What Is Subway Tile

Nowadays tiles that are twice as long as they are wide are generally referred to as subway tile.

What is subway tile.

It will probably not come as much of a shock that subway tile was originally designed to be placed in subways. Subway tiles were first seen in the new york subway when it opened in 1904 hence the name. A true testament of design function. 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.

White pencil thin grout with white subway tile will make tile lines virtually disappear giving any wall tile a. 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. Read on for the story behind america s most beloved tile. While the classic subway tile measures three by six inches the definition is expanding.

They were born from a victorian fascination with cleanliness. 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. Subway tiles can be square reveals christine in remodeling 101. Inevitably the popularity of subway tile has expanded its working definition.

If any of your walls are glazed with those ubiquitous 3 x 6 rectangles you have a little piece of history in your home. The most common size for subway tiles is 3 x 6 which have remained popular for years. What is subway tile. 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.

Traditionally subway tile backsplash is a white 3 x 6 inch glazed ceramic tile. The authentic subway tile is timeless beautiful and most importantly buildable. These old standards are the perfect authentic material to act as the base for a redesign of any. Subway tile fans can also customize their tiles with their choice of grout color.

White tile pattern glossary. Subway tile is the classic older sibling to all of our other subway ceramics lines. Since they were so sanitary they started being used in other businesses such as butcher shops. Larger subway tiles not just 3 x 6 subway tiles anymore.

And it turns out they aren t always rectangular anymore. They are glazed and glossy resists stains and easy to clean.