It’s hard to believe that 2024 is nearly over. It’s been a momentous year, generally for all the wrong reasons.
Without wishing to minimise the significance of what has occurred overseas, and its impact in Australia, it has to be acknowledged here that 2024 has been another good year for Olde English Tiles.
The journey that I referred to in last year's Year in Review continues apace.
Scots College Goes Baronial With Our New Grand Collection
The John Cunningham Student Centre of Scots College in Bellevue Hill recently underwent a comprehensive upgrade including modern technologies and amenities housed within an authentic 16th century Scottish Baronial envelope.
The 60m2 custom-designed floor of the 100 seat theatrette features our French encaustic tiles in combination with locally manufactured encaustics and tessellated elements.
See new products below.Victoria’s Parliament House
The lobby floor of Victoria’s Parliament House would have to be one of, if not the most spectacular encaustic floors in the whole of Australia. However, damage caused by heavy foot traffic over the years, and severe vibrations of the building, probably due to the earth tremors that have struck Melbourne in recent years, necessitated extensive remedial work.
We have been engaged in the repairs to this important piece of Australian architectural heritage for several years, and has only recently completed this very challenging, but culturally significant project, which involved the exact matching of the shapes, patterns and colours of the original Minton Hollins encaustics, plus their installation.
History in Heathcote
We were engaged to install the restored entrance floor at Heathcote Hall, a heritage-listed Italianate mansion in the Sutherland Shire, built in 1887. The preparation that preceded the installation involved months of painstaking restoration & replication of the original tiles after the partial collapse of the floor due to water damage.
Harmony Through Contrast
The elegant simplicity of the Stanmore pattern, executed in black & white, adds visual impact without overwhelming the restrained aesthetic of the property’s late Victorian decorative detailing, creating a balance and harmony through contrast.
Croydon Creative
The owners of this California Bungalow wanted something visually engaging and appropriate to the style of the house in colours that complemented the building’s paint scheme.
We suggested the Liverpool pattern laid diagonally, creating the illusion of greater width, and subtly echoing the angle of the roofline.
Rocking It in Rockdale
Whether you’re a tessellated tile traditionalist or a modernist when it comes to colour schemes, there are times when something unique is created that manages to satisfy both camps.
This Federation cottage in Rockdale is just such a case. The custom pattern combines colours suggested by the facade’s paint scheme plus those that reference its Federation origins.
A Fresh Approach for a Heritage Bathroom
We transformed a dark, awkwardly shaped bathroom in one of Hunter’s Hill’s oldest homes, with a fresh take on traditional elements.
The rustic subway wall tiles, including decorative frieze & capping, were hand-glazed in custom colours at our Leichhardt factory. The 2-tone octagon & dot floor adds just the right amount of drama to the calming, relaxing ambience of the room.
Austere Astoria in Balmain
A drab 1950’s apartment bathroom has gone from stark to stylish with the addition of porcelain mosaics in the classic Astoria pattern, & vertically stack-bonded subway tiles, a common tiling format of the post-war period.
A Post-Modern Victorian Classic
A simple pattern, the Chester, and bold but limited colour palette (dark brown, white & pale green) of the tessellated path & verandah can fairly be characterised as post-modern in its unconventional, somewhat ironic, interpretation of these traditional elements.
Petersham Perfection
The checkerboard + Norwood border combination is a classic for obvious reasons. Predating the ancient Greeks, it is still popular today, especially when used as knowingly as it is on this High Victorian terrace in Sydney’s inner west.
Kings of Kingsford
The owners of a rebuilt Federation cottage chose authenticity over size, opting for tessellated tiles in the Paddington pattern with a Norwood border for their pathway and verandah.
By using a traditional palette of red, black, and cognac, they created a striking entrance that harmonizes beautifully with the sandstone steps and new landscaping.
Simplicity v. Eclectic = Harmony
This turn-of-the-century home, exhibits a fascinating eclectic mix of Arts & Crafts, Art Nouveau, & Queen Anne Revival design elements that form a rich backdrop to the uncompromisingly modern decor pieces.
They all find their harmonising midpoint in the entry hall, by way of the tessellated floor - the Liverpool pattern in black, white & pale green.
Magic in Newtown
As part of a substantial renovation/restoration of Sydney University’s St Andrew’s College main building, a sandstone edifice completed in 1878, we were engaged to produce tiles for forty period fireplaces.
The brief specified that the tiles exactly replicate, not only the glaze colour, but the tonal variation of the originals. On seeing the finished result, someone remarked that, “It’s like something from a Harry Potter movie”.
2024 Product Review
The Seasons Collection
In January this year we released Summer - Pt.1 of the SEASONS COLLECTION of mosaics, followed a few months later by Pt.2 - Winter. Inspired by the natural world plus the work of leading Australian landscape artists, Winter draws upon the large palette of 32+ colours in our mosaic paintbox.
Like Summer, it is available in four shapes/sizes, and six colourways: Bush, Earth, Night, Smoke, Snow & Storm, bringing the total number of SEASONS colour combinations to twelve. There is something here for everyone and everywhere - from bathrooms to bars, pools to pubs.
Browse the entire The Seasons Collection
The Victoria & Albert Collection
This collection comprises the Liberty Range, including embossed, printed & tubeline decorative feature tiles suited to a variety of Victorian & Art Nouveau style environments such as kitchens, bathrooms, fireplaces, stair risers as well as commercial spaces, and the utterly unique Faience Series.
Browse the entire The Liberty Range collection
The Faience Series is a collection of high-relief cast tiles, manufactured in the UK. Every tile is hand-cast & hand-glazed. The standard range can also be customised to a client’s specifications, making the Faience Series the perfect choice for a variety of commercial & hospitality spaces, including pubs, restaurants & bars.
Browse the entire The Victoria & Albert Collection
The Grand Design Collection
Drawing on decades of knowledge and experience of grand tiled pavements from around the world, some of which he has helped to create, and recognising the untapped design potential of our French encaustics to create something totally new and original in the field of period floor tiles, our founder, Nino Gaudioso, has developed the Grand Design Collection, a dynamic mix of locally made encaustics with Winckelmans’ continuous encaustic patterns, and tessellated componentry.
This collection includes coordinating borders, and is available in over ten patterns and numerous colourways per pattern.
What's Ahead In 2025
We can’t predict if and when interest rates will fall, but we can give you a heads-up on several projects in the pipeline:
🔜 Our Sydney showroom will undergo major refurbishments early in the new year, with the Melbourne showroom to follow suit soon after.
🔜 You can look forward to new designs in both our wall and floor ranges, with particular emphasis on Art Deco.
🔜 We’ve only just completed fabricating 120m2 of spectacular Retro-esque mosaics for the Mecca flagship store, due to open in Melbourne early in the year.
🔜 Back in Sydney, starting in February, we will undertake two huge residential projects: a harbourside mansion in Cremorne, and a rural estate in the Duffy’s Forest area.
🔜 Last, but by no means least, the supply of tessellated tiles for Government House, Kirribilli.
Watch this space for further project news and product releases.
Christmas Closure
Olde English Tiles showrooms, office and warehouse will be closed for the Christmas break from December 21st and will reopen on January 13th.
We wish you a joyful, restful holiday season, and look forward to working with you in the new year!
- The Team at Olde English Tiles