Handmade Moroccan Tile, You're Perfectly Imperfect

I installed a very expensive, very cool tile. It is a handmade clay tile made in Morocco. This special Zellige tile is glazed terracotta tile that has been made the same way since the 10th century! The enamel glaze is spectacular. It is perfectly imperfect, which I LOVE!! I got mine from cletile.com in the Zellige Weathered White in 4x4 squares. The color is made up of dozens of shades of white- including grays, creams, pinks, celadons, and even blues.

Before the tile installation, I had my butcher block countertops set. I measured each wall that would have tile, and did a little bit of calculating with simple math, which is not always easy lol...

Tips:

• Take tile size into consideration

• Area to be covered *see this blog post for more details on measuring for installation*

• Make a center line that will allow for the outer-lying/edge pieces to be the largest possible. You don't want slivers on the ends of your rows.

• I draw a line vertically and horizontally by using a level.

Pro-Tip: don't forget to check for countertop levelness. If it is NOT level, you will need to have a ledger liner. I explain in more detail in this blog post.

• The reason is similar to not wanting sliver-sized end pieces, because you also don't want sliver-sized pieces tapering off on the ends (starting larger, then tapering to smaller or vice-versa) Also, you don't want the top to have a tiny sliver.

After that, it is so easy to install. I used butt joints (tile-to-tile, no grout lines). This is traditionally how Moroccan tile is set.

Check out some process videos on my Instagram Highlights and a time lapse video on my Reels

I ordered 10% overage to be sure not to run out of tile. The Mapei Type 1 Mastic adhesive I used is easy clean-up, premixed, and you can put the lid back on to use it again for your next project. Remember to take into consideration: outlets, light switches, plumbing stubs, and other obstacles.

See this blog post for a list of supplies, although you will not need all of them if you are using Butt Joints which excludes grout.

Good luck and happy tiling!!