Newsstand

Subway Ceramics develops vibrant white crackle glaze

The Subway Ceramics collection now includes a bright, vibrant, white crackle glaze. All of our deep crackle glazes play with the downlighting in a kitchen backsplash to great effect, and this neutral white color harmonizes with any cabinet or countertop combination. This is the one glaze that will set the standard for the optimal kitchen backsplash tile.

Remember to order matching cover plates!

Subway Ceramics offers reproduction hex tile

The vintage floor tile of early 20th century American homes was, with few exceptions, an unglazed porcelain pattern of hex tiles or square mosaics. Subway Ceramics is pleased to offer these classic floor mosaic products with the same vintage character and historic authenticity as our faithfully reproduced subway tile collection.

Our vintage mosaic collection is available as pre-mounted, 1 square foot sheets in white and black. Typically, individual tiles are taken from the black sheets to replace white tiles to reproduce traditional floor patterns. Trim hex tiles are also available to square the edges of the hex tile sheets, saving time and installation costs.

Subway Ceramics is especially pleased to re-introduce the 2" unglazed hex tile option. Historically, this larger hex tile size was less commonly used and became unavailable around the time of the Great Depression. Consider this larger format when it is consistent with the scale of a room of greater proportions.

Order samples from this classic floor mosaic tile collection using our convenient and secure online sample ordering system (click here). 

Subway Ceramics introduces new restoration glaze

The traditional tilework commonly found in early 20th century American homes has a unique character quite unlike our modern ceramic tile forms. The pencil-thin grout lines and flat tile surface of the original, period tile are the most obvious differences. But compare the color of the vintage tilework to a new glossy white tile and you will quickly discover that the vintage tiles have developed a slightly yellow cast. This is the patina of time, and virtually all tiles from this period have aged in a very similar fashion.

Restoration projects in these old homes will often require the removal of vintage tile in areas where plumbing improvements are needed or bathroom walls are extended. In many cases, preserving existing tilework on adjacent wall surfaces may be possible and desirable from an historical perspective. Adding new, white glazed ceramic tiles – even historically authentic tiles from the Subway Ceramics collection – would visibly contrast with these vintage surfaces.

To address this challenge, Subway Ceramics has developed the ‘Avalon white’ glaze option now available on all tile elements in the Subway Ceramics collection. Extensive research and testing on actual preservation projects throughout the US has resulted in an optimal glaze formulation that has proven to blend naturally with the original white glazed ceramic tilework of this period. While other naturally occurring tile features such as crazing lines may still contrast with the freshly installed tile areas, the overall effect is sufficiently homogeneous that the casual observer will not be able to discern where the vintage tilework ends and the new installation begins.

Using this glaze option to replace individual tiles on small sections of a single wall area is not recommended, however. In this case the ultimate result is likely to be less satisfying than replacing entire wall surfaces where the new tile and the vintage tile will coexist on separate but adjacent planes.

Order a sample of the ‘Avalon white’ glaze using our convenient and secure online sample ordering system (click here).