There are of course any number of challenges involved in restoring or renovating a period home in Australia. Manufacturing methods and materials have moved on, design tastes and concepts have evolved, and many Adelaide homeowners are today seeking out an ultra-contemporary look. However, this doesn’t mean that there isn’t a wide range of tiling options available if you are seeking to restore or renovate your Victorian sandstone, Federation-style home, Edwardian cottage, or Art-Deco villa.
Two of the most distinctive and attractive features of heritage homes are their bathrooms and kitchens. New homes with an emphasis on contemporary styling tend to favour brighter colours, starker design and industrial-looking stainless steel appliances. A period home, on the other hand, is generally more understated, using earthier, warmer colours, and will also be more muted in the presentation of its sinks, baths, and kitchen appliances.
For Adelaide homeowners who are seeking the reinvigorate the look of their bathroom or kitchen, but still want to retain its overall period character, there are a some wonderfully attractive ranges of Australian ceramics tiles now available that feature all the benefits of modern manufacturing techniques, while still looking exactly right for a home with age and character.
Embossed ceramic tiles, for instance, were an integral part of late-19th century and early 20th-century domestic design, and feature prominently in heritage homes of the period. A bathroom or kitchen might be largely tiled in white, or a subtle variation, but then this would be offset by a colourful, textured border, often with a floral or rope pattern, and in a rich, deep secondary colour, such as emerald or ruby. These make a delightful contrast and add colour and a design concept to a bathroom or kitchen without being overbearing.
Adelaide is also blessed with some remarkable homes built in the 1920s and 1930s, the height of the Art-Deco period and homeowners often, unsurprisingly, want to retain as many of their home’s original features as possible. Art-Deco interior design was noted for its use of geometric, interlocking patterns and so in a bathroom or kitchen of the period you could expect to find listellos consisting of straight lines, squares and diamonds in place of floral patterns, but these more elaborate designs still retained a restrained and understated elegance.
The good news for Adelaide homeowners is that embossed ceramic tiles and borders, in the style of the Victorian, Edwardian and Art-Deco periods, are still designed and manufactured in Australia, and continue to be hand decorated in order to replicate as closely as possible the period look of original tiles manufactured many years ago. Therefore, if you want to breathe some new life into your period bathroom or kitchen, you don’t have to sacrifice the important and attractive decorative features that make it so appealing, but you can still benefit from contemporary advances in ceramic tile manufacture.
If you are considering renovating or restoring an Australian heritage bathroom or kitchen, speak to a specialist design consultant who can advise you about the many period-style ceramic tiles available on the market today that will enhance your home’s original design concept while breathing into it a sense of new life.