What Is Subway Tile

Read on for the story behind america s most beloved tile.

What is subway tile.

And it turns out they aren t always rectangular anymore. It will probably not come as much of a shock that subway tile was originally designed to be placed in subways. Manufacturers often use the term now to describe any rectangular tile with a length twice its height from 4x8 inch planks to 1x2 mosaics and even some tiles such as contemporary 2x8 strips that don t share the original s proportions at all. A true testament of design function.

If you re a novice when it comes to tile installation you ll probably want to hire a professional to install your subway tile backsplash. They are glazed and glossy resists stains and easy to clean. While the classic subway tile measures three by six inches the definition is expanding. The most common size for subway tiles is 3 x 6 which have remained popular for years.

Subway tiles were first seen in the new york subway when it opened in 1904 hence the name. However the definition of subway tile has expanded as it has grown in popularity in the design world to include most sizes that are twice the length as they are wide. Subway tile can be anywhere from extremely simple to extremely difficult to install depending on the material you ve chosen the layout of the area you ll be covering and the pattern of the tile. They were born from a victorian fascination with cleanliness.

Inevitably the popularity of subway tile has expanded its working definition. White pencil thin grout with white subway tile will make tile lines virtually disappear giving any wall tile a. Nowadays tiles that are twice as long as they are wide are generally referred to as subway tile. Subway tile is the classic older sibling to all of our other subway ceramics lines.

One aspect that makes designing with subway tile so simple is the 1 2 height to length ratio and it used to be that a standard subway tile was 3 x 6 with many variations now we tend to think of subway tile as any smaller format rectangular shaped tile. The authentic subway tile is timeless beautiful and most importantly buildable. What is subway tile. But as a result homeowners are left craving something a little different.

These old standards are the perfect authentic material to act as the base for a redesign of any. White tile pattern glossary. Larger subway tiles not just 3 x 6 subway tiles anymore. Since they were so sanitary they started being used in other businesses such as butcher shops.

Subway tile is riding a wave of enormous popularity right now but it s been around for a long time. If any of your walls are glazed with those ubiquitous 3 x 6 rectangles you have a little piece of history in your home.