Always on Trend: Black and White Cement Tile

Black and white tile patterns are both classic and contemporary–basically the very definition of timeless design. This seemingly simple color combo is elevated by how deep you can make your design statement, whether you choose a bold geometric look or an elegant, intricate pattern. 

Handcrafted cement tiles change up this vintage tile style with a matte finish that has depth and character, such you see in our with a Troika pattern below.

What is Cement Tile?

Cement tile is made from a centuries-old process, using marble and cement along with natural mineral pigments. We like to say cement tiles deliver emotion through texture rather than the flat printed-on color of ceramic tile. 

Cement tiles are not fired but are created sustainably through intense pressure from a mechanical hydraulic press and then cured naturally like structural concrete.  Cement tiles are so durable they can even be used in high-traffic commercial spaces like restaurants and hotels.

Similar to natural stone, each handcrafted cement tile is unique with slight color variations, the sign of an artisan-made product. Cement tiles come in many different shapes from square to hexagon to fishscale to rectangles.  

Whether it is creating a tile bathroom floor to a kitchen backsplash wall, there are endless possibilities when it comes to using black and white cement tile.

How is Cement Tile Different from Ceramic Tile?

Cement tile is a handmade artisan product, whereas ceramic tile is mass-produced with designs printed on the surface. In addition, they are entirely different materials, which means some tile contractors are not experienced with cement tiles. 

As previously mentioned, cement tiles are more similar to natural stone than ceramic tiles. Sealing and maintenance requirements are similar. 

Learn more about the difference between cement tile and porcelain tile in this video by Adam Esparza of ALE Tile.

What is Black and White Terrazzo Tile?

Terrazzo tile is a type of cement tile enhanced by adding marble chips, or other materials, then grinding down the color layer to expose them. 

Individual tiles may be black chips set in white cement, white chips set in black cement, or the cement and marble chips in the same color, creating a dimensional sheen to the tile.  

What Era is Black and White Tile From?

Black and white tile is a timeless look, but there are periods in history, such as the Victorian era and the 1920s, that are most associated with this color combination.

Today in the 2020s, the twist on this color combination tile is creating unique and unexpected patterns in fun shapes. The rustic matte look of cement tile in solid black and solid white is a good choice for farmhouse and cottage core decor. 

Creating a Black and White Geometric Tile Look

This color combination lends itself particularly well to patterns of tiles, including mixing and matching to create unique borders, which is a classic use of cement tile. 

We recommend planning your pattern in advance, either inspired by the classic looks or working with a professional designer to conceptualize a fresh new take. Let these pictures below inspire you.

Our Gypsy Black & White pattern is one of our original and most popular in-stock options that takes the classic appeal of black and white tile for the bathroom and offers a fresh new look for floor and wall tile.

Balanced black and white floral vine cement tile floor and wall
“Gypsy Black & White” Cement Tile Bathroom Floor and Wall, designed by Centoni Restoration and Development

Another popular way to use black and white tiles is in a lattice pattern, giving tile flooring in any space a fresh, clean, and elegant look. Shown below is our Circulos Black and White Evening.

“Circulos Black & White Evening” Cement Tile Floor and Custom Patchwork Wall, Design by Nicole Chaves Design, Photo by Vivienne Tyler Photography

When it comes to using black and white bathroom tiles, a fresh new take is to use them is in unexpected patterns. 

“Labyrinth B&W Morning” Cement Tile Floor

A black and white checkerboard pattern is classic, but this seemingly simple color combo is elevated by the depth and character that cement tile brings. Just look at our bold, graphic Cubes A Sencillo in this bathroom designed by Dabito, Founder & Creative Director Of Old Brand New. It makes QUITE the statement!

Solid Black Hexagonal Cement Tile Floor and “Cubes A Sencillo” Cement Tile Wall, designed by Dabito from Old Brand New

Can You Use Cement Tiles in a Shower?

Yes, cement tiles can be used in all areas where natural stone is used. Learn more about sealing cement tiles.

This installation is a prime example, with our Large Cubes Excalibur paired with natural stone in this dramatic shower.

Designing with black and white tiles can be a great way to add style and interest to your home or business. Whether it’s a checkerboard look or mixing and matching colors and shapes, Villa Lagoon Tile cement tiles are perfect for making a statement indoors or outdoors. With so many possibilities, there’s sure to be a look that will fit your needs and style. 

Learn more about how your cement tile will be installed.

In-Stock and On Budget

Villa Lagoon Tile in-stock black and white cement tile ships within two business days, with 2-5 business days transit to most of the continental US. Handcrafted one at a time by our skilled artisans, our black and white cement tile patterns start at just $3.99 per piece or $9.27 per square foot.

Cement Tile on a Budget

The Essentials Collection is a curated selection of Villa Lagoon Tile’s most universal and basic cement tiles. Handcrafted one at a time by our skilled artisans and in-stock for under $4.00 per piece, you can easily stay on trend and on budget!

Cement Tile: A Statement-Making Solution for a Historic Home Remodel

Julie and Barret Blondeau wanted to make a statement when they updated the bathroom in their 90-year-old home in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. To achieve their design goals, they selected cement tile from the Caprice collection from Villa Lagoon Tile to replace the outdated flooring in their bathroom.

Julie was kind enough to chat with us about the new bathroom design and her experience with our cement tile. 

What prompted you to start the bathroom renovation? What were some of the aesthetic design choices that went into creating this bath?

In November of 2017, we bought a 90-year-old home with lots of beautiful historical detail. We wanted to update the house to match our style in a way that would not conflict with its unique character. When we were ready to remodel the bathroom, I knew I wanted to make a statement, and my instinct was it needed to be the flooring. 

I found Villa Lagoon Tile cement tiles and loved the look. I also thought the artisan look would blend seamlessly with the rest of the house. I tend to go neutral with walls, floors, etc., and almost went with the grey and white tiles, but I kept coming back to this black and white design. It’s a perfect fit in our bathroom and makes a beautiful design statement, but it’s also timeless, which is one of the things I love about cement tile. 

Have you used cement tiles before? What do you like about cement tiles? What did you find different about working with cement tiles? 

I’ve never used them before. I like the thickness and the fact that each tile is unique with slight color variations, which is the sign of an artisan-made product. Stone and Tile Works by Manny laid down the cement tile floor and did a beautiful job!

I’ve learned that while cement tile requires a little more care during installation and cleaning, they are made to last. I am also very pleased with how well they clean up, especially because the bathroom is regularly used by my teenage daughters. 

Would you recommend Villa Lagoon cement tiles? Why or why not?

Yes, I would! They are beautiful and unique and there’s a wide range of styles and colors. Everyone who I dealt with at Villa Lagoon Tile are truly cement tile experts and couldn’t have been more helpful and pleasant.

Tell us a little more about your business.

We have lived in Louisiana all our lives and love our area–we take a lot of pride in making it a better place. We enjoy helping others make it their place, too. We own Cottonwood Properties and Realty in Baton Rouge, LA, and we handle both rentals and investment properties. Barret is a Broker/Realtor and I am a Realtor. We are passionate about home life, and the benefit of working with us is that we are involved in every aspect of real estate, so we bring a lot of knowledge to the table. We have our hands in this industry in several different ways, which is great because we get to help on many levels, from house hunting with a client to fixing up a property to sell to someone. We love working with people, but we also appreciate the construction side of this line of work, as well as the creativity involved. 

Visit Cottonwood Properties on Facebook and Instagram.

Relax with Cement Tile in Santa Barbara

The Hotel Goleta, now a Kimpton Hotel in California, has been transformed into a chic flip-flop zone for relaxing surf style called The Goodland Hotel. The newly refurbished Santa Barbara, Calif. hotel features 158 guestrooms and suites designed in beach-chic SoCal style for a postcard perfect Santa Barbara stay.

goodland-hotel-logo

 

goodlands-hotel-hexagonal-cement-tile-VLT

The designers utilized our cement tile in several patterns to achieve this new stylish decor.

the-goodlands-hex-tile-lobby-VLT
Villa Lagoon Tile’s “Mixed Gray Hexagonal” tile covers the lobby and reception area in Santa Barbara’s The Goodland Hotel.
Our Mixed Gray Hex tile comes in a balanced mix of 4 shades of gray. At the Goodland they threw in a handful of additional hex tiles also.

the-goodlands-hex-tile-lobby-entrance-VLT

 

Our “Lisbon” pattern tile covers shower walls.

Lisbon-tile-shower-wall-goodlands-VLT

 

Lisbon cement tilepattern on a shower wall

Handcrafted cement tile lends an artisanal aspect to hospitality projects like the Goodland Hotel.
See more at: http://www.thegoodland.com

White Bathrooms with Beautiful Floors

A white bathroom, accented by "Ambrose" blue-and-white cement tile by Villa Lagoon Tile.

While we are lovers of vivid colored walls, not everyone is, especially in the USA. But a white bathroom need not be boring if the floor is singing a happy tune. The pattern above is one we call “Ambrose” and our client ordered it in a crisp blue and white.

Below is a custom tile called Italian Trellis “Azul” from our Coastal Collection. You can click for a larger image to see the details of the seashells and coral. The soft blues and white walls give the effect of shimmering water on a bright day.

Villa Lagoon Tile's original "Venetian Azul" cement tile brings a white bathroom to life.

Villa Lagoon Tile's exclusive "Surf Agua" cement tile, paired with subway tiles in a white bathroom.

One of our classic favorites above, Surf “Agua”  with white subway tile walls in this bathroom. A great pattern with movement…jazzy and fun. Click to see the full size image.

A beautiful bathroom renovation with cement tile from Villa Lagoon Tile.

A client with a home in the Bahamas chose 2 tiles for the bathrooms. (Note: construction photo) This one has a round shower area shown below.  If you think there is a trend of blue cement tile bathroom floors, you are right. This pattern is called “Liz” and it is made with two shades of blue plus white.

A beautiful transition from Villa Lagoon Tile's cement tile to a shower floor in the Bahamas.

A custom cement tile floor, from Villa Lagoon Tile, in a Bahamian white bathroom.

Our delightful client, jewelry designer Trish Becker, used a 2 color Aqua and Blanc pattern tile of interlocking rings in one of her homes in the Bahamas. Trish is ‘hooked’ on cement tile and knows how much character it adds to any room it is installed in. She has a couple of vacation homes and she knows that when people rent a cottage for a beach vacation they appreciate decor which makes the stay really special.

Custom cement tile from Villa Lagoon Tile, paired with a clawfoot tub for a beautiful bathroom.

Still a bit of blue in this delightful floral cement tile but also the warm golds above and below.

custom-floral-tile-bathroom-VLT-2

The owner added bright blue glass drawer knobs which was such a great idea.

Beautiful blue and gray cement tile from Villa Lagoon Tile accents this white bathroom.

In the above photo the cement tile bathroom floor appears a bit blue in this photo but it may have been a shade of gray with the white. On the upper right you can catch a glimpse of the rug effect repeated around the toilet in an alcove. Using cement tile to create rug or bordered carpet effect is an old tradition.

cuban-heritage-cement-tile-bathroom-VLT

Yet another all white bathroom (above) , this time with a Cuban Heritage Tile floor, CH-260-2B.

La Espanola cement tile from Villa Lagoon Tile, with a clawfoot tub, in a white bathroom.

This last photo is our popular LaEspanola cement tile in an otherwise white bathroom. Even though this is a photo taken during construction, the combination of a clawfoot tub and our cement tile with classic Spanish scroll-work looks like it could be a bathroom in Barcelona as easily as in Florida.

A lively cement tile floor to accent your all-white bathroom can “bring it up a notch” on the cool scale. Click here to see this tile in an all white kitchen. 

Cement Tile Designer’s Corner – Cool Tricks with Tile

Thoughtful Kitchen Floor Layout

Seattle kitchen tile floor

The kitchen above is in a vintage home in Seattle Washington. The designer was The Kitchen Witch. See how creatively they used our Foliage Border in “Antique” in all its forms. The designer used the corner tile as a field tile which surrounds a medallion made from the regular border tile. Working out a nice design on paper is worth the effort.

A small bathroom projects style with an interesting floor.

You can certainly take the emphasis off the smaller size of a bathroom with a jazzy floor. Look how this Cuban tile pattern becomes the focal point for this Miami condo bathroom.

Cuban tile supplier in Miami

An Art Deco Patio – Variations in Gray, Black and White

For an upcoming project we have been asked to help design a tile layout for a large outdoor patio at a California home that will soon be undergoing renovation. This is the property of an Oscar nominee actor. The kitchen will be our classic Cubes tile in Black, white and gray. The owner wants a complimentary design for the patio but something on a larger scale.

Cement tile in Hollywood home

Here are some of the designs we sent to the client:

Dekor pattern cement tile in 3 colors

Using our tile design tool we put together an assortment of possible patio tile layouts. Some are using 8 inch cement tile, others are 12 inch tile. They may opt to have one of our eight inch designs custom made in a 12 inch mold. This is an important project and this home will be featured on television in 2012. So ck back later for links to the TV show when it is announced. You better believe we will feature it on our home page !

Cuban tile in three colors cement


Same tile as above, just rotated differently.

Checkered colored tile floor


Checkered tile pattern in 3 colors, an eight inch tile.

Escher tyle floor tile


This pattern, Harlequin III is set in offset rows.

3 D looking floor tile


Harlequin Square 8″ cement tile…3 colors

midcentry modern tile design


Damsella cement tile in 8″

Geometric floor tile


Quadro Centro 12 inch cement tile in 3 colors

California cement tile source


Benedetta Art Deco cement tile design in 8 inch

Of course we will add some photos of the final tile design choice.


A Cement Tile Foyer in a California Home

Want the look of a narrow border and a cost savings at the same time ? One of our clients picked a standard border tile (Ritz) that could be cut in half to create two 2 4″ x 8″ matching border tiles. See Ritz Border before it is cut below.

Very thrifty and just the look he wanted. Not shown in the images is some monochrome black tile from the pattern border to the wall.

Mission Tile in black gray and white
Custom tile for a foyer in California.


Ritz Border tile and New Castle in custom colors for the field tile.

Custom cement tile

And now a photo of the finished floor.


Thank you Mark Goff for posting your blog photos. www.227northstreet.com


Make a small room a happy room

Our Patchwork tile was recently featured on Apartment Therapy Blog:

Patchwork tile bathroom floor

Take the emphasis off a small space’s tight dimensions by using a lively floor that gives the eye and mind some entertainment…it works !


No End to the Variations…

This week we had an inquiry from a famous London dept. store for a classic tile pattern for a new part of their store. I requested some images from our Euro partner’s design dept to pass along. Of course they sent the basic layout suggestion in very pretty but subtle colors..but…

European cubes tile layout suggestion
Cubes classic cement tile layout

Zak, the graphic artist started to have some fun…look what can happen if this same tile pattern (#112 on European Patterns) is made in bright colors:

Cubes tile in multi colors
Multi color cement tile layout 1

  
Now check out these variations of floor tile patterns by alternating the colored areas and rotating the tile in different directions as you lay it.

Cubes tile in multi color variations 2
Cubes cement tile multi color
Cement tile cubes multi color variation
Cubes cement tile color variation 4

And this is only the beginning !!


Gettin’ Jazzy

Just look what you can do with one corner tile. We love this look and it reminds us of Art Deco designs. One corner tile is poured two ways, one half of the tiles are the reverse colors of the other.

Jazzy tile floor Original Mission Tile corner

Imagine a jazzy foyer that energizes you every time you come or go. Look at these patterns couple of feet from your monitor to get the real effect.

Original Mission Tile Art Deco Floor

We think this black and white version would look grand with a monochrome black border.


In a Pinch

Ever wonder what to do with you only have just so many pattern tiles and you need to cover a larger area ? You can create a great layout using the 5 to 4 lattice of five solid tiles to 4 pattern tiles as shown below.

Cost saving cement tile layout

You can get a fabulous look and really save money too as solid color (monochrome) tiles are less expensive than pattern tiles.

Here is another take on this method:

Curbn tropical tiles in a installation

In this photo of a hallway, (baseboards were not yet added) the pattern tile are surrounded by solid color tiles.