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A Vintage Wall Tile Collection LOOK BOOK

by Emmi Micallef September 21, 2017

To view the LOOK BOOK of our vintage wall tile collections, click here.

Our goal at Historic Decorative Materials is to stand true to our passion and niche in the tile and stone market place. With our love of antique and aged French and Belgian building materials, it became apparent that if one wanted to continue within this aesthetic, what compliment material would equate with these historic materials?

Dutch Blue Delft Tiles with Aged French Oak Wood Floors

Pairing a beautifully aged French limestone paver or an aged French oak wide-plank floor with a subway tile or a sleek marble water jet mosaic back splash perhaps has its place. It is true that eclectic décor, mixing different design materials, can create intriguing spaces. And it is also true how cloying an interior can become when focusing solely on one single aesthetic, like the outdated Tuscan style ambiance with heavy architectural wood moldings and heavy decorative tile motifs in a multitude of colors.

What was the middle ground? Decorative tiles that exude beauty, history, elegance and subtlety to pair with historic materials seemed to be more of a yearning for us - not a reality.

Context. As a former high school French teacher, I learned in graduate school that to teach anybody anything - one must place information in a student's own hierarchical knowledge context. Direct translation aside, the subject pronoun "I" can be substituted with "je" and so forth. This knowledge ran through my mind as I toyed with the idea of painting my own decorative wall tile collections for our company. I needed to stay within a context of what many understood and of course, related to.

Belgian Bluestone Pavers with Vintage Decorative Wall Tile for Kitchen Backsplahs

I knew from the multitude of design patterns on the marketplace today, designs are accepted and loved by many. I also realized many of these designs don't have a context for those who purchase them - but they have an instinct to love them none-the-less. My goal then was to take the love of pattern, fit it into an historic context for our French and Belgian building materials, and hopefully with the story behind the designs, the "why" in creating them - our vision would be completed and understood.

French Reclaimed Terra Cotta Tiles with Vintage Decorative Wall Tiles for Kitchen Backsplash

At this point, I have created four historical decorative tile collections, two more on the way, with deep roots in art history. The colors I have chosen are subtle. The decorative motifs are elegant and not overdone and they work incredibly well with antique materials without being cloying. Pairing these decorative wall tile collections with antique or aged wood and stone flooring made sense for us within our company. We know the strength of classic, beautifully made materials that transcend time and trends. We believe we did add something relevant into this tile world - and this to us, makes for a beautiful home.

For an overview of our decorative wall tile collections paired with some of our beautiful historic flooring, we have created a quick LOOK BOOK for you to enjoy by clicking here.

We hope you will be inspired.

Thank you for your time,

Emmi Micallef
co-owner, Historic Decorative Materials, a Division of Pavé Tile, Wood & Stone, Inc.

Emmi Micallef

Author and Co-owner of Historical Decorative Materials, a division of Pavé Tile, Wood & Stone, Inc.

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About Historic Decorative Materials, a Division of Pavé Tile, Wood & Stone, Inc.

Historic Decorative Materials, a division of Pavé Tile, Wood & Stone, Inc. is an e-commerce site that supplies reclaimed and aged French, Belgian and Italian tile, brick, stone, wood and terra cotta flooring to the fine home building market. After 20 years in business, co-owner François Micallef born and raised in the South of France, holds court with some of the best reclaimed material suppliers in Europe. From French limestone and Belgian Bluestone Flooring to French oak wide-plank flooring in solid and planks, as well as reclaimed Belgian veneer bricks and French reclaimed terra cotta tiles - architects and designers choose these formidable surfaces for their exceptional building and renovation projects.

Sharing a partnership with it's parent company, Pavé Tile, Wood & Stone, Inc., a by-appointment showroom is available where a client will receive our expert Design Service and installation recommendations. Visiting our showroom allows a client to feel and touch our incredible and highly vetted collection of French, Belgian and Italian stone and wood materials while receiving the design service to help marry materials to achieve the client's goals. A Design Service is also available for those who cannot visit the showroom that has proven to be extremely beneficial. With proprietary glazed wall tile collections developed in-house to specifically compliment reclaimed materials, architects and homeowners appreciate the ability to achieve design flow throughout the entire home.

DESIGN SERVICE is now available! The internet can be frustrating for our type of business if making an appointment with us in our showroom cannot be achieved. Samples of natural materials with inherent color variations and textures will never communicate the true product. This is why we have implemented a design service where a client sends images of their goals, materials they may already have, a description of their project - and we, in turn, create design boards that hone in on what they are looking for. This goes beyond samples! If you are interested in our design service, email your request by clicking here.

See our latest in-stock French reclaimed hexagon terra cotta tile lots. We purchase these rare, hard-to-source lots when they become available. All are unique and beautiful and in-stock at our warehouse.

Please click on the image below to view the newest in-stock arrivals of our Historic Decorative Materials. At any one time - you may chance upon a French limestone floor or a reclaimed French oak floor with the exact square footage you need ready to ship from our warehouse in Massachusetts.

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A passion for historic decorative art tiles from France, Amsterdam, Italy and England pushed Emmi Micallef to hand paint a tile collection that ranges from classic Delft Tiles to reproducing Monet's kitchen tiles from his home in Giverny, France. To view a LOOK BOOK of all the collections, click here or on the image below.

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CLICK HERE TO VIEW A GALLERY OF INSTALLATIONS.

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