This Spanish Colonial home is an elegant study in pattern mixing

Spanish lebrillos and trompe-l'œil tile lend a Mediterranean feel to this Spanish Colonial home in Texas

Lebrillos and trompe-l'œil tile decorate the sunroom

This Spanish-style family home in Houston, Texas is a study in pattern clashing. Despite blending various cultural influences, this residence remains cohesive in its style. Its unifying element? A soft blue palette that appears in the upholstery, decorative Chinese porcelain and Spanish lebrillo bowls, tiled floors and carpets.

A large lebrillo serving bowl serves as a planter while two smaller lebrillos — Granada and Estornino styles— perch above the pilasters.

 
Estornino Fajalauza Lebrillo Serving Bowl
from €105.00

Hand-crafted in a small family-run workshop in southern Spain, this Estornino Fajalauza Serving Bowl is a testament to our commitment to craftsmanship. 

This hand-painted cobalt blue serving bowl features the Andalusian native songbird, the spotless starling or “estornino.” One of the charming places in Granada is Trinidad Square at sundown when starlings fill the square with their song. 

This flat-bottomed bowl shows our starling perched gracefully on a tree. The walls of the bowl boast an intricate pattern of seashells. 

As with all our Fajalauza stoneware, each bowl is hand-thrown and hand-painted using techniques that go back to the 16th century. 

This flat-bottomed bowl, known as “fuente semillana” in the south is used in a variety of ways in the home – as a fruit bowl on the table or as a decorative wall accent. Its intricate design and lively color make for an eye-catching display. 

Love the Estornino design? Get the same look in a blue or green lebrillo.

Production Lead Time: Kindly note, while we do hold some stock, many of our items are made to order. If out of stock, the production lead time is 4-6 weeks. For updates on current availability, please contact hello@casapletorica.com.

 

We take special notice of the trompe-l'œil tile in the charming sunroom where satsumas and fig leaf trees thrive.

Though this room exudes formality, the ceramic mosaic tile underfoot betrays a mischievous facet. The optical illusion gives the floor a three-dimensional quality, something playful amid the structured layout.

 
Cubos Ceramic Tile
€57.85

Our Cubos hand-painted ceramic tile is suited for interior and exterior decorations. Handmade in Spain, these tiles feature intricate patterns reminiscent of traditional Hispano-Arab designs.

Perfect for kitchen backsplash, kitchen floors, bathroom walls, patio floors, stairs and fireplaces.

Minimum order: 1 linear meter

  • 7×7 cm: 14 pieces

‍Production Lead Time: Kindly note, while we do hold some stock, many of our items are made to order. If out of stock, the production lead time is 4-6 weeks. For updates on current availability, please contact hello@casapletorica.com.

 
 

Although blue permeates the house, warm tones prevail as accents through the careful curation of artworks and fabrics. In the sitting room, yellow and red mingle in the abstract painting above the fireplace. Red perks up the “Chinese Acrobats” print in the upholstered armchairs and trail through the French canvas screen hanging on the wall.

Mediterranean rugs and tile honor this home’s historic character

The large sitting room counts no less than seven table lamps. Such a large room might have felt cluttered were it not for the structured design of the layout. Divided into five sitting areas, the room can hold several groups at once without feeling crowded. 

Though each section has its own unique character, the blue palette in the ceramic lamp bases and Spanish-made rug, unifies the space.

Featuring traditional motifs like pomegranates, this large blue rug almost covers the entire floor, pulling all the different sections together. 

The dining room is perhaps the place where tile mosaic outdoes itself. Delicately painted field tiles and a frieze of more elaborately decorated border tiles cover the wainscot.

The room below is a daring mix of prints with surprisingly calming effects. The blue and white palette absorbs the medley of patterns from the micro-print in the wallpaper, curtains, and ikat upholstery of the armchairs.

Traditional azulejo tiles liven up a pared-down corner

The fireplace surround features blue and white tile and a hand-painted star motif that feels like a nod to Lone Star State.

A popular element in azulejo tiles throughout the Hispano-Arab world, the 8-point star comes in a variety of styles: painted on terracotta tile or over tin-white glaze, in its most elemental form or a more ornate composition. 

Perched on the mantle of the fireplace are blue and white Chinese porcelain plates.

In a way it is fitting to find these cultures coming together. After all, Europeans owe their love of blue and white ceramics to the Chinese.

 
Brújula Ceramic Tile in Cobalt Blue Brújula Ceramic Tile in Cobalt Blue Brújula Ceramic Tile in Cobalt Blue
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Brújula Ceramic Tile in Cobalt Blue
from €12.00

Our Brújula hand-painted ceramic tile is suited for interior and exterior decorations. Handmade in Spain, these tiles feature intricate patterns reminiscent of traditional Hispano-Arab designs.

Perfect for kitchen backsplash, kitchen floors, bathroom walls, patio floors, stairs and fireplaces.

Sizes available:

  • 15 × 15 cm

  • 10 × 10 cm

Colors available: We offer about 18 different colors including our traditional blue, green, purple, and yellow.‍ To order a different color other than the one listed, please get in touch.

‍Production Lead Time: Kindly note, while we do hold some stock, many of our items are made to order. If out of stock, the production lead time is 4-6 weeks. For updates on current availability, please contact hello@casapletorica.com.

 

Named for its compass-inspired motif, our Brújula Ceramic Tile comes in our cobalt blue and green and custom colors, upon request.

See our traditional Spanish tiles for more.

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The enduring appeal of blue and white ceramic tiles