Behind the Design | Celebrating Tile Milestones

CELEBRATING THE MILESTONES IN TILE SIZES. 

A myriad of historical threads are woven into our contemporary lifestyle, and no matter how forward-facing we think we are... scratch the surface and the past shines through in fascinating and sometimes surprising ways. Take a quick look around your home. Those pool mosaics? Their tiny, dazzling ancestors used to adorn ancient middle eastern temples from floor to ceiling. Those lush metro tiles in your bathroom? They are the great-great-grandchildren of the original tiles invented to clad the walls of early subway systems.  

Today, although you’ll still find artisanal, small-batch tile makers (and we give thanks for the skilled artisans who keep the generations-old techniques alive) there are incredible advances in tile technology, and an almost bewildering array of tile sizes and surfaces is available, offering us the luxury of choice. Many of them have ancestry fired into their DNA, to enrich your mood board with their storied histories. Of course, there are also the new-age tiles, the wunderkind tile trailblazers: from unbelievably thin... to the mind-bogglingly immense. Take a walk through the ages with us, and let’s celebrate the story of tile sizes. 

HOW IT STARTED.  

So where do our modern tiles have their origins? Ancient Greece and Rome, you say? They’re the usual suspects when it comes to invention. It’s accurate to say they certainly perfected the tile. But the story starts way before the sun rose on these great empires.  

THE ANCIENT WORLD.  

Circa 4500 BCE Mesopotamia. This is the cradle of civilisation, where first the Sumerians, then the Assyrians, the Akkadians and finally the Babylonians flourished, each creating their innovative systems of mathematics, astronomy, irrigation, writing and architecture. And tile production. Perhaps the most famous structure of this era is the Ishtar Gate of Babylon, built around 575 BCE. An impressive city fortification structure covered with hand-moulded decorative glazed ceramic brick tiles coated in cobalt, copper (and, according to the great King Nebuchadnezzar himself, precious lapis lazuli) to produce the distinctive indigo hue. It’s estimated that over 15 million mesmerising blue tiles would have covered the various lavish city fortifications. 

Size 10cm x 15cm. 

Circa 2680 BCE. Ancient Egypt.

One of the earliest recorded examples of ceramic tile was found in the 36 000 precious blue-green faience tiles decorated the grand walls and doorways of the tomb. Egyptian faience was made from crushed quartz, lime and plant ash, mixed with water, shaped in moulds and heated to harden. Copper salts were added before firing to create the distinctive blue-green hue. Deeply symbolic, these little tiles were laid in such a way to mimic reed matting, the “field” in which the pharaoh would rest in the afterlife. And the colour was representative of both new growth and the life-giving power of water. 

Size 6cm x 3.6cm. 

Circa 300 BCE – 600 CE. Roman and Byzantine Mosaics. 

When the Romans conquered the Grecian territories, mosaics were already a decorative feature of sacred and public buildings. The Romans took it one step further, commissioning mosaic artworks for private homes as well. One of the most common mosaic techniques was the Opus Vermiculatum, which involved the use of tiny, irregularly shaped tesserae* to create curved lines and intricate designs. These little fragments could be as small as a few millimetres, like those in the mosaic work of Pompei, astonishingly well preserved by the layers of pyroclastic flow after the terrible volcanic eruption.  

*One tessera, many tesserae. From Latin, meaning “small cube”. In Roman times, tesserae were cut from marble and limestone. 

While Roman mosaics were commonly used in flooring and showed nature and mythical figures, the Byzantines used these beautiful little bits to cover walls and ceilings, too, to create large scale Christian imagery. Byzantine mosaicists used glass tesserae, which they called “smalti”, to create glowing colours with glittering gold backgrounds that symbolised the heavenly realm.  

Size from a few millimetres to 1cm – 2cm per side.  

THE MEDIEVAL WORLD. 

500 CE – 1450 CE. Encaustic tiles.  Interestingly enough, tile production during the middle ages was seasonal. Artisans would dig the clay in winter and let it ‘weather’ until spring, when it was moulded into tiles and fired. During the making these encaustic tiles a carved wooden stamp was pressed into the surface of an unfired clay body, after which the depressions created were filled with white “slip” (a runny clay and water solution). The tile was left to harden, and then the surface was scraped level. As the process became more sophisticated, the inlaid patterns were increasingly more colourful and complex.  

Both public buildings and sacred spaces were decorated with encaustic tile, and one of the most extraordinarily beautiful examples – the Cosmati Pavement - can be seen in Westminster Abbey in London, dating to 1268 CE. 

Size around 15cm – 20cm square. 

THE RENAISSANCE WORLD. 

1500 CE – 1700 CE. Spanish Majolica and Dutch Delftware. The western world’s creative thinking exploded into great brilliance during this time, along with manufacturing processes. Originally “Maiolica” (pre-17th century), Majolica was a labour-intensive tin-glaze process which included dipping, drying, painting and firing, to create an opaque white surface with decorative brushstrokes in metal-oxide colours. These gorgeous tiles became decorative panels or wall coverings. 

Size 10cm – 15cm square. 

Dutch Delftware was created in much the same way as Majolica, with a similar tin glaze, but was remarkable for its distinctive blue and white imagery, with cobalt oxide that delivered the “delft blue” hue. Renaissance Dutch buildings and residences often feature entrances, fireplaces and walls adorned with Delftware tiles.  

Size 13cm – 15cm square. 

THE WORLD OF THE INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION AND EARLY 2OTH CENTURY. 

Circa 19th century Victorian England. This was the era of Queen Victoria which was characterised by exponential economic growth. With the explosion of new machinery, industrialisation grew fast. Mass production was the order of the day. The underground system was mapped out in London and clad with the now famous small square tiles in a variety of colours. (The story goes that the reason why different stations have their own tile colour was to help illiterate travellers recognise their station.)  

Size 10cm – 15cm square.  

During this time, with the emergence of mass production, floor tiles were now available to a more diverse market at a more affordable price. Black and white checkerboard square tiles were very popular.   

Size 30cm square. 

Circa 1900 – 1930. Art Nouveau and Art Deco Tiles. You’ll recognise Art Deco design by its geometric shapes and sharp, industrial edges, influenced by the rising cubism movement in art. Art Nouveau was all about curving lines and organic forms. Art Nouveau tiles are some of the most eye-catching and decorative surfaces ever made, both in residential spaces (particularly around fireplaces) and public buildings. Colour was a feature in both art Deco and Art Nouveau tiles. 

Sizes from 10cm – 20cm with small detail, to larger, bolder designs up to  30 cm. 

The Paris Métro station entrances are showpieces with highly decorative Art Nouveau entrances in cast iron and glass. Their unusual lettering became known as the Métro style, designed by Hector Guimard between 1900 and 1913. Can you believe that at the time, his elaborate designs caused a scandal, and many were destroyed? Monsieur Guimard also designed the Paris Métro tiles. The ‘Carrelage de Métro” he called them: white, glossy, rectangular tiles with bevelled edges.  

Size 10cm – 15cm. 

Cut to New York, where the ubiquitous Subway Tile with its familiar rectangular shape was born in 1904, created by George L Heins and Christopher LaFarge in New York as a practical and low-maintenance solution for the New York Subway System.  

Size 75mmx150mm. 

THE MID-CENTURY TO LATE 20TH CENTURY WORLD. 

1950s – 1970s. Post-War Standardisation. As the western world returned to a modicum of normality after the scourge of WW2, rationing was still in place to stabilise the leached economy. Tile sizes were standardised in commercial and residential projects, and three sizes became the norm: 

Sizes 10x10cm, 15x15cm, and 30x30cm. The 10cm square tiles were standard in bathrooms and kitchens. 

1980s – 1990s. Larger tiles. As technology advanced, interior design evolved with it, along with a preference for larger, cleaner surfaces. Tile sizes increased. The idea of a continuous flow with fewer grout lines took hold, and homes and public spaces were designed with a sleeker, more seamless aesthetic. 

Size 40x40cm and 60x60cm porcelain tiles became the norm. 

THE CONTEMPORARY AND MODERN WORLD. 

2000 – Today. The era of large formats, XXL and slabs. With incredible advancements in technology, there has been a dramatic increase in tile sizes: large formats reaching 120x120cm and more. “The slab” is fast becoming a cornerstone of modern architecture and interior design; large porcelain slabs of 120x240cm are helping to create seamless floorscapes and large expanses of walls. Porcelain slabs are also gaining popularity as seamless countertop surfaces. Currently, these behemoths are crossing the 300x150cm threshold. 

2010 – Tomorrow. Thin and Lightweight Slabs. The future of tiles is not just in bigness, but also in thinness, largely due to the rise of the circular economy, with its requirement for ever-more sustainable processes and choices. Our very own Gryphon factories have been pioneering large format EcoTec tiles that are incredibly thin and incredibly strong. These LiveGreen beauties use less clay, less water, and less fuel in firing and transport.  

Companies like Laminam are birthing ultra-thin, ultra-large porcelain slabs of up to 3m x 1.5m which are only a few millimetres thick. 

The new smalls. So, while biggies are making a splash, let’s spare a paragraph for today’s littlies. Mosaics are having a moment with a fabulous revival, and we’re loving the kaleidoscope of mini and micro sizes, shapes, colours, textures and materials. Artists continue to choose mosaics for murals and custom pieces, with 1cm – 2cm sizes selected for detailed work. Many modern mosaics are eco-friendly, created from reclaimed glass to help reduce landfills... like Italtile’s very own 100% recycled mosaic ranges. Long live the decorative mosaic accent, the mosaic feature wall, the mosaic back splash and the mosaic shower stall. It's been a fascinating journey across the millennia and the tile world will continue to welcome new ideas, shapes and sizes which will, no doubt, delight and astonish us with their innovation and ingenuity. The progression from small, hand-crafted tiles to large-format slabs mirrors the advances in manufacturing and captures each zeitgeist, along with shifting aesthetic preferences over centuries.  

Today, tiles are no longer the sole domain of the ultra-wealthy elite. Modern porcelain beauties have been democratised as an everyday indulgence accessible to all and offer the luxury of choice: a wide variety of tile sizes which empower the flowering of individual expression.  

Go small. Go large. Go green. And live beautifully. 

Ciao.