy bathroom is a perfect showcase of what you can accomplish with white zellige tiles. Though the layout of the bathroom is quite simple and standard, this designer used their creativity and bold design eye to elevate the space, transforming it into a brilliant and charming space. The white zellige tile plays incredibly well with the brass fixtures and patterned mirror and bathtub, each serving to heighten the other. Overall, this unique bathroom is an ideal example how zellige tiles and a few key bits of decor can make even the simplest space into something incredible.
Both of the examples above show zellige in brightly lit rooms, but it’s also a great choice for darker spaces, providing rich color that keeps the room from feeling dingy:
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In this bathroom, our 2×6 Emerald Green zellige tiles make this cozy space a bit more colorful, adding a bit of liveliness without subtracting from the moody look of the rest of the room. With its dark natural wood and black walls, the designer of this room clearly had a fashionable, darker room in mind when they planned the renovation. The Emerald Green zellige tiles were a brilliant choice for this room, providing color and just a touch of levity.
Our Zellige Tiles
When it comes to interior design, it’s really easy to feel like you’re in a rut. You might be looking at your relatively new home and wanting a change from the drab decor that hasn’t been updated since the house’s construction. Or you might be planning an ambitious renovation, only to continually get stuck trying to decide between the endless list of different options available. In either case, the result is the same: living in a house that doesn’t reflect your personal tastes.
At Riad Tile, we make it our personal mission to provide you with the tiles you need to plan and create the ideal space for you. We’ve always felt that, when it comes to decor, too many people end up having to settle for substitutions rather than getting exactly what they want, so we work hard to keep our prices low and our products accessible. Our zellige tiles are no exception. Though our zellige tiles are handmade in Morocco, we’ve actively worked to simplify our supply lines to provide access to these authentic zellige tiles for some of the lowest prices in the US.
Want to see our zellige in person? Feel free to order a sample today and we’ll ship directly to your front door!
