Generally, I think they are only meaningful to the person that chose them and had them installed. I ripped out several in my bathroom remodels and a few that were scattered over doorways in my Spanish style house.

Accent tiles have not been shown for some time now. That said, yours is a forest/lake property. Rustic, craftsman. I think certainly any one of your choses could work.

They are all lovely.

I especially like the handmade cherry leaf tile.

Those are lovely. A few years ago, someone here did a stunning reveal with handmade tiles, I think from a company in Ann Arbor? Does anyone recall whose that was? Seems to me there was turquoise involved . . .

I also think someone else used the Motawi tiles, they are amazing and I would probably want to design a house around one!

I'm a big fan of Motawi, and artistic tiles in general

If you don't want to use them as a permanent accent, whether small or mural or..you can always use them as well, art. Put them on the wall or wherever. Motawi even gives you options to frame it if you wish

I have several artistic tiles in our place-I just hang them or lean them

since I'm not done with art placement in my house-I can't post pics yet..some tiles are up but they're not in the kitchen or bathrooms

if I was in LOVE with a tile..I can see myself incorporating it as a mural. I was btw(well I was in love with many, I mean something very specific)-and was a very quirky one-and very expensive too.

How about in a row behind a bathroom sink as a backsplash? Like this, but with any of your beautiful tiles:

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Use accent tiles as trivets. On the counter or hanging on the wall or leaning against the backsplash.

Thanks everyone for your suggestions and feedback!

I like the idea of a row of unique tiles behind a sink, kariyava. Great idea. It would have to be something that wasn't too overwhelming and could work side by side by side, but there's a lot of options for something like that.

aprilneverends, I have the same problem, smile. I have a knack for liking unique, beautiful and expensive things. But then I enjoy the challenge of trying to find ways to achieve that look but for less money. It helps that my dad builds furniture as a hobby and my husband can (or can figure out how to) build or install anything (the world is a better place for having engineers!) so we save a lot on labor. :)

Thor, what a great idea. If I find tiles that are flat I'll definitely keep that in mind.

For the master bath shower, we already know what we will do there for accent tiles. We will replicate what we installed in the house we are moving from. We have a fossil timeline along a horizontal band in a walk in shower. So a 1-inch mosaic tile band interspersed with fossils, some we dug in quarries ourselves. This is one that is going into the new shower that was an anniversary present. it's really cool to shower amongst fossils and rocks that range from 550 million to 2 billion years old!

I think I have found how I want to do accent tiles throughout the rest of the house. I came across these just a few minutes ago... and they made my heart sing. I absolutely love quotes (some of the ones they offer happen to be favorites) and I could use them in various places around the house, like powder room and guest bath, as single tile "murals" in the right spot. For instance, on either side of a window over the dining room beverage/serving bar, I think I'll use these (they are the same size and would be the same color):

JohnMuirMountainsAreCallingMottoTile4x8szSpringMissionGuildStudio.JPG 648×413 pi · More Info

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I used accent tiles on my fireplace. These are Rookwood Tile.

ooooooh, cpartist, I love how you did that. Craftsman field tile surrounds on fireplaces are really special and I thought long and hard about that. Our fireplace will be between two windows on the great room exterior wall, similar to this but our windows are bigger and taller:

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We have peek-a-boo glimpses of the lake, but primarily will see pine trees through the windows. We plan to use natural stone on the fireplace, but I may need to reconsider how we do that given your picture. Thank you for sharing.

bpath - Motawi is in fact the tile place in Ann Arbor. So swoon-worthy!

pippiep, those are lovely! I'm sorry you have to leave them but if you created that, then no doubt in your next project you'll do something equally as beautiful. I'm so inspired by your example - thank you!

bpath - Motawi is in fact the tile place in Ann Arbor. So swoon-worthy!

Swoon worthy is right, however the price tag was more than I wanted to spend. I "settled" for the Rookwood. (joking!)

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I love your choice of accent tiles to select from! I say, go for it!

They may not be to the next person's taste (but if I were moving there, I'd keep them...) But so much is not going to be to any next person's taste to begin with.

I did not add accent tiles when I recently had the backsplash redone in my kitchen. I would however consider doing an entire row in the bathroom behind the sinks.

cpartist, I believe my husband works with the brother of the owner. He came home one day and said "what is that interesting tile made in Ann Arbor again? My coworker said his sister has a tile studio there . . . " It's like a brush with greatness, once removed.

Just thought I would circle back on this post, now that our kitchen is (FINALLY) finshed! I ended up going with McIntyre tiles in Calif for the field tiles and the quote accent tiles from Mission Guild Studio in their Wheatfield glaze. I am so happy with how it turned out and I highly recommend both of those artisans and tile makers!

I’m so glad you circled back! what a lovely treat, and the tiles, oh yes.

I love your accent tiles, especially the quotes from John Muir. I have long admired his forward thinking and ecological vision and I love that your tiles give a nod to him.

Lovely