CHAPTER 4
Designing Your Space
Look down: if you are indoors, your feet are probably standing on a surface that someone put a lot of consideration into. What are your thoughts? Are the material choices good or bad? Do you feel indifferent? Although flooring is one of the most used surfaces in any room, it is also the surface that is taken for granted most often. Just like any cup, plate, car, or umbrella, tile is designed for both form and function. Because of the endless reservoir of material options, choice is everything. Design, durability, cost, comfort, and material accessibility are more important than ever, and these considerations are the key elements that we will explore in this chapter.
Nowadays you’ll most often encounter tile in kitchens and bathrooms, on floors that need to be protected from spills, and wet locations such as backsplashes and showers. It can cover entire walls that must be kept sanitary and impervious to water to protect structural integrity. Other than these conventional locations, places where tile is often considered are stair risers, fireplace hearths, patios, entryways, and a place near to this Vermonter’s heart, the mudroom! Though the underlying theme here is cleanliness and protection from daily wear and tear, today’s designers are finding ways to work tile into just about anything as a superb and stylish design material.
Bathroom design by Ginny Hautau, featuring floor tiling by FLM Ceramics and shower tiling by Fireclay Tile.
ARTIST FEATURE: David Dick and Krista Schrock,
DISC Interiors
Can you briefly describe how you view your role as designers?
DISC Interiors creates custom homes for clients by designing kitchens, interior architectural details, bathrooms, and even custom furniture. We also select decorative works such as lighting, cabinets, hardware, rugs, tiles, artwork, and so on, sourcing many of them from local studios.
Our role as interior designers is to create meaningful spaces and homes for our clients, and also to capture their personality and desires for living in a physical space. We believe in collaborating with our clients throughout the process and translating initial bits of inspiration and creative sparks into a full design. In creating custom homes, we strive to pull the clients’ personal stories into the work, whether that is color, materials, space planning, or specific pieces of furniture.
David, as someone who worked as a craftsman for some time, and has since accomplished a very successful design career, how would you describe the ideal relationship between craft and design, as well as makers and designers?
In my early twenties, when I blew glass and focused on producing decorative sculptural works, I formed a partial understanding of what life is like when one is dedicated to their own craft. It gave me not only a look into how a craft studio works and operates, but also a large amount of respect for those who work and create with their hands. It allowed me to appreciate the marks of the craftsperson, and to understand the difference between commercial production and truly artisanal work. Both have their place and the balance between the two can be remarkable.
When blowing glass and pursuing craft as a profession, I had not yet discovered the world of interior design and residential architecture. I also did not fully understand the larger picture of how craft can interact in that world and play such a vital role. At that time, I was dedicated to “the object,” and to the history of objects, but I had not yet discovered how one artist’s objects can work with objects from other artists and designers, all working together to create something larger. (There is a book called The Unknown Craftsman by Bernard Leach, which captures these ideas.)
Tile is found everywhere and is often easily overlooked. How can you describe the use of tile within your work and can you share some ways you might use it on a project?
DISC uses tiles in kitchens as backsplashes, feature walls in homes, fireplaces, exterior and interior applications, staircase risers … and anywhere else we can think of! The material of clay is a material we are drawn to as designers, as it has a sense of history, permanence, and natural beauty. We love the various glazes and the ability that handmade tile has to cast light and shadows around a room.
2 Shower, handmade Zellige tiles.
3 Kitchen backsplash, FLM Ceramics Alborz tile; Photography by D. Gilbert.
Understanding Tile in the Context of Your Home
Traditionally tile was used in the hot and dry climates of the Middle East, North Africa, Mexico, the American Southwest, and the Mediterranean, where it embodied a perfect balance of both form and function. The history of these places, and their design aesthetics, has most influenced the use of tile in a modern context. In hot climates, nothing beats solid earth for moderating indoor temperatures. Homes made of clay, brick, rammed earth, and stucco keep buildings warm in the winter by storing heat in their thick walls. They also remain cool in the summer by maintaining a constant temperature as an extension of the earth below.
As building materials developed, fired terra-cotta tile and brick replaced many of the unfired earth structures. Tile and brick have similar heat retention and cooling properties, yet are more durable, water resistant, and require less material and support than unfired earth. Add the advent of decorative slips and glazes and you have a perfect material that integrates form and function. Once perfected, fired earthenware became the natural choice for roofing and skinning buildings, and along with stoneware and porcelain tile, it still is used widely to this day.
As globalized trade developed, so did the market for porcelain and stoneware tile. With the development of European porcelains and stoneware, along with the advent of the East Asian tile market, an endless array of materials and new tile designs took hold. Stoneware and porcelain are the modern standard for floor tile because they are more durable than their earthenware cousin. Although the prices for porcelain and stoneware tile are higher because of firing and material costs, it is often worth the price when considering the durability, color range, and longevity they provide for flooring (although it is hard to beat the visual warmth of terra-cotta tile).
1 Wall Number 4 by Jason Green; photography courtesy of the artist.
2 Tiled roof, Dubrovnik, Croatia.
3 Terra-cotta tiles on a rooftop in Toledo, Spain.
4 Architectural terra-cotta tiles, Kantajew Temple, Bangladesh.
In the modern-day home, tile is often the best solution for a handsome backsplash or shower, as well as a floor in a room such as the kitchen or bathroom. This is because tile is incredibly easy to clean, it doesn’t stain easily, and it requires very little maintenance. Tile is also hypoallergenic and does not attract or trap pet hair or dirt like carpet does. Be forewarned, however, tile should not be a spur-of-the-moment choice; it takes a commitment to proper planning and care, and high-quality handmade tile can be expensive. Once installed, tile is permanent and hard to salvage. If you choose to make changes with tile, you will have the added concern of pulling it up (see here).
KITCHEN AND BATH TILE
For kitchens and baths, choose tile that is vitrified and glazed, or at least sealed properly so that it is impervious to spills and splashes. Kitchen and bath tile must not be absorbent because if it can absorb moisture, it can also absorb soap scum and grease, making it impossible to clean properly. Absorption of liquid can also affect the durability of the tile. As moisture penetrates, it can grow bacteria. It is necessary to seal kitchen and bath tile that is earthenware, and the grout as well. Although the firing process for most tile is very consistent, and quality is almost assured, there is always the possibility of an errant tile that may not be fully vitrified, especially in the case of handmade tile. Because of this, many people suggest sealing even when the manufacturer claims the tile is vitrified.
FLOOR TILE
Floor tile is a challenge, to say the least! Many of my favorite commissions have been floors. These installations require unique parameters. Floor tile needs to be flat and durable, as well as slip-, stain-, and wear-resistant. Most important, floor tile must be installed properly. No other tile application requires the scrutiny of floor tile. Add to this the vast quantity of tile needed for floors, and the ability to bring a room together visually, and you can make or break a project with floor tile.
The most common floor tile is quarry tile. Though it sounds like it is stone and cut from a rock quarry, it is not. Quarry tile is large-scale unglazed tile. Often textured, it embodies everything a floor tile should be, except for one thing—it is usually quite uninteresting. For that reason, you often find quarry tile in areas where aesthetics are not important. Aside from quarry tile, another option is porcelain floor tile because of its durability and high level of vitrification. Terra-cotta tile used to be a standard in many places, and it is often more affordable, yet terra-cotta is a softer clay and wears down much quicker.
OUTDOOR TILE
Tile is an incredible option to brighten up an outdoor space. Outdoor tile is often decorative, but can be functional as well. Murals, outdoor fireplaces, pizza ovens, retaining walls, benches, pools, and stairs are great opportunities for adding character to outdoor locations with tile. Like floor tile, outdoor tile has very specific parameters that should be followed to ensure safety and durability. Most important is to know whether it’s vitrified so that it will not absorb moisture, eventually leading to the breakdown of the tile itself. There are also certain parameters that apply to installing outdoor tile that will help to ensure its longevity. Specialized mortars, such as modified thin-set, are made with latex additives that help to reduce absorption and minimize cracking from movement due to fluctuating temperatures and moisture levels.
Chapel of Souls, Porto, Portugal.
FIREPLACE AND HEARTH TILE
The most important properties of hearth tile are that it is durable and heat resistant. It used to be that most of what you would see in this context was brick; however, with the advent of much safer fireplace inserts and wood stoves, we are beginning to see the majority of hearths and surrounds made from tile, as it provides many endless options for decorative finishes (see below).
Pizza oven tile by Blue Slide Tile, Point Reyes, Caifornia.
NONPERMANENT INSTALLATIONS
Tile does not have to be permanently mounted on a wall or floor. Many artists opt to install tile as impermanent artwork, movable wall hangings and murals, and on furniture. I make wall hangings as a counterpart to my own architectural tile. These allow me to think outside the box and use tile in a more artistic context.
Wall hanging by Jun Kaneko.
Designing with Tile
Tile can take center stage, or it can play a supporting role. It can aid in the stark minimalism of a room or make a bold statement with color and pattern. As an artist, this is not lost on me. When I began making tile I thought that my favorite part of the process would be the process itself: choosing materials, developing surfaces, and firing large quantities of tile. I was wrong. My favorite part of the entire process is the opportunity to tell a story with my tile, and at the heart of great design lies a great story!
Before you go any further, I encourage you to put down this book and go to your local newsstand. Pick up a few magazines. Spend the afternoon digging through them; look at the photos, read the stories, and look for content. Notice how a person’s surroundings affect their life, and how tastes determine decisions. Apply some of what you read to yourself, to your tile, and to your ideal customer. It may take time to fully process, but hopefully by the end of this chapter you will learn that a space you feel comfortable in is an artform to be learned and shared.
WORKING WITH A DESIGNER
The role of a designer is often a mystery in the mind of a maker. The way I think of it is that makers tell a story with an object and designers use objects to tell a story within a space. Designers are a liaison between the client and the maker. Good designers don’t just work for the client by making their space look good; they handle budgets and purchases, understand the market, and know how to find the right object and maker for any given project. Like a gallery curator, a good designer will spend a lifetime building relationships and developing a catalog of makers to work with.
Custom Asia fireplace tile by FLM Ceramcis, Mill Valley, California. Photography by Allison Bloom.
Most designers tell me that their favorite part of their job is being out in the world picking out objects and surfaces and building those relationships. A designer can take everything they know and apply it to your tile, and then apply that to the space as a whole. They know how to assess a space and calculate what quantity of tile to use, how to work within a budget, and even how to find the contractors who will best install your tile. The best designers can make your idea even better than you thought it could be without minimizing your vision.
When it comes to getting my tile into the hands of a customer, I primarily work with designers. Designers manage multiple projects at any given time; if a job arises where they see my tile will be a good fit, they ask me for samples to share with the client. If the client approves, the designer contacts me for lead times. For my tile, a standard lead is about six to eight weeks.
Once we have a verbal agreement, the designer sends a purchase order and I provide an invoice for the job with an estimate on shipping. (Shipping rates vary and an exact price cannot be guaranteed more than a week or so out.) When the deposit is paid, I begin the job. After the deadline or the completion of the job, I provide an actual shipping cost, and the designer or the client pays the balance of the invoice plus shipping. When final payment is received, I box and palletize the tile, and the shipping broker sends a truck. Once shipped, I provide a tracking number to the designer and client, and the job is in the hands of the shipping fairies and the tile setter.
ARTIST FEATURE: Allison Dehn Bloom
How would you describe your role as a designer?
I am the channel. The goal is always to create a welcoming, beautiful home that reflects the family who lives there. I translate a family’s values, tastes, and dreams into a physical space. This means that no two of the homes I do are alike. One of the joys of the job is finding new makers and artisans to reflect each family’s aesthetics and home life.
What are the qualities that you look for and what intrigues you most about tile?
So much of a home is linear surfaces: walls, floors, and ceilings. These are often homogenous (one paint color, one floor stain, and so on). A welcoming and cozy home is created out of the interplay between texture, pattern, and color. Tile brings all three and imbues a home with a sense of history and permanence.
Describe the ideal client or project.
The ideal client knows who they are and what they want their home to be about. They also trust me to be the vehicle for that artistic expression of their personality.
Speaking directly to the maker, what can you say that may be helpful in their pursuit of breaking into the world of home design and decor?
Have something to say with your work. People respond to why you do things, as much as they respond to what you are doing. A sense of soul comes through when a product exists because the maker has something to say with their work—or a point of view or aesthetic they want to communicate.
How do you build relationships within the field and what can you say that might be helpful for others (artists, designers, and even installers)?
Everyone responds to genuine appreciation of their work. That is the first step. I think most relationships—and businesses—boil down to how you treat people. I always lead with kindness, and I believe most people try their best. In an industry where nearly everything is custom, there are many opportunities for things to go sideways, and they often do. Where things go from there is key: having a foundation of genuine respect and following it with kindness and fairness in your interactions is paramount. For makers, this means being upfront about any delays, surprises, or mishaps, and working together with us to find a solution. Sometimes mistakes lead to the best final products!.
2 Custom Asia fireplace tile by FLM Ceramcis, Mill Valley, California. Photography by Allison Bloom.
3 Watermark Clé fireplace, San Francisco. Photography by Daniel Goodman.
TRADITIONAL VS. CONTEMPORARY APPLICATIONS
The foundation of good design starts with the choice between traditional or modern. Everything was at one time new—even the classical genre wasn’t considered classical at first. Contemporary ideas build upon precedent, and even the oldest, most tried-and-true styles were once questioned with the same level of scrutiny that we now reserve for something new.
As the saying goes, “History never repeats itself, but it rhymes.” Tile is no exception. Trends either fade in a moment’s notice or return and become a permanent part of the design lexicon. A great test of this is to look at your family’s keepsakes. You may find yourself more interested in what your grandparents saved than in what your parents collected. If you feel stuck trying to find inspiration, look back through history to see what has endured; let nostalgia play a role in your design decisions. If you still feel stuck, look back even further and history will provide!
Contemporary design seems to ask questions, while traditional design provides answers that have come with time. The “you can do anything with contemporary design” approach seems to be the fallback for many who are stuck, yet it couldn’t be further from the truth. Contemporary design is a high-risk, high-reward situation that requires equal parts intellect and intuition. When you get it right, you can make a statement unique unto itself. When you get it wrong, what seemed so exciting at first may end in the costly, and time-consuming, act of tile removal.
Bathroom of Spahn & Bontekoe residence in Berkeley, California. Large 2' × 8' (61 × 244 cm) nouovo corso tile manufactured in Italy. Ajay Manthripragada, architect.
Entryway, detail, 4" (10 cm) Alborz tile by FLM Ceramics.
Choosing Your Tile
There are many things to consider before producing or buying tile. This section covers some of what I think are the most important, starting with the big three: price/cost, location, and aesthetics. By weighing each of these, you should be able to develop a better understanding of what kind of tile is right for your project. Take your time when looking for tile, ask questions, and don’t be afraid to put in the time it takes to find tile that makes you feel good!
PRICE
For most makers and buyers, money is a concern, so let’s tackle that issue first. Handmade tile can range from very expensive to vastly underpriced. Conversely, mass-produced tile is priced relatively consistently, and you can get durable commercial tile for a reasonable price. Tiling a space is a big and potentially lifelong decision, but discerning homeowners are looking beyond the price tag and making an investment that will affect their quality of life. Handmade tile, although more expensive, takes more time to make, has more character, and carries a human quality unmatched by commercial tile. You get what you pay for, and tile is an investment that will long outlast your television, your car, and even you! People want to enjoy their surroundings when they walk through their door, cook dinner, or step into the shower. This is what’s driving the tile renaissance we are currently experiencing.
As a maker, I struggled with pricing for some time. Right off the bat, the first company that represented my tile doubled what I charged. I learned quickly that as a product, or artform, tile fell within the design category, which is something apart from the art or craft worlds. In a way, it is closer to fashion than it is to art. Make no mistake: Tile is a commodity, and if you have a good product, people will buy it. It took a friend to help me see the light by pointing out that I was making a backsplash that would potentially last a family a lifetime, not a cup that someone might buy with the expectation of it eventually breaking. She reminded me that I had been at it a long time, I had a great product, and that I had earned what I was charging … no apologies necessary!
A final note on pricing: If you are looking to buy tile, be aware that many makers have tile seconds sales. Go directly to the artist’s website and inquire whether they have a sale coming up. It can’t hurt to ask, and it certainly may benefit you both! Ask what the flaws are, and whether it is suitable for your location. You might find that you can save a lot of money going with castoffs and still get tile you will be thrilled about.
LOCATION
Think about where you will be tiling. Do a little research into common tile applications and see whether your tile fits within certain parameters. Usually a manufacturer or maker can tell you what limitations apply to their product as well. For instance, terra-cotta tile is quite porous so you most likely wouldn’t install it in your shower, or outdoors in a cold climate, if you want it to last. If you want to protect yourself against slipping and falling, don’t install large-format, glossy glazed tile on your kitchen floor. If you are installing in a location that is simply functional, won’t be seen often, and aesthetic is not a large concern, maybe this would be a good place to slash the budget and go with something cheaper.
AESTHETICS
Though hard to believe, aesthetics are likely the most complicated of these three considerations. Aesthetics are an incredibly personal decision; your tastes precede you and become the voice of your identity.
When I was young, my parents remodeled our house and told my brothers and me that we could choose any paint and carpet combination for our rooms. So, of course, in my infinite seven-year-old wisdom I chose bright yellow walls and chartreuse carpet. Thus began my art career. A few years later, when I realized my decision may have been a bit hasty, it dawned on me that nobody warned me, not even my parents. The same nightmare can happen with tile. The truth is once you go through the trouble of building a space, most people forget how to be honest with you—they just nod and marvel at your decisions, even if it’s a yellow and chartreuse room you created!
The best thing you can possibly do to prevent a regretful decision is to ask two trusted friends for an honest opinion before you pull the trigger on an undertaking as grand as redoing your kitchen floor. Pick one friend whose tastes you admire, and the one friend who has no problem being honest. Ask what they think, and why they think it. Be open to their thoughts and honest with yours. Conversations like these are a small price to pay when you consider the alternative.
Kitchen design by DISC Interiors, tile by FLM Ceramics. Photography by D. Gilbert.
DURABILITY
Believe it or not, the climate you live in plays a great role in choosing the right tile. Certain clays have limitations. Tiles that are more porous, such as terra-cotta, are more likely to absorb water. Caution should be taken when using these tiles outdoors. When water penetrates the matrix of a clay body, it can grow bacteria that can weaken and break down fired tile over time. Most important, when water penetrates porous clay, the clay becomes vulnerable to freeze-and-thaw conditions within the tile. This condition can cause instantaneous and irreparable damage from freezing and expanding water within the clay matrix, which will cause a shattering of the tile in a phenomenon known as shaling. Never use highly porous and absorbent tile in climates where freezing is possible. Finding out the absorption rate of a tile is probably the simplest way to determine its durability. Use the absorption and freeze/thaw tests provided in chapter 3 to see how your tile fares in different situations. No matter the clay, I strongly recommend sealing outdoor tile with a durable sealer that will penetrate and protect the tile from water. Even tile that claims to be fully vitrified can benefit from the proper sealer.
Durability is usually not as much of an issue for indoor tile, but it is still good practice to understand your tile’s limitations. Decorative wall tile only needs to be easy to clean, while kitchen tile should be impervious to staining and absorbing grease and other liquids. Bathroom tile can stain from constant humidity, and shower tile can wear under the constant barrage of water. It is best to use tile that is vitrified, sealed, and grouted properly with water-resistant, epoxy-based grout when designing a bathroom. Floor tile is often rated from low traffic to heavy traffic. You might consider your entryway at home low traffic, while your kitchen floor may be moderate traffic. Generally heavy traffic areas are only found in public locations. Certain sealers are incredibly durable and can make tile and even grout more resistant to foot traffic. (For more on sealants, see here.)
Though you should generally follow guidelines for the durability of tile, there is precedent for bending the rules when applicable for artistic purposes. While durability is most often paramount, and decorated earthenware floor tiles that are unglazed, underglazed, overglazed, and even painted are less durable than glazed porcelain or stoneware tiles, the old-world feel and patina of a timeworn tile is impossible to beat. The tile I design and make is stoneware underneath, but has slip decoration that is designed to age gently and wear over time, giving it a material value that goes beyond the here and now. It hints at the historic importance of tile and the various world cultures that existed long before our time, while maintaining the durability of modern era.
Regardless of the tile you choose for your job, make sure to set an annual reminder to inspect your tile in each location of your home. You should be checking to ensure that your tile is still shedding water, and that your grout has not chipped or come out altogether. Believe it or not, the most common cause of tile breaking down is from improper use of grouts and grouting techniques. Though so much importance is placed on the durability of the tile itself, the quality of the grouting can easily be overlooked, and in the long run, it is much easier to inspect and repair grout than it is to replace tile!
COMFORT
Clay absorbs and retains both heat and cold better than almost any other building material. When used correctly, tile can work quite well to passively maintain the temperature of a space. When warmed, fired clay stores heat energy and releases it slowly over time, mitigating how hard your home’s heating system has to work. Anyone who has ever fired a kiln can appreciate this based on how long it takes for it to cool. One of the age-old uses of tile is as a fireplace hearth. You might assume that this was for the sole purpose of protecting the home from sparks and flame, but here tile also acts to store, release, and radiate heat evenly.
These same principles work in reverse when applied to hot climates. You may recall that in an indoor space on a hot day the coolest part of a house is the floor. Because tile is fired clay, it seeks to maintain the ambient temperate of the earth beneath it. When shaded from direct sun, tile’s cool temperature lasts long into a hot day.
These heating and cooling benefits of clay are exactly why you see tile used so often with in-floor heating; when it warms, it maintains and radiates warmth, and when it is cool, it provides a soothing respite from the day’s heat.
When designing a home from the ground up, or remodeling, taking these properties of tile into consideration can greatly benefit the long-term comfort, efficiency, and beauty of a home.
Measuring a Space for Tile
When working on your own job or putting together a bid for someone else, you will need to know how much tile is required for the job. To be confident in your estimation, you must first calculate the size of the space, and then the total amount of tile you will need to fill that space. It may come as a surprise, but many tile makers, myself included, sell tile by the piece and not the square foot (square meter [m2]). That means you’ll need to know both the area and how many individual tiles are needed.
To determine the size of a space, first create a simple sketch of the area to be tiled, including all fixtures and height and width measurements. Color-code the space to separate tiles and fixtures by shading or outlining each a different color. In these examples, I use red for fixtures and green for tiles. Determine if the space to be tiled can be measured as a simple shape with only a few fixtures that impede it (Figure A shown here), or if it is a more complex space with multiple fixtures (Figure B).
In Figure A, I’ve drawn a simple kitchen where almost all the fixtures exist below the counter’s surface, allowing the tile to stand out unimpeded as a visual anchor. The dimensions of the Figure A kitchen are 120" × 164" (304.8 × 416.6 cm) or, when multiplied together, 19,680 square inches (126,967.49 cm2). (We calculate this in inches because it is more precise. You can easily round up when determining how many tiles you need.) Shading the area to be tiled in green, and what is not going to be tiled in red, ist the best way to determine the total area to be tiled by subtracting the fixtures (red) from the tiled area (green).
To determine the total area to be tiled, subtract the area of the fixtures (the hood and range top splash) from the total area above the countertops. To calculate the area of the fixtures, break down each one into geometric shapes and apply a little trigonometry. The area of a rectangle is the height multiplied by the width. The area of a triangle is the base of a triangle multiplied by the height and divided by two.
Apply these formulas to the fixtures of Figure A. The stovetop splash is a rectangle that measures 5" × 46" (an area of 230 square inches [12.7 × 116.8 cm = 1,483.9 cm2]). The hood is a bit more complicated as it is a compound shape, so break it down into simple shapes: two rectangles and two symmetrical triangles. The rectangles measure 5" × 46" (an area of 230 square inches [12.7 × 116.8 cm = 1,483.9 cm2]) and 48" × 12" (an area of 576 square inches [121.9 × 30.5 cm = 3,716.1 cm2]). Each triangle has a height of 10" (25.4 cm) × a base of 17" (43.2 cm). Applying the formula for the area of a triangle: 10" × 17" = 170" ÷ 2 = an area of 85 square inches (25.4 × 43.2 cm = 1,096.8 cm2 ÷ 2 = an area of 548.4 cm2). Because there are two symmetrical triangles, multiply the area of the first triangle by 2 to get a total area of (170 square inches [1,096.8 cm2]).
Add all of the fixture area measurements in parentheses together: 230 + 230 + 576 + 170 = 1,206 square inches (1,483.9 + 1,483.9 + 3,716.1 + 1,096.8 = 7,780.6 cm2). The total area of the fixtures is 1,206 square inches (7780.6 cm2). Next, subtract the total area of the fixtures from the area of the entire space to be tiled (green in Figure A), which measures 78" × 164" (an area of 12,792 square inches [198.1 × 416.6 cm = 82,528.9 cm2]). That equation is 12,792 – 1,206 = 11,586 square inches (82,528.9 – 7780.6 cm = 74,748.3 cm2). The last step is to do a quick conversion from square inches to square feet (cm2 to m2) to determine how many feet (meters) you will need. A square foot is 144 square inches (a meter squared is 10,000 cm2), so divide 11,586 by 144 (74,748.3 by 10,000), and you will get 80.46 square feet of tile (7.47 m2 of tile), rounded up to 80.5 square feet (7.5 m2).
Figure B is much more complicated. In this kitchen design, I’ve used the principle of balance to create a symmetrical kitchen that is comfortable both physically and visually. There will be cupboards, windows, appliances, and a vent hood that will take up the majority of the space. As a result, the amount of untiled space is larger than the amount of tiled space. Again, color-code the fixtures in red and the area to be tiled in green.
To calculate the total area to be tiled, divide the space into smaller individual sections, each with its own measurement. In Figure B, I labeled these sections 1 through 5. It may sound complicated, but trust me, it will get easier. These sections help us work around the fixtures.
Section 1 contains a rectangle that requires tile around a window. We will use the same method of subtraction that we used in Figure A. The rectangle surrounding the window in Section 1 is 24" × 30" (61 × 76.2 cm), which equals an area of 720 square inches (4,645.2 cm2). The window is 18" × 28" (45.7 × 71.1 cm), which equals an area of 504 square inches (3,251.6 cm2). Now subtract the area of the window from the area of the entire rectangle to get the area of tiled surface in Section 1, which equals 216 square inches (1,393.6 cm2). Divide this by one square foot (144 square inches [one square meter (10,000 cm2)]) and you get a tiled area of 1.5 square feet (0.1 m2) for Section 1.
Section 2 contains a rectangle above the range that is 96" × 78" (243.8 × 198.1 cm), which equals an area of 7,488 square inches (48,309.6 cm2). Within this space is a vent hood (identical dimensions to Figure A) and a small range top. Subtract the area of the vent hood and range top from the total area of Section 2 to determine the area to be tiled. The range top measures 46" × 9" (an area of 414 square inches [116.8 × 22.9 cm (an area of 2,671.0 cm2)]). Again, to determine the compound shape of the vent hood it will take a little work. The rectangles measure 5" × 46" (an area of 230 square inches [12.7 × 116.8 cm (an area of 1,483.9 cm2)]) and 48" × 12" (an area of 576 square inches [121.9 × 30.5 cm (an area of 3,716.1 cm2)]). Each triangle has a height of 10" (25.4 cm) multiplied by a base that is 17" (43.2 cm) and then divided by 2. 10" × 17" = 170 square inches ÷ 2 = an area of 85 square inches (25.4 × 43.2 cm = 1,097.3 cm2 ÷ 2 = 548.4 cm2). As there are two symmetrical triangles, multiply the area of the first triangle by 2 to get a total area of 170 square inches (1,097.3 cm2). Subtract all of the numbers in parentheses from the total square inches (centimeters squared) of the space, and you will find that the area of Section 2 is 6,098 square inches (39,341.3 cm2). Divide this by 144 square inches (10,000 cm2) and you will see that Section 2 requires 42.3 square feet (3.9 m2) of tile.
Section 3 contains a rectangular wall that measures 78" × 80" (an area of 6,240 square inches [198.1 × 203.2 cm (an area of 40,258 cm2)]) with two windows and a windowsill. Subtract the area of the windows and windowsill from the area of the rectangular wall to determine the total area to be tiled. The windows measure 54" × 12" (an area of 648 square inches [137.2 ×30.5 cm (an area of 4180.6 cm2)]), and 54" × 32" (an area of 1,728 square inches [137.2 × 81.3 cm (an area of 11,148.4 cm2)]). The windowsill measures 54" × 4" (an area of 216 square inches [137.2 × 10.2 cm (an area of 1,393.6 cm2)]). Subtracting the area of the windows and windowsill from the total area of Section 3 equals 3,648 square inches (23,535.4 cm2). Divide by 144, and you will see that Section 3 requires 25.3 square feet (2.4 m2) of tile.
Section 4 When we remove the area below the counters and fixtures, the remaining space in green contains a rectangular wall that measures 78" × 112" (an area of 8,736 square inches [198.1 × 284.5 cm (an area of 56,361.2 cm2)]) and two identical cupboards. The cupboards measure 36" × 24" (an area of 864 square inches) × 2 = (an area of 1,728 square inches [91.4 × 61 cm (an area of 5,574.2 cm2) × 2 = 5,574.2 cm2]). Subtract the area of the cupboards from the area of the rectangular wall and you have 7,008 square inches (45,212.8 cm2), divide by 144 square inches (10,000 cm2) and you will see that Section 4 requires 48.7 square feet (4.5 m2) of tile.
Sections 5 is identical to Section 1, so repeat the calculations with the same measurements and you will see that Section 5 requires 1.5 square feet (0.1 m2) of tile.
Next add all of the tile square footage totals in Sections 1 through 5 and you will have the total area of the space to be tiled by square feet (meters squared): 1.5 square feet (0.1 m2) [Section 1] + 42.3 square feet (3.9 m2) [Section 2] + 25.3 square feet (2.4 m2) [Section 3] + 81.3 square feet (7.6 m2) [Section 4] + 1.5 square feet (0.1 m2) = a total of 151.9 square feet (14.1 m2).
Once you have determined the square footage of tile, multiply that by how many tiles make up a square foot to see how much tile you will need to order.
Finally, I suggest budgeting for at least 10 to 20 percent more tile than your total project specifies. Simply multiply the final number by 0.1, or 0.2 and add that number to the total. Because the tiles are handmade, it is expected that you will run into irregularities that will present issues when cutting and setting the tile. If you play it safe and do this, you can avoid the stress of coming up short on a project and having to make tile later, or track down more tile from the maker, which could take quite some time!