A panoramic shot of the Penrose Tile Project.
Every so often we get to participate in an artistic vision that we get pretty excited about. After seeing what Elite Tile Colorado was capable in other areas of his home, our customer came to us wondering if we might attempt a Penrose Tile pattern on the kitchen backsplash.
What is Penrose Tiling?
Sir Roger Penrose, an English mathematical physicist, investigated patterns back in the 1970's and discovered a beautiful and revolutionary pattern of tiling that can cover an infinite plane in a pattern that never repeats.
Roger Penrose in the foyer of the Mitchell Institute for Fundamental Physics and Astronomy, Texas A&M University, standing on a floor with a Penrose tiling. Photo: Wikipedia Commons.
Math Meets Art
Here at Elite Tile, we live for these sorts of challenges and were excited to make our customer's dream a reality. This Penrose Tile kitchen backsplash came together beautifully with planning and cooperation with lots of contributors.
We gave our input to decide how large the tile pieces needed to be in order to showcase the pattern effectively. Then the pattern was worked out with the homeowner and plastic templates were created in order to produce a layout.
Tile Gems
This scope of this project required tile that was an art form in and of itself. Glass artist Hal Bond of Northwest Glass Tiles was commissioned for this lofty task. We worked closely with Bond, sending tile samples back and forth from Washington to Denver, Colorado until we found the best look to showcase the design.
The gorgeous glass tiles are a cobalt blue with different textures. Bond suggested that he incorporate more texture into the large rhombus pieces to give the eye another way to visualize the pattern beyond just the grout lines.
Brilliant color and texture created by glass artist Hal Bond of Northwest Tile.
We computed the number and sizes of the custom tiles required for the glass mosaic, and Northwest Tile delivered!
The Process
Bill Parker installing Penrose Tile.
Creating the Penrose tile layout on 3M sheeting.
Grout time
Any mistakes you make will show up when you grout. But when the tile is installed professionally, it's time to shine!
Bill Parker carefully grouts the Penrose Tile. Look at those perfect joint spaces!
The Finished Project
As you can see, this is an incredible one-of-a-kind space that will be a centerpiece to this gorgeous home for years to come.
Let Elite Tile Colorado create a custom tile installation and make your visions become a reality!