Plan Colors

• Because ceramic tiles can come in such an array of shades, homeowners have the freedom to choose between many different colors. The options can overwhelm some homeowners, but it is necessary to remember that colors should always follow style. If homeowners want a cheering kitchen, they should focus on pale fruit colors. A Tuscan kitchen lean more toward ambers and golds, while striking modern designs are made using both very dark and very light tile.

Create Murals and Mosaics

• Murals and mosaics are some of the most common tile decorations. A mural is actually painted on a set of tiles, while a mosaic is made of many small tiles placed together. These are very useful for decoration, but only use them in areas where there are no other patterns or pictures to distract from the tile work itself.

Use Accent Tiles

• Accent tiles are special tiles designed to place along borders or in the center of tile arrangements. Most accent tiles are glass or mirror tiles, which can create useful effects, especially in areas like bathrooms. Homeowners should not overuse accent tiles but limit them to patterns using many more muted tiles.

Intersperse Tile With Other Materials

• One modern fashion uses ceramic tiles but installs them in the midst of other materials. A floor might consist of a dozen large ceramic tiles installed into squares cut out in wood planks, using the tiles as accent marks. Tile are installed in other mediums like concrete too, which is one of the most expensive options but can create a striking effect.

Lay Tile in Unexpected Areas

• Homeowners can cut many types of tile cut and fit it into unexpected areas, creating an unusual style that works well if homeowners want to add individual touches to their homes. Homeowners can tile cabinets in between doors, the sides of bar areas, the walls or entryways and other areas where tile is not often used but makes an area more resistant to spills and scuffs.

Ceramic

1. Tile Mural Backsplashes

   • The backsplash behind your sink is a great place to showcase your artistic taste. Look in artisan shops and online for ceramic tiles that are painted by artists and then glazed, so they can be hung like regular ceramic. You can get individual, self-contained painted tiles that are interspersed among regular tiles of a complementary color for a panel-art look. Or get an entire mural scene done on separate tiles that you hang together in specific order so the picture is formed across the grout lines.

   Mosaic Tile Designs

   • Mosaic tiles, which can be as small as 1/2 inch across, are sold in large mesh-backed sheets, with the tiles already affixed and properly spaced. To get a special shape for a group of tiles, you just cut the mesh between the tiles. Put different groups of differently colors tiles together on your kitchen floor to form shapes, scenes, and even words–or just your own patterns. The ceramic is laid with thinset mortar like any other kind of tile.

   Mixing Finishes

   • Ceramic tiles come in all sorts of different levels of finishes, including high-glaze, flat matte, rough stone and semi-gloss. Try getting your floor tiles all in the same color but in three or four different surface textures. Lay them interspersed with one another in a specific pattern, or just randomly. It initially appears to be a solid-colored floor, but the differences in the finishes give it a subtle depth. To avoid over-doing it, pick just one of the finishes for the backsplash. High glaze is best because of its moisture resistance.

• Ceramic tile comes in four main forms: glazed ceramic, porcelain, quarry and terra-cotta. Glazed ceramic tiles are coated in hard, glassy glazes that you can tint with any color. It’s often used in mosaic patterns and easily showcases regional decorative styles. Porcelain ceramic tile is fired at higher temperatures than all other ceramic, making it more durable and resistant to scratches and breakage. Quarry ceramic tile is simply made of unglazed ceramic and has the look of stone. Terra-cotta ceramic tile is also unglazed and thus retains the color of the clay. It’s very porous, so make sure to seal it.

Mosaic

• One of the most traditional mosaic floor designs is the checkerboard look, achieved by laying two colors in an alternating pattern across the floor. White tile partnered with another pale color tile is a refreshing twist on the classic black and white pattern. Glazed or porcelain ceramic works best in mosaic design, because the glaze provides any color possibility. Tiles also come in a myriad of geometric shapes, so conceivably, you can lay floor tile in the same pattern as a quilt or oriental rug pattern, for example. A professional tile artist can reproduce or create an original geometric pattern or even set a painting-like picture onto the floor by shaping each individual tile. Mosaic design also includes randomly placed color tiles, as if the colors are scattered as they’re laid, punctuated by a surprise element, like a few individual hand-painted tiles.

Shape

• Design by shape works well with all ceramic tile types, but is especially effecting with terra-cotta or quarry tiles. Since these tiles are unsealed, they come in the color of the clay they’re made from. Several shades are available, including red, yellow, gray and orange. These tiles are manufactured in a variety of shapes, and you can lay them into practically any pattern. Squares, rectangles, hexagons, triangles, all of various sizes are used. Putting small tiles of one shape together to create a different large shape is a very effective design strategy. One such idea is to lay four interlocking rectangles into the shape of a square, and place a small square in the middle. On a staircase, interlocking tile triangles on the face of the stair in a dark color with a light-colored grout can really emphasize the design.

Single Tone

• Porcelain, the most durable of all ceramic tiles, is used more often in flooring than any other tile. It’s often sold in large pieces, which makes it a good option for single-tone floors. Large white porcelain tiles with white or gray grout is a very clean single-tone look. You can also manufacture porcelain to look like marble for those who want that expensive look at a ceramic price. Smaller, rectangular porcelain tiles of a single striking color—like electric blue—running lengthwise down a hallway is an unexpected way to use color. The shape and direction of the tile also leads the eye through the space.

All the decorative Christian art tile design murals in these series are produced with the unique technique of in glaze ceramic hand painting. In this case the pattern is applied to the surface of a glazed and fired tile and then  fired to a temperature of about 900 degrees centigrade where the colors melt into the glaze of the tile.

The tile images to be reproduced were provided to us by Margaret Kaplan of the Singer Foundation in the form of posters and digital files. These files in return were transferred to the surface of the tiles with a unique technique recently developed in Europe. As you can see when you browse through the different images that the only limitation to what kind of patterns you can do on tiles is your imagination.

All of these techniques have been handed over to us throughout more than 80 years of the Balian Tile history from father to son and to daughter. There are very few other tile studios worldwide  which match the intricacy and brilliance of the range patterns  and quality which we produce to this present day.

The hand painted ceramic tiles and pottery of Balian Armenian Ceramics have been exhibited all over the world in various museums and institutions. The zenith being the solo exhibition at the Smithsonian Museum of Washington D.C. in 1992 and at  ALMA (The Armenian Library and Museum of America in Boston MA). Our pottery has also been the subject of numerous articles in magazines and newspapers worldwide. These include The New York Times , The Washington Post, The Irish Times and The Chicago Tribune. Some copies of these articles can be seen on this web site at the What They Write About Us  pages. Original and authentic  Balian Armenian Ceramics  is sold only at our factory and retail outlet on 14 Nablus Rd. East Jerusalem( and now on our web site). The present location of our factory  is where the true form of art known as Armenian Ceramics of Jerusalem was born. We are the only studio in Jerusalem producing our own ceramic ware and Christian art tiles by methods handed over to us by our grandparents and parents.