Borders are great for showing tiles
off, borders like frames for pictures emphasise
the subject, as with picture frames they are
best relatively plain. Border tiles were made in
a great variety of sizes and many, many more
colours, the range is absolutely vast. It is not
essential that border tiles match indeed frames
are best different but complimentary, they
should not dominate at all, they should provide
a proportionate backdrop for the decoration.
Very few originals come to market today for a
variety of logistical reasons but they can add
to the overall effect and period feel.
Supply of originals is very limited of
those that come to market most were used in
fireplaces especially for hearths but also for
slabs. Hearth tiles are almost inevitably too
scratched and worn to be reused at eye level
where damage will be readily seen, light surface
marks and scratches are usually acceptable for
splashbacks and other situations where tiles are
vertical for it is difficult for marks to be
caught in the light. Tiles for table tops and
trays really need to be in best condition for
the relationship in respect of light sources,
eye levels and viewing angles can not be
predicted.
Recovery is difficult, mostly being long
and thin they are more likely to be damaged upon
attempted removal, with low values not much time
can be allowed. Cleaning is often equivalent to
a valuable 6" decorative tile, drying space is
considerably greater, storage is also much more
difficult. Quantities can be frustrating, there
is little point in cleaning if the quantity is
insufficient for a number of uses in many cases
the likelihood of finding matching tiles to
complete a required quantity is very low but one
can't match colours properly unless cleaned so
it is a catch-22 situation. When all is done
even packaging small tiles takes
disproprtionately longer than larger tiles, no
wonder so few are found in the
marketplace.
Multiple borders were frequently used, we
see these mostly in fireplace slabs, the
decorative tiles often first framed by a half
inch border, then by a one inch, completed by a
one and a half inch border. Fireplace slabs were
made to widths of nine, ten, eleven and twelve
inches as standards, other sizes made for
specials. Borders as small as one quarter inch
wide are not uncommon, the narrowest seen and
very rare are one eighth of an inch wide. These
days a gap that wide would be simply filled with
grout but in victorian and edwardian times
seeing grout was not acceptable, tiles were
butted up and even filed down to make the best
fit, grout is often only a fiftieth of an inch
or half a millimetre, a tiny amount that can
barely be seen.
Portland cement was used as grout with
most coloured tile installations the neutral
grey it presents fading in to the background and
not detracting from the glazes. Grout should be
stained down, when we did installations we
always carried stains, brown, green, burgundy
and black which could be mixed to roughly match
the tiled with a colour that would fade in to
the background, it can also be used to fill in
tiny chips. Chips can also be touched in with
spots of colour, regular gloss paint won't
detract if a reasonable colour match, acrylics
can also be used a small artists pack with
mixable colours cheaply bought for the
purpose.
The most popular colours for borders are
greens and browns the most popular brown similar
to mahogany and so called in original
catalogues. These are the most predominent
colours in nature and so best suited for borders
as the beautiful and colourful flowers in nature
are surrounded by green foliage and brown earth.
There is also the vast range of blues, honey
colours and rarer reds, greys, purples and other
colours. White is quite rare being bright,
borders should usually be darker than the tiles
that they surround. There are also decorated
borders, embossed patterns with majolica glazes
of course, mottles and rarer finishes such as
barbotine from Sherwin & Cotton and lustres
from Maw and de Morgan.
Colours of border in one layout but
surrounding different tiles do not have to match
rather similar to frames on pictures where few
people strive for the same frame on all of their
display. Different colours adds even more to the
visual effect of the installation it makes every
tile displayed a uniquely presented artwork. As
ever the more special an effect to be created
the more effort it takes but the end result is
well worth it.
Modern tiles can be found as borders but
the range is very limited in sizes and colours,
there are still companies that make bespoke
tiles but they may well cost more than originals
and the output from the kiln is not guaranteed
and may not always match the samples. The glaze
quality is different on modern tiles too they
lack the brilliance of the lead glazes mostly
used in victorian and edwardian times. But
borders don't have to be a precise match in any
respect their function is to emphasise the
feature so with a good hunt around local tile
specialists suitable borders may be
found.
In most installations the precise width of
the border is not critical, surrounding field
tiles can be cut to size or they may be set in a
wooden frame, polished oak, mahogany etc or
painted softwood. I rather prefer two borders
around a six inch tile, the first of half an
inch the second of one and a half inches. This
makes a ten inch overall piece requiring cutting
of surrounding plain tiles in most installations
where six inch or eight inch tiles are those
most commonly used.
The simplest border to use is a group of
3" square tiles as no cutting is required and
the maths is easier! A standard six inch tile
set in the middle requires 12 3" x 3" tiles to
make the equivalent of four 6" x 6" tiles so
there's not much point having eleven. Most 3"
tiles are sourced from washstands so condition
is usually better than fireplace tiles but the
quantity is even more limited. Condition of the
borders needs to be at least as good as the
decorated tiles that they frame, slight damage
that gets lost in the pattern on a decorated
tile can be obtrusive on a plain tile.