In the early days of the renovation, Erin Napier shows the beginnings of her desired layout for the tiles in an episode of “Home Town,” telling her contractor, “This is different than anything we’ve ever done … This is a dream for me to do this floor, I’ve wanted to do it forever” (via YouTube). Napier’s zellige tiles, which are slowly gaining a new wave of popularity, are a variety of Moroccan clay tiles known for their rustic beauty and the individuality of each piece. This means they are beautiful, but more of a challenge to work with than traditional manufactured tiles, with differing thicknesses, imperfections, and sizes that make designing a pattern more challenging.
According to Napier, laying the tiles took a bit of ingenuity on the part of her contractor to get a smooth finish and intricate pattern that included diamond accent tiles between the larger tiles and a lavish decorative border that had to be pieced together. While it was the first time that Napier had used zellige tiles on the floor, she had worked with them in a previous remodel on the wall, explaining to Realtor.com, “They’re square, they’re imperfect, they have almost a rippled surface.” This surface makes them a perfect material for a gorgeous, non-slip shower floor.
