No, it is not flat or rectified. It has a slightly pillowed edge.

I can't tell if you'll be disapointed but if you like that tile look, consider Winchester Tile and their Classic Collection. That collection includes different shapes but tiles have a pillowed edge. They are made in England but distribute throughout US. A couple years ago they were within your budget, or pretty close, but I don't know if they are still.

Thanks guys. Helps to know about my bathroom tile as reference. I see how the edge is slightly pillowed (but not as pillowed as, say, a handmade tile). Looking at more photos I'm starting to be able to see the difference, though it is indeed subtle. I like the flat look, but I don't know if it is necessary for my house. My house is "period" but from what I'm seeing in other original homes from the 30's in California, the flat edge wasn't 100% ubiquitous. Seems more necessary for WWI era walls to go flat edge. I will say if I was going for tile on the floor (like a hex in the bathroom or kitchen) I would 100% want it flat flat flat for authenticity and the physical feel of it. Gonna look at some samples tomorrow and decide what I want to go for.

You might also take a look at daltile's new retrospace tiles, although I think at least some of them are too textury for what you want:

https://www.daltile.com/products/tile/retrospace

More than tile itself, I find newer methods of install fail to produce an authentic orginal look. Orginal tiles of your home's age would have been done with a proper mud job. So the grout lines are actually much different. I ended up not trying to replicate orginal for I could not find a pro willing to do a good old fashion mud job and new replica tiles in a house with orginal in places look generally newer and faux to me.

You can achieve the look with two layers of cement board so the area under the tile is thicker than the drywalled area instead of flush.

Thanks palimpsest and writersblock! They actually looks quite nice to me and not too "pillowy". I think I'm going to the showroom tomorrow and see them in person.

Actually you want to go to Heritage Tile for the real thing. Dal tile is not authentic and doesn't have the same look. I used Heritage tile hex tiles for my guest bath floor because I wanted the authentic look for up there. So glad I did. However I do admit to using the Rittenhouse tile for the walls. ;) I just couldn't justify the additional cost for a new house build guest bathroom.

Also if you're not aware ofthis Facebook page, I highly recommend joining it. Lots of knowledge there.

Sorry, I missed where Astrid said this was a craftsman bungalow. Actually, I still don't see it. Is it?

For the floor I agree rectified from Heritage or Subway Ceramics or American Restoration would be best. But since the slightly pillowed exists in the original pink bath I think Daltile on the walls would be fine.

Love your bathroom tile (ahem, I have the same in my 1950 home), but I've never seen that little decorative accent tile. Sweet.

No one said it was a craftsman bungalow but the tile used back then was the same except in the most high end homes.

roarah - excellent point! I love learning about all these old school techniques. My tile guy is great but I don't think I could convince him of that.

writersblock - It's a 1930's Spanish Eclectic ;) T

Thanks cpartist even though my house isn't a bungalow it comes from the same era and I'm sure I'll learn a lot from this group (like how to fix all my busted ropes and weights in the windows...)

I've actually chosen a cement tile for the floor in an apple green - not exactly authentic to the neighborhood (unless this was Europe or Cuba or something) but I think it will still go with the over all look. And after a horrible linoleum floor I couldn't bring myself to lay down Marmoleum!

Now that I've been looking around more and gathering more samples I'm starting to see the distinction between the two. Most evident in grout lines, than the shape really, in my estimation. Some of the higher end subway tiles are nearly flat edge anyway. Subway Ceramics (from Heritage tile ) has such a gorgeous one but at $22/sq ft (and that's the lowest I've found!), I wonder if I should save the money.

When did mud jobs fall out of favor?

I will say that I splurged on the Subway Ceramics and it really was worth it. I justified it in that I hardly spend any money on myself and never really wanted anything, but I wanted that tile for about 15 years.

To save money, we DIYed everything. If we had gutted the space and reframed it and put up new sheetrock, it would have turned out better. The tiles are thick and the rectified edges don't give much room for error on our original plaster walls. So we have a few wonky spots. Also, I didn't go crazy with their trim pieces - it is easy because they offer every possible transition and trim, but I (kinda ;) restrained myself.

more pics in my Houzz photobook

Bathroom · More Info

Here's a wonderful Facebook group that will also help you on your journey. I used them when building my new craftsman inspired house.

Thanks cpartist even though my house isn't a bungalow it comes from the same era and I'm sure I'll learn a lot from this group (like how to fix all my busted ropes and weights in the windows...)

Also that link will help too. There's also a great blog from a guy who does write about how to fix those ropes and pulleys and right now his name escapes me. Darn.

I've actually chosen a cement tile for the floor in an apple green - not exactly authentic to the neighborhood (unless this was Europe or Cuba or something) but I think it will still go with the over all look. And after a horrible linoleum floor I couldn't bring myself to lay down Marmoleum!

Cement tile is still considered authentic for the era. I put cement tile in my friends entry hallway. In a muted green.

Now that I've been looking around more and gathering more samples I'm starting to see the distinction between the two. Most evident in grout lines, than the shape really, in my estimation. Some of the higher end subway tiles are nearly flat edge anyway. Subway Ceramics (from Heritage tile ) has such a gorgeous one but at $22/sq ft (and that's the lowest I've found!), I wonder if I should save the money.

Actually $22 a square foot is considered middle range for a tile. Additionally how much tile will you actually need for the backsplash? If it were me renovating an older home, I would definitely spend the money.

Kats, your bathroom is gorgeous!

Very pretty floor, cpartist, and lovely bathroom kats.

Astrid, I would take your clue from the existing bathroom tile as to edges and grout lines. At least in my area, the old houses I see rarely have a great difference that way between kitchen and bath. The shape may be different, and color, of course, but the amount of color variation and the edge are usually pretty similar between the two rooms. (Of course, I'm not talking about Mizner houses in PB, but cottages/kit-type houses.)

I had never thought about using two layers of cement board for a more authentic tile look. I had forgotten that in my first house I did tiling similar to OP but white. I wasn’t 100% pleased with it but didn’t know why. Now I realize it was lack of thickness.

My 2nd house had a vintage pink tile bathroom, all pieces pink. It was great. Unfortunately the floor was pretty worn but I let it be and covered with rugs.

kats737 - GORGEOUS! I love what you did and I'm impressed it was DIY! Is that floor original?

cpartist - that floor is lovely! I'm really pleased with my cement tiles and I'm glad to hear you think they'll still "go." My friend from Spain just visited and he loved them too. I need about 35 square feet. The difference between the tile I'm honing in on (Waterworks) and Daltile Rittenhouse 0100 would be about $400, so I think I could justify the cost, however the color is very similar. I think I'm gonna opt for the Waterworks since it will match the thickness of the trim (and save my contractor the headache). If I wasn't doing trim though I'd probably have chosen the DalTile - the Rittenhouse line is legit!

writersblock - that's what I was thinking too - keeping it consistent from room to room. Thanks for the feedback! And my house certainly isn't a Mizner, hahah. Just one of those dime-a-dozen little SoCal Spanish 2 bedrooms.

dime-a-dozen little SoCal Spanish 2 bedrooms.

But those are some of the cutest houses ever! I wish we had more of those around here, but except for some older Mission-style houses, Spanish seems to have been more for big houses in this area back then. I think my favorite house plan ever is the Radford Del Monte:

http://www.antiquehomestyle.com/plans/radford/1924-radford/24radford-delmonte.htm

ETA Oh, and I love your new floor!

A bit late, but here's a tile/floor closeup of the bathroom in my Victorian. The bathroom is not original, and based on the Art Deco bathtub and the style of flooring and tiling, I've put the bathroom at being from the mid 1930's.

You can see the super flat tiles and extremely thin grout lines. I'm definitely keeping these subtle details in mind when we redo the bathroom (can't keep this one - it's 80 years old and literally falling apart, but maybe I can salvage some of the vintage subway tile).

There's a spot in the shower where the faucets had relatively recently been redone with a patch of new tiling - the tiles are the same size and almost the same shade of white, but they are ever so slightly beveled and the grout lines are much much wider. Slightly different materials, very different technique.

writersblock - I do love them too! My neighborhood is pretty working class and quite a few of them are these tiny Spanish ones.

queenvictorian - Thanks for the reference pic! The tile is sooo pretty. I did have a rental house previous to purchasing this one which was from the 20's. The only original tile left was in the bathroom with that flat porcelain. Still looked great and I loved the smoothness on my feet.

Here is another 1932 example. Flat on floor, slight rounding on walls. Please don’t mind the wet dog.

Actually I'm super glad I came upon this thread because it helped me pinpoint the thin grout lines as being one of those subtle little details that differentiates the true vintage from contemporary imitations in terms of tile work. Definitely gonna make the tile guy copy this technique when we eventually get to redoing the bathroom.

Also, here's a pic of the fancy tiles along top the tile wainscoting:

As you can see, the work is degrading with age. There are some other spots where the tiles are loose and bowing out from the wall. Also, we have areas where the little hexagon floor tiles are popping up. Still though, decent enough shape for a room that's been heavily used and accosted daily by unventilated moisture for 80 years.

Queen, maybe you can find someone who really understands old houses and can work with you to keep what you have and just repair it all. It would be such a crime to have to tear that out. Additionally those old tiles were adhered with a mud job and that too makes a huge difference in how they look and also how they work.

The unfortunate thing about this bathroom is that the layout is pretty dysfunctional. As much as I love the Art Deco tub, it's too wide for the space - the old builders filed down the old door and put a fat shim in the door frame that the edge of the tub is against. If the door hadn't been filed down, it would catch on the tub. So the tub is on the long wall, and then at the end, you have a bay window that's kinda dead space, with the sink and toilet opposite each other and very much in each other's way.

What I want to do to improve the layout without increasing the size of the room (which would mean eating into a bedroom or sacrificing the butler stairs (hard no - butler stairs own)) would be to rearrange it so the bathtub is on the end in the bay window with a suspended curtain rod, and the sink-vanity and toilet would be next to each other along the wall where the current tub is. That much of a rearrangement would make it impossible to retain the tile and not have to patch it with different material and move it around.

Still, even if I can't reuse original materials, the new bathroom would be such that old house readers would be happy and relieved.

queenvictorian - wow that tile!! It's absolutely gorgeous. I hope you are able to preserve it (or at least save a few pieces to reuse somewhere!) I see why the "crackle" look is so trendy right now - though there is nothing like the real thing.

Yes I think the flat tile/thin grout is essential for a period look like that. And ESPECIALLY on the floor! I think you could probably get away with a cheaper tile on the wall if the tile is not too pillowy and its white/white grout, but I don't think you can fake a porcelain tile floor. I see a lot of vintage inspired bathrooms with bumpy, pillowy, octagon white ceramic tile and the floor and it feels wrong to me.

I think I'm personally not going to go with the flat tile for my kitchen walls, my house is just a little past that era.

Good luck with your restore/remodel! Post pics!!

socalgal_gw Zone USDA 10b Sunset 24 - thanks for the pic! and cute pup! Looks a lot like my house.

Don't worry, I'll be going out of my way to salvage as many pieces of tile I can. The local salvage place doesn't take used tile (only surplus unused tile), but I'll offer it up on Craigslist to a DIYer - I'm sure there are plenty of hipsters who would LOVE to get their hands on vintage subway tile.. Same with the colorful glazed tile on one of the bedroom fireplace hearths - tile is loose and many are broken, and with those tiles having not been made in probably a hundred years, I can't repair it without it looking like a janky patch job. They would be fantastic as accent pieces in a kitchen backsplash or in a mosaic art piece. Luckily in these parts, all the houses are old and folks love nabbing your cast-off materials for their own projects, so I'm not too worried about the tiles being lost to the landfill if we don't reuse them ourselves.

Now I need to start researching and perusing materials. Definitely want to avoid the obviously contemporary pillowy/beveled tile. Luckily, those little hexagonal porcelain tiles are kinda back en vogue, so hopefully I can get my hands on some equally tiny non-beveled ones. Depending on the design, might do some black accents/patterns.

As for my kitchen, they didn't do tile on the kitchen walls back then - all the cabinets (like the built in ones in butler pantries) were backed with beadboard, so I'll be doing beadboard for backsplash.

Heh, if you want pics, I'll have to remember to dredge this thread up in a couple years. We're taking things slow with fixing this house up.

• @kats737 Can you advise what color your bathroom tile is in the photo above? It looks like an off white? Thanks!

puulima67 it's Heritage Tile Subway Ceramics in Gloss Avalon. See page 7 here.

https://heritagetile.com/design-guide/

It is ever-slightly not white as you can see by the contrast of the toilet and the sink which are 'white'. The walls are Clark + Kensington Chalk CW-C2.

• @kats737 Thanks for the quick response! I'm probably going to have to order samples as I'm trying to match the hexagon tile I'm getting which is Daltile D617 "Arctic White" unglazed porcelain - also "just off white" sort of color. I like the shade of yours. Also want to see what the Crackle finishes look like...but that may be too extreme. Your bathroom looks great!

@kats737 Would you happen to know how that Avalon compares to "Arctic White" - a fairly standard off white color? Apparently it's not so easy to get samples shipped to Canada these days...timing and cost wise.

@puulima67 I'm so sorry I do not. I can tell you that in my bathroom (check the full set of photos in my profile) I have approximately 7 different whites and I think it works together. Lighting plays a very important part. I looked at the whites in the most often used light - for me that was daytime with natural light filtered through the window in order to select a paint color.

Also I would be happy to mail you a slice of tile but it looks like it is $14 :o

Here is a slice of the avalon tile against generic american olean ’white’ Don’t judge my grout, i sorely regret using white grout in this bath, but its 14 years old at this point

@kats737 Oops, didn't get a notification you posted...just now seeing this. No worries on the whites - I may end up buying the hexagon tiles for the floor from Subway Ceramics also - so won't have to worry about matching. I ordered sample boards for their wall tiles in whites/blacks and their sample hex floor tiles also. I don't see any issues with your grout. I did a light grey in my other bath 17 years ago, and yeah it got a little darker over the years, but I don't like stark contrasting grout so still looks good. Yours looks great!

Thanks a heap for the feedback/details! I guess I'll have to post pics here when I'm done? Or at least a link to my Old House IG account!

puulima67, glad you are getting some samples. Their stuff is such great quality, I know you will be thrilled with it. I am not hip and on IG, but I think you can totally tag it back here when you are done. Look forward to seeing it.

The grout we used for those 6x6 'cheapie' square tiles was just whatever was manufactured as White grout. So it was not gray, lol, and it hasn't discolored evenly. Ah well, it's a basement bathroom!