Zellige Tiles

About

What Are Zellige Tiles? Authentic zellige is a handmade Moroccan tile. Artisans shape it by hand from raw clay near Fez, glaze it in a single solid color, and fire it in traditional kilns. No two pieces come out the same. Slight waves in the surface, tiny pinholes, and shifts in glaze depth are the signature of the process, not a flaw. What we carry in this collection is zellige- look tile: porcelain and ceramic pieces engineered to reproduce that same rippled glaze and shade movement in a consistent, easier-to-install format. You get the glossy, light-catching surface and the handmade read without sourcing individually hand-cut clay piece by piece. It's a different category from encaustic cement tile, which is unglazed and pattern-printed through the body rather than glazed on top, and from Talavera or majolica tile, which is hand-painted with graphic designs instead of finished in one solid glaze. For the wider design tradition zellige comes from, see Handmade Look tiles , which covers the broader mix of Moroccan, Spanish, Portuguese, and Italian styles zellige sits inside. Zellige Floor and Wall Tile Most of this collection is wall tile. Ceramic and glazed ceramic zellige-look pieces are non-vitreous, meaning they absorb more moisture, so they're built for dry and wet walls like a backsplash or shower wall, not for underfoot. The porcelain-bodied pieces in the collection are a different story. With water absorption under 0.5%, they're dense enough for floor tile and outdoor wall use, including a small run rated for pool waterlines. Check the water absorption spec on each product page before you assume a piece can go on the floor. Format-wise, expect small squares in 4x4 and 5x5, elongated rectangles that read like subway tile in 2x6, 2x8, 3x10, and 3x11, plus a few linear 2x16 pieces and matching trim for finished edges. Glossy is the dominant finish across the line. A smaller matte range gives the same wavy silhouette a quieter, less reflective read. Keep grout