The Lantern Tile: Handmade Arabesque Ceramic for Feature Walls and Backsplashes

The lantern tile is 150mm wide, 175mm tall and 8mm thick. Every square metre takes exactly 70 of them. But the number that matters to a designer isn't on the spec sheet — it's the arch. Where a flat subway tile reads as lines, a field of lanterns reads as repeated arches, and your eye catches the negative space between them instead of the tile face.

That's the short case for the shape. It's a 150×175mm arabesque form with a raised filigree centre, glazed by hand, and it changes completely depending on the finish.

What is a lantern tile and how is it different from subway tile?

The silhouette comes from traditional Moroccan lantern architecture — a rounded arch top, a narrower waist, soft shoulders. Each piece is 150mm by 175mm and 8mm thick, packed 70 to a box at 16.4kg, 72 boxes to a pallet.

A subway tile is a rectangle. A square tile is a square. The lantern breaks the grid. The arch top and curved waist mean light and shadow fall differently across the wall than they do on a flat rectangle.

That negative space is the whole point.

What finishes does the lantern tile come in?

We run the shape in four handmade glazes right now:

• Luxe Gold Mirror — $153/㎡. A reflective metallic gold surface that throws light around the room. Order a sample →
• Pure White Glossy — $89/㎡. Clean, luminous, makes a tight space feel bigger. Order a sample →
• Coral Red Glossy — $116/㎡. Warm and saturated.
• Emerald Green Glossy — $102/㎡. Deep, jewellery-box green.

Each finish comes in two versions: a solid field tile and one with the arabesque pattern raised in the centre. Mix them. A wall of solid white with a scatter of embossed pieces reads richer than either alone.

Where should you use lantern tiles — and where shouldn't you?

The shape works best on feature walls behind vanities and tubs, kitchen backsplashes (the arch softens a long run of cabinetry), spa and steam-room accents, and boutique hotel or restaurant back bars.

Be honest about where it doesn't. The embossed centre holds soap scum and oil splatter more than a flat glossy field — behind a busy cooktop you'll be wiping more often. On a floor, the 8mm thickness and shaped edges mean uneven contact underfoot; pick a different surface for high-traffic walking areas. And on a badly out-of-plane wall, the arch geometry makes lippage more obvious than it would be with a square tile.

Flat wall. Vertical plane. That's where this shape sings.

How do you install lantern mosaic tile?

The tile ships at 70 pieces per box, so you set individual pieces or build your own sheets on site. Dry-lay a square metre on the floor first — the hand glaze means no two pieces share exactly the same tone, and you want the darker ones spread across the wall, not clustered.

Use white thin-set adhesive. Keep grout lines to 2–3mm; go wider and the arch negative space turns muddy. A damp cloth is all the cleaning this glaze needs, and the glossy finishes don't require sealing.

Is the glaze variation on handmade tile a defect?

No. These are handmade tiles, and the glaze shifts from piece to piece — a softer white here, a slightly deeper gold there. We print that on every product page because it's the first thing people notice when the box opens, and we'd rather you expect it than discover it mid-install.

Lay three boxes out before you fix anything and pick your tone spread. The variation is the product, not a flaw in it.

Lantern tile vs zellige: which should you specify?

Both are handmade and both lean artisan, but they solve different problems. Zellige is a hand-cut, lightly glazed terracotta with an irregular edge — beautiful, but it wants a careful installer and a sealant regime. The lantern is kiln-fired ceramic with a stable glossy glaze and a repeatable shape. If your installer is nervous about irregular edges, the lantern gets you the craft look without the zellige learning curve.

The full range, all four finishes, is on the Lantern Series collection page.

Bring one wall to life

Start with a single wall. A powder room, a vanity splash, a bar back. Order one White Glossy piece and see the shape in your own light before you commit to a room.

We sell per square metre, not per container. Send us your wall dimensions and delivery postcode and we'll quote DDP to your door — samples ship within a few days.