Fireplace Tile Ideas

This hearth is in a 1929 bungalow that is being restored in the Arts & Craft style. The couple who lives there designed and built the mantel (the husband is a woodworker) and also chose, laid out, and and installed the tiles themselves. The results are beautiful and period appropriate.  The birds and trees were made by me (glaze: "autumn"), the field tiles are by "Clay Squared to Infinity" (glaze: "wasabi") Here are the feature tiles before they were installed: On the left if is a 3"x3" chickadee, in the middle is a 6"x6" elm tree, on the right is...

It has been far too long since I have posted installation pictures! Photographs of this lovely hearth showed up in my inbox this week, and there is no time like the present for me to share them with you.  The client sent this explanation for their choice of tiles: "We tore out our old fireplace mantel/surround and I designed and built one more to the craftsman style we like. We searched forever to find the tiles that we felt would be perfect for the job.  The leaf tiles represent the three types of trees we have in our yard.  The black...

I am so pleased to share these photos! All three of these projects are by the same family. They mixed different sizes of art tiles in various shades of green, brown and gold with 1"x1" small glass and quartz tiles to great effect. The kitchen island pictured above has a light under the edge of the counter so it looks extra pretty at night. The homeowners say they have received many compliment so far, and I can see why. They created a similar effect on a smaller scale for their hearth. They used 4"x4" handmade tiles along with more of...

A big thanks to H.U. for sharing these photos of her newly tiled hearth, along with her bunnies, Pepper and Winifred!  She installed an assortment of plant and animal tiles in Autumn glaze, including a pair of bunny tiles as tribute to her beloved pets. (A complete list of tiles appears at the end of this blog entry.) Doesn't the picture above capture an exceptionally cheery scene? A nice, warm fire with sun streaming in, along with a snuggly friend... what could be better? The next two pictures are close ups of each side of the hearth. Here is the left: And here is the right:...

(When we switched to our current website, some lovely installation pictures never made it over from the old version of EmuTile.com. I am going to attempt to re- post all of those "lost" installations, starting with this one. Please note, this particular installation features "Northern Lights" glaze which has since been discontinued.) E.A.  sent me these gorgeous pictures of her hearth.  She ordered two of my 3"x3" Fleur tiles in Northern Lights glaze, and installed them herself.  She found the field tiles on Craigslist and got them for a song; they were left over from someone else's installation. What a lucky find! They really complete the...

When I received these lovely pictures of an Arts and Crafts hearth from Jeanne in Maine, I felt anything but blue! It is always super exciting for me when I get to see my work installed. These pictures were extra thrilling because this is the first time I have seen most of these particular tiles in a finished project. And what a project this is! The hearth creates a unique focal point in an appealing & airy space.... Here is an overall view, showing the handcrafted oak mantle, a charming painting of an ocean scene, and of course, handmade tiles!...

Tree art is a natural choice for fireplace decor, since fireplaces burn wood & wood comes from trees. Using representations of trees in hearth design pays homage to the trees that are burned there. These installation photos I recently received are a great illustration of this idea. And as an added bonus, one of tree tiles featured is my brand new 4"x4" oak leaf tile. It looks great installed! Close up of the oak leaf tile in the afternoon sun. The color of the glaze looks so right with the stone tile and wood floor. Earth tones and neutrals blend together...

You may already know this, but I love-love-love to get customer installation photos! There is a real feeling of satisfaction that comes from seeing my tiles happily settled into a new home. In a way, I don't feel that the tiles are really finished until they find their place in the world. Mostly I don't get to see where they end up, and that is ok. I understand that people are busy, and home improvement can make life even more complicated. In spite of this, every once in a while a very special and wonderful customer will take the time...