Tiles

We love the antique Andalusian tiles and big green plants in the tropical rooms of Benedetta Tagliabue's re-designed 18th c. apartments in Barcelona here at HWTF and also profiled here by Eva in Madrid. Too beautiful. The one above is from here.

Tile colors are often white, dark blue and orange--in Italy these colors [with yellow] are still used in white terracotta reliefs of the Virgin and child. Here's a famous one by Andrea della Robbia [1435-1525] from the Renaissance.

They are often called azulejos tiles or zellige tiles (Arabic: الزليج‎), which were Arab, Moroccan or Moorish and focus on geometric patterns and shapes.

We are very picky about interior design--it should be a haven, beautiful yet engaging, not too plain but not too full of modern tackiness. Be sure to look at the really unique religious ones of the Virgin Mary and another of the Virgin and child from Valencia by the Archbishop's Church of San Juan Bautista de Chiva. Be sure to check out the famous Casa de Pilatos in Seville, which has them. It's an antique Andalusian palace in Spain.