Context matters

13 years ago

I just got back from three weeks in Jerusalem and other parts of Israel. Everything is tile and limestone. The Armenians do beautiful hand-painted tiles and I came *this* close to buying a set for a focal point in the shower. Not that I'm remodeling my bathroom, just for if and when I do. I talked myself out of it (weight, fragile, what am I thinking?). Even though I'm not a blue person, the cobalts were breathtaking.

Now that I'm home, I realize that I loved all that stuff there, in that place. In my little bungalow, it would have seemed like an alien visitor.

A bit of tile from the wall of the magnificent Dome of the Rock:

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Comments (7)

debrak_2008
13 years ago
Beautiful!
deedles
13 years ago
Wow. Gorgeous.
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1929Spanish
13 years ago
That's a beautiful picture.

I did the same thing in Portugal a number of years ago. So glad I didn't take those tiles home because they would still be in my garage.
carsonheim
13 years ago
Funny you mention this. I'm going to Marrakech in 2 months and thought I'd like to get some tiles there to incorporate into our new build -- we'll be breaking ground around the time I leave.

I'm still undecided, as I love the look of these beautiful tiles, yet my home will be very traditional with a rather soft neutral palette. Perhaps I can find a place for them in a secondary bath????
Iowacommute
13 years ago
We're going to build a circa early 1930's bungalow, and I've been thinking about some tile like this for a tile rug in our main bathroom. I do think some of the patterns and colors would look out of place. I am a quilter (I tend to use modern fabric with traditional patterns) so I also feel like it would reflect what I love a little more.
gwlolo
13 years ago
I agree that context matters. But I think it is still possible to incorporate global things you love in your own home. There is a little village in southern india which is renowned for its tiles. I love these tiles and will at some point find a way to include them in my home.

Here is a link that might be useful: Athangudi Tiles
msl511
13 years ago
Context does matter, although I totally agree that with care, you can incorporate the beautiful things you find when you travel. Some of it is thinking about what will work with what you have at home and some of it is just whether or not you like the global, well traveled look.

My husband and I were in Venice years ago, oohing and ahhing over, well, a lot of things. Trying to decide what to bring home, we concluded that one of the really ornate masks (Venice is known for masks for carnival) would look out of place in our plain white walled NYC apartment, but the simpler mask we brought home worked beautifully.