Fleur de Lis Tiles and French Style

Fleur de lis tile
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Fleur-de-Lis tile represents styles used in the European and notably French portion of the American design character. This elegant shape allows tiles patterned after it to bestow a classic expression on stylized current interior design.

 

 

Perhaps the best translation for Fleur-de-Lis is “flower of the lily.” French historian Georges Duby said that ” the three petals represent the medieval social classes: those who worked, those who fought, and those who prayed. ”  While such depth of knowledge adds background, it may also help explain the allure the shape has held for centuries. On this topic, the exciting site Style at Home posted, Get the look: French design.” The author, Lauren McPhillips, suggested you “incorporate these ten design elements into your home for a touch of classic French style.” Number Seven on this list was the Fleur-de-Lis, about which Ms. McPhillips said, “The Fleur de lis has always held importance in French culture and design.”

 

Since its founding in 1954 by Norman Karlson, Country Floors has believed that some aspects of style transcend trends and periods. Indeed, the symbolism of the Fleur-de-Lis and the place it holds in French history and design is a perfect example of this idea! The Country Floors brand proudly offers you ceramic tile Fleur-de-Lis options as part of our Alhambra Collection.

 

 

 

 

Applications Of Fleur De Lis Tile

 

Decorative tiles are perfect as an accent tile or ornamental tile in any bathroom and kitchen. Borders on various residential tile applications are an excellent example of this use. For instance, Spanish Hacienda-style homes with wood stairs are excellent examples of risers used.

You can have floral designs or Mexican Talavera type of motives on these risers. Another common area for Fleur De Lis tile is backsplash tiles.  Designers choose beige or brown granites for countertops, and matching floral or vegetable design tiles can be beautiful accents.

 

Baldosa Tiles

 

This type of trend started in Southern Spain and Portugal a long time ago, and these tiles were used all over the house.

Inside the kitchen, you have a backsplash area and oven hood area that can be covered by these tiles. Tiles in this application will decorate an obvious place and make it easier to clean. The Baldosa Tile Collection is hand-painted at our studios in Southern California.  Our hand-made tile studios paint every tile and give it a true artistic feel to it.

 

 

 

Another common area of use is to Fleur De Lis tile over fountains, pool tiles, or outdoor tiles.  Spanish-style houses often have an inner court with a fountain. Spanish homeowners used these fountains with decorative glazed tiles year around them.

Norman Karlson and his students founded the American Tile Production Movement. Early producers such as Tile Guild, Ken Mason, and K.J. Paterson were all supported by Country Floors. Country Floors developed a lot of the original glaze formulas and body types along with these pioneers.

 

 

 

 

Handmade Tiles Are Available In Our Shop

 

Early designs were all European-inspired, and it was a perfect fit for the Spanish and Mexican style of Southern California. Original tile production was all made by small-batch kilns, and all the glazes were hand-mixed and formulated. These designs were difficult to mass-produce, and for that reason, Country Floors invested in large-scale handmade facilities.

 

Today, our factories produce true authentic hand-painted tiles as well as reproduction tiles.  Hand painting is gone by true artists in studios fired in small hand-made kilns. Each tile is hand-pressed, hand-painted, hand-glazed, and fired individually.  Some of these small kilns will produce only a few tiles each day, not even enough for a backsplash.

 

 

 

Reproduction tiles are done in silkscreen lines and each design is run through the line multiple times, one for each color. These lines are different from large-scale digital production, truly machine-made tiles in Italy, Spain, and China.

True machine-made tiles, sold by big box stores are mass-produced. Just to give you an idea of the scale,  a single production line in Italy or China can produce enough tiles in a single day than an artisan can produce in an entire year. Naturally, handmade tiles are authentic and beautiful. Each tile is a unique and one-of-a-kind piece of art.

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