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Blue Tiles: These big, rustic-looking blue tiles suit this room beautifully. A mix of dark and light tiles have been used to add a bit of interest and their surfaces are nicely uneven - a rustic plus point. Using tiles as a work-surface has many advantages. They're heat resistant, easy to lay and good for chopping on. Remember, though, that white grout can get dirty easily and tiles may crack if you bang heavy pans down on them.
Two other special heritages of Portugal have a sure appeal for us, her tiles and her great libraries. I love the blue glazed tiles that adorn so many city houses and country villas, and also interior church walls and the corridors and stairway walls of civic buildings. The word for them is azulejos, and this is said to be an Arabic word meaning smooth, though visitors often wrongly assume that it is connected with azul, meaning blue. This whole feature is a Moorish heritage, but it must also have some sort of affinity with Holland for some Portuguese dictionaries translate the word as "Dutch tiles," and in the beach resort of Figueira da Foz there's a surprise collection of real Dutch tiles said to be equaled in number and value nowhere in Holland itself.
This original cast-iron fireplace needed work to look as good as it does. It was stripped to reveal the lustrous metal, then blue tiles were fitted either side. The hearth is laid with large slate tiles that match the surround and there's space to keep a basket of logs conveniently to hand. |
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