Welcome Home – A Victorian Floor Tile Hallway Makeover

 

We spoke with Oded Shomroni from London who wanted to make the most out of the space in his hallway. Oded and his partner Robert Sprott decided to create a welcoming yet striking entrance with our Victorian Floor Tiles, with help from Victorian Floor tiler Andrew O’Sullivan.

 

Oded: ‘This house is a Victorian house with some 1930's additions and it was in desperate need of redecoration and modernisation. As well as updating the tiles, the floors, skirting and even the doorways required replacement!’

 

 

Oded and Robert moved into their new home earlier in the year. They loved their Victorian Floor Tiled hallway in their previous home so much, they couldn’t wait to install another in their new home. When it came to choosing tiles, Oded and Robert used one of our retailers, International Tiles, based in Epsom.

 

Oded: ‘We opted for a Victorian tile floor in our previous home and loved the result. It created a lovely stylish hallway which sets the tone for the whole house. So when we moved to this house we knew we wanted another Victorian tile floor!’

 

The hallway is a fantastic area to add a splash of colour; this can make an area feel lighter too. Our Victorian Floor Tile patterns can be created in a variety of colourways and we love how Oded and Robert chose contemporary colours for a modern twist on the traditional.

Oded: ‘We were looking for the quality and style we knew from our previous home, but with a brighter colour scheme and pattern due to the fact that the hallway is slightly narrower and darker (north facing) than in our previous home.’

Oded: ‘I am originally from Israel, and have always lived in houses where the floor was stone or tiles. We both like the traditional look and knew that a Victorian house was right for us and would be enhanced by a Victorian tiled floor, which is both stylish and belongs in such a space.’ 

‘It is so important to use high quality tiles and allow yourself to be bold in design like the Victorians were.’

Oded: ‘The floor must be laid by an experienced and expert tiler. It is different to any other tiling job. I would not let anyone but Andrew do this project. An expert tiler can provide advice on which patterns work well in particular spaces as well as lay the floor to hide or overcome the inevitable issues that arise where such a floor is fitted.’

We agree, Victorian Floor Tiles are tricky to install and it’s important to get it right. Andrew O’Sullivan from London has been installing Victorian Floor Tiles for over 12 years and knows all the ins and outs of fitting these tiles.

Andrew: ‘It’s imperative that a professional fixer is contracted to install a Victorian floor. I would go a step further and advise that clients should hire one with experience of working with Original Style Victorian Floor Tiles.’

Laying a Victorian Floor takes a lot of skill and careful precision and planning. Andrew starts by laying out the tiles prior to fixing them as below:

‘Achieving symmetry when installing the product is key to a successful installation and this will be determined at design stage. Likewise when installing the border, there is a key skill involved which ensures that no overlapping occurs. For example where squares are incorporated on the diamond on the border pattern, each corner should ideally have a single diamond, no overlapping or touching diamonds.'

‘This would apply also where triangle shapes are the key feature of the border. This takes careful preparation to achieve and experience of having worked with the product.’

If you’re considering a Victorian Floor Tile feature in your home and don’t know where to start, try our Tile Visualiser. This tool all allows you experiment with different colours and patterns in a range of rooms throughout the home.