Ceramic Handmade Tile Installations

It makes me so happy when customers name their tile installations, and this one makes me especially happy: the homeowner and her family have started calling the kitchen in their new house “The Purple Rooster” after the hyacinth-colored, handmade rooster tiles that make up their backsplash. They haven’t moved in yet, but I love knowing they’ll soon be greeting each day with “Breakfast at the Purple Rooster” (as well as lunch and dinner!). The space behind the range features fourteen of my handmade rooster tiles in Hyacinth glaze, set among rustic, commercially made field tiles from another supplier. I love...

This Mississippi kitchen features seven multicolored handmade tile panels, each carefully planned and thoughtfully placed around the kitchen. Each panel is different! The color pattern repeats, but no two are alike. Some feature trees, and all feature animals. I love that the dog and cat are looking at one another from either side of the sink. (Cats are a recurring theme in this kitchen and home, more on that later...) The largest of the panels was originally designed with a few white tiles mixed in, but after seeing them in person, she decided to swap them out with other colors....

This cheerful backsplash was installed by a son for his mother, a zoo docent with a deep love for animals. The project features a collection of animal tiles set among simple white field tiles, creating a bright background that allows the relief designs to stand out. For this installation, I made the animal tiles along with the bullnosed edge pieces that frame the backsplash. The white field tiles have a softly handmade look that blends beautifully with the relief tiles, but they are actually from from Home Depot. The brand is Ivy Hill, and the color is called either Kingston...

A client sent a full-size hand-drawn template so I could check the layout before shipping.

These two rooms are each bonafide masterpieces, so it feels fully appropriate that pictures and videos of them arrived in my inbox with titles attached. I will start by showing you the “Salish Sea” bathroom first (two sinks, three-wall shower), then move on to the “Chuckanut Coast” bathroom (one sink, two-wall shower.)  I'm quite proud of the combined 26 linear feet of decorative border that I made for these two rooms. It was a true collaboration because every inch of the layout was carefully planned by the homeowner, and I was able to work from her map. It felt like...

Have you heard? Detroit is back! And it’s thanks, in part, to homeowners like this one, who are preserving the city’s history one house at a time. The original stone fireplace surround in this charming home was absolutely worth saving, but the hearth tiles were not. I am honored that I had the privilege of making replacements! The tiles are mostly 3x3 and 6x6 inch plain field tiles in honey glaze, but the client also decided to place a single matching 3x6 inch cypress tile in the center to make a subtle focal point that draws the eye but doesn't...

These tiles shipped out a few weeks ago and they are already installed! The homeowner said that the counters came with the house and, while they aren't what she would have picked out herself, she decided to lean into the black and white by adding coordinating tiles. I love the results, and more importantly, so does she! She included a lovely message along with the photos: "I LOVE my tiles!!!! Thank you so much Emily! Everyone who sees them looks like this 😀. Happy! Thank you for the Joy!!" She selected 4x4 inch tiles featuring plants and animals that had...

I was delighted to receive these photos of a heron-themed, watercolor blue fireplace surround that was created as part of an eco-friendly restoration of a 150+ year old home in Maryland. I got a kick out of seeing the heron theme repeat in the tiles and the painting over the mantel. A pair of herons flank a cattail tile to create the central focal point of the tile installation. Other animals (and a few plants) also make an appearance on either side. The Herons and cattails are each 4x8 inches in size, and the other feature tiles are 4x4 inches...