clé notes

we've spent the last few posts looking at the surprisingly diverse world of white tile at clé – a wide-ranging collection we've dubbed whiteworks—and talking about how different types of tile express different aspects of this perennially popular hue.

What is white? It seems like a straightforward question, but in the world of tile, it turns out, the answer is anything but simple. In every discussion of white, you'll find "experts" who opine that it's not a color at all, but rather the absence of color. That couldn't be further from the truth. In reality, every color we see is a product of light – the part of the spectrum an object's surface most reflects determines what color we perceive it to be.

Sometimes, you want your walls and floors to whisper, and not speak quite so loudly. But you don’t want them to just sit there, either: you want them to glow, to have some personality, some life.

continuing our exploration of clé's Whiteworks—our extraordinary, expansive and passionately curated collection of white tile—we examine how different materials express different facets of white.

Some things just belong together and stand the test of time. Fred and Ginger. Tomatoes and mozzarella. And black and white.

have you met malachite yet? it’s one of clé’s most deeply glamorous, sensual, magnetic, and mesmerizing offerings.

we had a chance to catch up with designer mandy cheng to congratulate her on a wonderful project; and she shared some of her thoughts on her design process, inspirations, and obsession with tile.

learn all about authentic zellige tile: what it is, how to choose it, and what to expect.

Cement tiles are rated V2-3 for color variation, T1 for texture variation, more information is outlined in our tile variation reference guide.