For proof that tile has never heen more popular with home-owners or more widely used by interior designers, stroll through the nearest showhouse or visit a friend's new home. As expected, the kitchen and bath are tiled, but surprising new areas as well.
The kitchen of an older home might be revitalized by the application of rectangular white tiles from floor to ceiling. With no soft- ening colors, the effect honors cleanliness and order. A smal bathroom with nothing much to recommend can be transformed into a serene grotto with shimmering glass tiles on the walls and washstand. But it is a home's new spaces that give proof to the versatility of tile's enduring art: A sunroom anchored by a mosaic rug or a garden room brightened with a carefree botanical painting in tile.

Inspired by one of the oriqinal artists of Impressionism, the Chez Monet collection from Country Floors is based on kitchen tiles that brighten the painter's kitchen in the French countryside.

Text by Marilou Taylor
Beautiful Home Magazine