A Tile As Old As Time
When designing a kitchen or bathroom, homeowners are spoilt for choice. From the flooring and joinery to the interior design, the options are endless, which can feel overwhelming when trying to break with convention and put your own personal touch on a space. That’s where feature walls come in; a hero wall offers a smaller space to consider, while providing an excellent opportunity to enhance a room and create a bespoke space that’s all your own. Here, Sydney Kitchen + Bathroom Design’s Penny Robinson speaks to Iman Sadeghi, Managing Director of Stone and Tile Projects, to discuss the various ways you can get creative with a tiled feature wall or mural in your home.
Adorning our walls with aesthetic designs has been customary throughout history. Like the bowerbird decorating the interior and exterior of its nest, humans enrich their living areas with art because inhabiting a space that outwardly reflects the self brings us joy and helps us to feel safe. Similarly, incorporating a feature wall or mural in the home is a way to express our individuality and at the same time “catch attention and bring elegance into the design,” explains Sadeghi. Whether you’re thinking of brightening up a dark space with a colourful design or making an eye-catching statement in your bathroom, the first step is choosing the right tile and a pattern that suits you.
MOSAIC A STATEMENT
“When it comes to feature wall tiles,” explains Sadeghi, “the options can be a bit overwhelming. [There are] mosaic tiles, terrazzo tiles, architectural cladding or even a simple tile.” Mosaic tiles are especially advantageous, as their manifold colours, patterns, sizes and shapes ensure boundless possibilities for creating a unique custom artwork within your architectural design. They are also an ideal choice for a bathroom feature wall, as although there is no denying these tiled creations are a striking addition to any room, their downside is that mosaic tiles can have larger grouted area that often can be a bit hard to clean.
The team at Stone and Tile Projects often recommend porcelain mosaic tiles over other materials as they are not very expensive. Sadeghi advises that “mosaics are a great choice. For higher budget projects, stone mosaics are trendy and very beautiful. However, if they are using stone mosaics, they should make sure that their tiles are well-sealed and they take all the precautions and maintenance seriously”.
This is because “stone tiles are more delicate in the long run than porcelain tiles,” he says. However, companies like Stone and Tile Projects have interior designers and architects who will assist you to choose the right mosaic tile based on things like a room’s foot traffic, your lifestyle and, of course, the colour palette of the rest of your project.
DELIGHTFUL DIVERGENCE
Porcelain tiles are also recommended for their durability and easy maintenance, and they’re sought-after when it comes to creating a feature wall on a budget, as Sadeghi explains. “Porcelain tiles are coming up with some amazing textures. For example, natural stones without the difficulties of maintenance and with cheaper prices,” He says. Combining a tiled wall or mosaic in your bathroom with other textures can be hugely impactful.
If you’re simply looking for something functional and long-lasting, however, ceramic tiles are heat, water and scratch resistant, and their glazed non-porous surface guarantees longevity. Whatever you decide, Sadeghi states that, “there are numerous designs that are stylish and clever. In general, if a design incorporates both functionality and beauty, it is doing the job right.”
FORTUNE FAVOURS THE BOLD
When working with tiles, there are abundant design possibilities. Once you’ve decided on the right material for your space, consider how your new tiled mural or feature wall can speak to the personality of you and your family. Patterned tiling often invokes a wow-factor for visitors and is the perfect bold statement to liven up a neutral space like the bathroom. “A feature wall is called a feature wall because that is the main wall anyone sees. They have to stand out from the rest of the walls and the design should be harmonious as well,” says Sadeghi.
These areas are habitually white, bright and conventional, so choosing to revolutionise your bathroom will make an impression on guests and is an undemanding space to express your personality in the home.
From design to maintenance, professionals are available to help you choose a style that will never look exaggerated or outdated. It is important to also remember that, despite what your future plans may be for your property, your home should reflect you.
There’s no need stress too much over resell value, as murals and feature walls can be easily covered or reversed if you decide to move on from your property, and homeowners should prioritise enjoying and benefiting from their space. As bathrooms and kitchens are frequently neutral, carbon-copy spaces, murals and feature walls an excellent chance to draw the eye in the home and stand out from the crowd. No two people are the same and neither are our homes, so be bold and make your space your own.
Images courtesy of Stone and Tile Projects.