December 2004 Issue
Renovation Style

Handcrafted Hearths
A California tile artist teaches homeowners to create one-of-a-kind fireplace designs – right on his studio floor.
By Allison Engel photography by Michael garland

Mary Milton and Jon Stahley longed for a Craftsman-style fireplace. The found the space during a renovation of their 800 square-foot California cottage, sacrificing a nook originally designed to hold a television. They found the style with the help of Laird Plumleigh, a tile artist in Leucadia who encourages homeowners to experiment with vintage-inspired tiles to create fireplace surrounds with a sense of history.

Mary arrived at Plumleigh’s studio with a piece of cardboard cut to the size of her home’s fireplace opening. Plumleigh laid the template on the studio floor and Mary began, as he suggested by centering a decorative tile she liked above the firebox. She chose a rectangular Torrey pine tile (right), one of Plumleigh’s man landscape tiles inspired by the earthy, plein aire paintings of early Southern California artists.

Next, Mary chose field tiles. The colors in the landscape tile led her to 4x4 green field tiles with a brownish cast. “I then started grabbing other tiles in various sizes and colors and tried laying them out. Laird would come by nd say, ‘I like that’ or ‘how about trying this?’” Mary says.

The size of tiles used in a fireplace is pretty much up to the homeowner, Plumleigh says, but smaller tiles offer more design flexibility. Most fireplaces have about 10 inches of space on each side of the firebox, so if 6-inch tiles are used, options are limited. Its’s a myth that large fireplaces require large tiles, he says. Even 2x2 tiles can be successfully used over a large expanse to create a pleasing mosaic effect.

Mary arranged light green 2x2 tiles in a symmetric pattern. She was ready to declare the design complete, but Plumleigh suggested adding a border of 1x1 tiles in light blue around the firebox. “It gave some real contrast,” Mary says. Delighted with the additions, she finished the design with tile moldings under the wood mantel.

While Mary and Jon’s fireplace was new construction, Plumleigh also updates or repairs existing fireplaces. Tiles can be adhered directly over old brick, which absorbs mortar well, he says. Fireplaces made of rough stone can be covered, too, once a mortar base is applied. Even smooth marble fireplaces can be covered with tiles, if the surface is etched first.

Tile choices are many. The Studio of Laird Plumleigh reproduces tiles from the long-departed California companies such as Batchelder and Claycraft. But Plumleigh is best known for its original glazes, muted color palette, and historically inspired tiles. A trained painter and former university ceramics teacher, Plumleigh is partial to landscape tiles. He also has researched Mexican vaqueros of the 1860s and 1870s and designed tiles that authentically portray them. His studio creates tile moldings, wall fountain components, wall basins, and ceramic pots.
“The fact that people can come to the studio and see and feel the material is important to me,” he says. For far-flung customers who can’t bring in measurements and lay out tile, the company’s Web site (www.lairdplumleigh.com) has a useful diagram in the How-To section, showing how to measure for mail-order projects.

Plumleigh tile generally costs about $2,000 for a typical fireplace façade, which requires approximately 25 square feet of tile. Shipping costs extra, as does a good tile-setter, who will charge about $350 a day, adding $1,000 to the cost of thee completed fireplace.

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Tile artisans Jeremy Gercke and Laird Plumleigh design a fireplace surround on the floor of Plumleigh’s studio.