Hearth tile concepts: 10 methods to tile a hearth
Hearth tile concepts can be utilized to border or draw consideration to a hearth, add an accent coloration to a room, convey texture to a plain house – and to set the tone for the entire ornamental scheme.
Whichever room you’re searching for hearth concepts for, there’s a tile that would be the good alternative. The very best recommendation? Choose a tile that displays the type of your private home, if not its interval, and in case your hearth encompass is intricate, do not select extremely detailed hearth tile concepts, which is able to battle for consideration.
Beneath, we take a look at the very best hearth tile choices for each house.
Hearth tile concepts
Hearth tiles needn’t be restricted to a small a part of the encompass – they can be utilized to clad a complete wall in a up to date dwelling, matched with fireplace tiles for a cohesive look, or contrasted with them for drama. Whichever your choice, these hearth tile concepts will encourage your scheme.
1. Create a smooth look with modern hearth tiles
(Picture credit score: Cullifords)
Probably the most impactful of lounge hearth concepts is to clad the whole lot of the chimney breast. It will work on a flush-finish chimney breast, and is especially profitable if the sample created by the tiles is vertical, as on this chimney breast’s book-matched marble tiles. Match the chimney breast fireplace to the fireside’s and you should have a chic end that is streamlined and pleasing.
Select heat-resistant tiles – most porcelain tiles ought to stand as much as the peak (although examine with the producer) and could be designed to imitate the look of different supplies, equivalent to marble and even wooden.
‘When deciding on a fabric on your hearth encompass, you’ll want to examine with an knowledgeable on required distances from the precise hearth in addition to suitability for this type of utility, as completely different surfaces may have completely different properties,’ advises Oliver Webb, Director at Cullifords.
2. Spotlight a range with herringbone tiles
(Picture credit score: Bert and Might)
Stoves want a backplate of some sort to guard the wall behind – and tiles can be utilized so as to add coloration or texture to focus on the tile in entrance. Right here, a traditional-look range is complemented by a up to date tackle rustic brickwork.
‘Fireplaces can play an necessary position in making a welcoming inside. This could both be completed by making a daring assertion, or going extra minimal by reflecting the type of the remainder of the room,’ says Katie Thomas, founding father of inside design firm KTM Design.
‘If you wish to create an impression, select patterned tiles or use formed designs which is able to assist draw your eye, equivalent to herringbone or fish scale. For a extra blended design, select a easy, massive neutral-colored tile. Bigger tiles are greatest for a minimalistic look whereas smaller tiles are greatest for characteristic fireplaces.’
3. Mix hearth tiles and a TV wall
(Picture credit score: Future)
In a small dwelling, a hearth could be mixed with TV wall concepts – and tiling the whole wall could be each sensible, particularly when you’ve got younger kids, and delightful, particularly if you happen to use a pure stone with intricate striations and beautiful tones, as within the room above.
Keep in mind that top gloss finishes will replicate mild to boost a small room. ‘Standard supplies to make use of for hearth tiles embody ceramic, porcelain, glass, steel, quartz, and stone, that are all sturdy and may face up to excessive temperatures,’ says Katie Thomas, of KTM Design.
4. Use conventional hearth tiles for coloration and texture
(Picture credit score: Future)
After we consider hearth tile concepts, it is often the tiles that sit across the mouth of the hearth or on the fireside – the again of the hearth itself usually will get ignored, with rendered finishes the commonest strategy.
Nevertheless, utilizing tiles – or on this case brick slips – contained in the mouth of the hearth itself can create an attractive end that’s good for purely ornamental fireplaces, or to be used with fuel or bio-ethanol fires that sit in a basket away from the tiled space (to protect its beauty). At all times examine the suitability of the tiles you select since even fuel and bio-ethanol fuelled fires are extremely popular.
5. Add a up to date twist to conventional structure
(Picture credit score: Cullifords)
A recent therapy of fireside tile concepts – equivalent to tiling the wall above and across the hearth itself needn’t be restricted to fashionable houses – it will possibly actually swimsuit conventional rooms, too.
‘In case you’re trying to make an announcement in your hearth, take into account a fantastically detailed or coloured floor on the wall above the hearth. Including a contact of glamor and class, the multicoloured particulars in a floor just like the one above will act as a shocking focal level,’ says Oliver Webb, Director, Cullifords.
6. Select hearth tile concepts to replicate mild
(Picture credit score: Future)
Nothing about your private home’s inside design needs to be conventional – so when you’ve got a small or darkish room to transform, or if you happen to simply need to create impression, you could have thought-about adorning with mirrors – or, within the case of this room, mirrored hearth tiles.
These will, after all, must be specified to make sure they will take the warmth of a hearth at such shut proximity, however the impact, particularly when layered with paintings on the chimney breast, is properly definitely worth the effort.
7. Introduce pure stone with hearth tiles
(Picture credit score: Christian Caribaldi)
Each profitable inside design scheme has a component of pure supplies inside it, and you’ll introduce it with hearth tile concepts within the type of stone. Marble – or marble-effect – tiles
‘The fireside field was already a part of the house. We renovated the façade across the hearth by portray the millwork a dramatic deep blue/black to create drama within the house. The stone across the façade is marble and was stored easy and timeless for longevity,’ says Artistic Principal Karen Wolf of Karen B Wolf Interiors.
8. Supply interval hearth tiles for an genuine look
(Picture credit score: Annie Sloan)
Conventional hearth concepts put the encompass and fireside tiles heart stage. ‘Rooms with fireplaces in them may have nearly at all times been designed in order that the attention shall be drawn to the hearth, and so it’s necessary to think about the colour correctly,’ suggests coloration and paint knowledgeable Annie Sloan.
Because of this, it is important that the hearth tiles you choose swimsuit the interval of the hearth and property itself. ‘If you’re uncertain of the interval of the home, a very good tip is to politely ask your neighbors to see if they’ve any authentic options of their home you’ll be able to take a look at. It’s the easiest way to seek out out,’ says Owen Pacey of Renaissance London.
9. Give a farmhouse grandeur with hearth tiles
(Picture credit score: Purple Cherry)
If you’re searching for farmhouse hearth concepts with grandeur, just like the tapered chimney breast on this magnificent room, you’ll be properly advises to select a stone that’s native, enhances different pure parts within the room equivalent to beams. Doing so will add a ton of texture to the house, whereas a lighter stone tile will not overwhelm the house.
10. Introduce sample to a plain scheme
(Picture credit score: CTD Tiles)
‘Appearing as a beautiful focus in your house, the hearth is a characteristic that may utterly rework the general look of your inside. Introducing tiles can usually set the tone, creating an enchantment that provides curiosity and crowd pleasing type,’ says Amanda Telford, Advertising Supervisor at CTD.
‘You possibly can obtain a really assertion look by teaming geometric tiles in a monochrome palette with interval accents and Delft-inspired particulars. A accomplished look could be attained by portray the mantel, partitions and skirting in a putting shade of Dutch blue for an easy enchantment.’
What tile seems good on a hearth?
Tiles that look good on a hearth embody pure stones – marble for a smooth, modern look or genuine interval really feel, granite or slate for a farmhouse really feel – and porcelain, which could be designed to imitate the look of most different supplies, together with wooden. Authentic vintage hearth tiles are a beautiful addition to a interval dwelling, too.
Can any tile be used on a hearth?
Not all tiles are appropriate to be paired with a working hearth because the excessive warmth ranges will injury them, often by cracking. It’s at all times price checking with the tiles’ producer earlier than shopping for hearth tiles.
Are porcelain or ceramic tiles a good selection for fireplaces?
Porcelain tiles are a good selection for fireplaces – not all ceramic tiles are.
‘All tiles are fired at temperatures in extra of 700ºF/1300°C throughout manufacturing, so they’re completely able to standing as much as the warmth ranges being kicked out by a log burner or range,’ advises Colin Lincoln-Evans of Tile Mountain.
‘Nevertheless, while some ceramic tiles can be subjected to warmth with out being affected, it’s advisable to go for extra hardwearing porcelain tiles (the fabric most prominently used for ground tiles) as they’re more likely to higher face up to fixed heating and cooling throughout the lifetime of the tile. Porcelain tiles – particularly full-bodied porcelain tiles which have glaze operating all over the tile – are extra hardwearing and if chipped by say, a poker or tongs, won’t present up the injury as readily as an ordinary tile with a floor glaze.’
‘High quality porcelain slabs can be found in an enormous alternative of finishes and are an important choice for tiling a hearth encompass,’ agrees Jo Oliver, Director, Stone & Ceramic Warehouse. ‘The density of the clay and the high-firing course of used to make porcelain tiles leads to a product that may face up to very excessive temperatures making them appropriate to be used in a hearth setting. The tiles must be mounted to a cementitious board utilizing the proper tile adhesives and while the tiles shouldn’t be in direct contact with the precise flames, they can be utilized to encompass the hearth. Massive format slab tiles provide a up to date end with minimal grout traces.’
Which hearth tiles will not be simply broken?
‘99.9% of porcelain tiles are appropriate to be used in hearth surrounds, hearths and fireplaces and there aren’t any restrictions on the scale or design you go for. Nevertheless, provided that wooden burners and stoves are vulnerable to creating ash and soot, it’s most likely a good suggestion to go for tiles that characteristic a satin or matt glazed floor in order to attenuate the chance of stains and scratches from equipment equivalent to ash pans, pokers and tongs,’ says Colin Lincoln-Evans of Tile Mountain.
‘Tiles with these kind of end are a bit extra hardy than these with a high-gloss polished end and the harder floor layer would require a lot much less effort on the subject of cleansing and maintenance.’
Ought to hearth tiles be sealed?
‘In case you’ve opted to make use of tiles with a cultured end in your hearth encompass then do be certain that you seal them if required. The producer’s directions will stipulate whether or not the tiles want sealing or not – tiles with this type of end usually require such an motion in order to stop them from staining,’ says Colin Lincoln-Evans of Tile Mountain.
‘hilst most porcelain tiles are impervious to natural matter, these with extremely polished surfaces and porous tiles equivalent to these constructed from pure stone like limestone and slate shall be vulnerable to staining by ash, soot or injury from an errant ember, so please do seal them.’
Do hearth tiles require a specialised grout?
‘Use heat-resistant adhesive and grout,’ says Colin Lincoln-Evans of Tile Mountain. ‘Most traditional grout and adhesive is appropriate to be used with underfloor heating programs and as such, is sturdy sufficient to face up to intermittent radiant warmth from log burners and stoves. Nevertheless, you could need to make sure the efficiency of your set up by choosing specifically formulated warmth resistant adhesive and grout, particularly in case your tiles kind the housing for a warmth supply that’s in fixed use.
‘As with tile surfaces, your grout joints are vulnerable to changing into stained and discolored by ash and different detritus related to open fires, so it’s at all times a good suggestion to guard them. Grout joints inside pure stone and polished tile installations shall be sealed simply together with the tiles themselves if you happen to’ve gone down the sealing route, nonetheless, you’ll be able to shield simply the grout.
