Mexican Tiles: Color, Style, Design

I'm in the process of building on the Maya Riviera so this isn't a book read for fun. This is real research looking for real ideas. Building in Spanish Colonial style can't be done without some incorporation of Mexican Tiles. This book is basically 90% pictures and 10% background and history of Mexican Tiles. The background write-up is excellent and gives good history of Talavera and Talavera-Style Tiles. Then it's on to different uses, floors, kitchens, bathrooms, walls and stairs, and patios and gardens.I'm very simple in the colors I like in homes so these tiles can be "over the top". This book has a lot of these type pictures. It has more tile usage than I've ever seen on exteriors. The kitchen section has huge tile usage but I've seen more attractive usage in other books.Overall, I did not get any ideas I will definitely use but I did get a different perspective on tile usage. There are definitely pictures I will take back to discuss with my architect and designer which may be incorporated. This book can be consumed in an hour. But it may take many hours of review going over the pictures again and again.

This book is a great history and visual on Mexican Tiles. It seemed to get over to the island by kayak ....but other than the extra long shipping time the purchase was well packed and a great book.

Very informative book on Mexican tiles, but the book's binding did not survive the first reading.

Planning on doing my own mexican tile work in my home...adding tile around a fireplace and above the kitchen oven. Great instructions...I feel more confident already!

I love Mexican tiles but I felt the book was a bit of a let down. The pictures were a bit small and there wasn't enough information about tilemaking in the book. I think the book would have been much more effective in a larger format where the tiles would have been more impressive. There are some wonderful talavera tile websites on the net for anyone who wants a better overview.

I have a friend who has this book so I looked at it before ordering it to see if it was what I wanted. It gives you great ideas on how to do mexican tile designs. I'm very happy with the book's contents.

Perfect

Masako Takahashi has presented a beautifully designed volume that celebrates the art and craft of Mexican tiles with her own stunning photography and straight-forward narrative. This is a book that values design and style most of all, and Takahashi’s eye for both is abundantly apparent. Nearly every page engages the viewer’s sense of awe and appreciation, whether the image is the completely tile-covered exterior of a church near Puebla, Mexico, the riotous color of a Mexican kitchen, or a simple, elegant close-up of a Talavera tile.Mexican Tiles touts the artistry of hand-made tiles, a work of folk-art, as Takahashi describes them. She describes them as “bearing the charmingly irregular mark of the human hand…that (evoke) a personal, emotional appeal impossible to achieve with machine-made tiles.” She nods to the practical designer also, noting that her book can be used for design ideas to be replicated with more precise looking tiles that are machine-made. Separate from designers, however, Mexican Tiles will appeal to anyone who appreciates the pairing or artistry with eclectic color and expression.Michael Helquist, author, Marie Equi: Radical Politics and Outlaw Passions