Selecting the Perfect Terra Cotta
Interior rendering of the living room space
When our clients for a new, two-family home in New Orleans asked us to provide them with something warm, modern and organic, we were excited about exploring this design aesthetic, especially as it pertains to key materials like terra cotta tile.
About Terra Cotta: Crafted from natural clay and fired at high temperatures, they embody durability and strength. Their distinct reddish-brown hue and natural finish exude rustic charm, adding warmth and character to any space. Whether used for flooring, wall cladding, or decorative accents, these tiles bring a touch of the Mediterranean to interiors and exteriors.
Interior Rendering of the entry space looking at courtyard beyond
We designed the entire first floor, exterior and interior, with terra cotta finished floors to emphasize the organic flow and cohesive material palettes from the exterior into the home.
With considerations like: slip-resistance, cost, size, shape, thickness, resistance to staining and durability, we had to research all our options.
The Search Was On!
Cle’ Tile is known for some of the most beautiful tiles: zellige, stone, ceramics and terra cottas. Naturally, we started our exploration here. The terracotta le sol grande was our first choice. This is an unglazed, unsealed terracotta tile in 6” x 8” x .5” format, pricing out at around $16/ square foot.
Cle Tile Le Sol Grande
We Kept Searching…
Clay Imports was our next stop. We had previously researched this Texas based company and their Saltillo tiles on another project. We knew they had authentic terra cotta for a great price. So for this project, we order a sample of the Cotta Tierra. Just like the Cle’ Le Sol, this tile was unsealed and unglazed. It comes in a variety of different shapes and sizes, pricing out a touch better than the Cle’ Tile, but a very comparable tile with a slightly darker hue. Their costumer service has been very good to work with, also offering a trade discount which we intend to pass along to our clients.
Clay Imports Cotto Tile
But what about other types of tiles…
So of course, we needed to research other types of tile to make sure we were making the right decision. We were curious about terracotta-look cement tile and bejmat-look porcelain tile.
ARTO tile is also known for their beautiful cement tiles and pavers in luxury properties all over California. While their cement alternative provided more options for color and finishes, they were more pricey than the terra cotta options and cement has it’s challenges being incredibly porous and unpredictable for interior and exterior in south Louisiana.
WOW tile is another one of our favorite tile companies. They have an amazing selection of Spanish-made porcelain tile. Their Bejmat tile is one of our favorites when looking for a tile with a natural almost-zellige-like quality but has the benefits of being porcelain aka incredibly dense and non-porous. They also have a great price-point at around $7/square foot (pending on the supplier, location and quantity). The only reason we didn’t go with this tile was because it doesn’t have any coping pieces or trim pieces. We needed a tile thick enough to provide stair nosing with a rounded or eased edge.
What About Ceramic?
We don’t typically recommend putting ceramic on the floor, but technically speaking, ceramic and terra cotta are both made of clay and it’s the top glazing that would give us pause about installing it on the floor. We stumbled upon this tile from Fireclay which has beautiful variation and can be installed on floors due to the absence of a glaze. But…..at $54/ square foot, this tile was out of our budget. It could be the right fit for your project, so do check out the website. It’s a really beautiful tile!
Photo from Fireclay website
So, Which is the Winner?
The tiles mentioned in this post only touch the surface of our research. We also looked at Saltillo tile from Rustico Tile which had a very authentic look, but at the end of the day, we were looking for a modern interpretation of the classic. The Clay Imports Cotto Tierra made the final cut into our specifications and we can’t wait to see it get installed in the coming months!
Let us know which is your favorite Terra Cotta!