Maria Bartlett was recently renovating her 1905 Queen Anne farmhouse in suburban Atlanta.
Her frequent trips to bistros and cafes in Paris had inspired her to search on the Internet for French encaustic tiles (tiles made with the color inlaid) for her kitchen.
And she found them – at L’Antiquario Antique Tiles, a Miami Beach, Fla.-based tile company that reclaims European tiles. She scooped up more than 100 pieces of tile made in the 1840s in a French country motif to set on her refurbished kitchen’s walls “in a beautiful carpet,” Bartlett said, giving the tile a second life, as she saw it.
“This tile has made my kitchen. It’s an antique, it has a history and it has a soul,” said Bartlett, who is a flight attendant and a real-estate agent. “It’s my own corner of France in my kitchen.” “It’s like putting a nice piece of art in your home that’s more than 100 years old, that transcends time and design periods and is a one-of-a-kind piece,” said Danny Martin, an owner of L’Antiquario, which specializes in these European antique reclaimed tiles for flooring, fountains, backsplashes, pool and fountain surrounds. Tiles range in price from $12 to $75.
Stephan Hartung, owner of Vintage Elements in Hodges, S.C., said homeowners who invest in antique tiles “are instantly buying history and curb appeal,” and adding to their homes wow-factor with these reclaimed materials.
