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.
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.
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.
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.
