For those of you not following me on Instagram—and if you're not, please do!—this entry is inspired by a pic I recently posted from NYC's Javits Center, where I headed to scope out trends in home decor. Among the aisles of throws, pillows, baskets, lamps, and bowls, I spotted a booth full of what looked like encaustic tile—you know, those Moroccan-style patterned squares everyone on Pinterest seems to be putting in their entries, bathrooms, laundry rooms, and kitchens.
The booth was overflowing with people, which makes sense given how popular Moroccan encaustic tile has become. Take, for example, this bathroom flooring at my hotel in Nashville recently, the Thompson:
My friend Jamie recently renovated her mud room, and she covered the floor with this black and white pattern:
A local designer I know, Shannon Tate, recently installed this gorgeous tile in a client's kitchen:
Design by Shannon Tate Interiors, photo by Joyelle West
But not everyone has the budget (or fear of commitment) that a tile install like his requires. Enter the alternatives. The samples I saw at NYNOW were actually vinyl "rugs" you could place over any hard surface to get the look of Moroccan tile on a non-permanent basis. Here are some more pics courtesy of the company, Adama Alma, which is based in Spain. Cool, right?
Source: Adama Alma
Source: Adama Alma
Source: Adama Alma
Apartment Therapy has done a feature on other ways to give your space that punchy, patterned look for less. One of my favorite ideas they featured was stenciling a tile-like pattern on your flat surface, as shown on the stairs below.
Source: Lonny via Apartment Therapy
What do you think? Are you brave enough to do the tile thing? Would you fake it? Do you even like the look?
