I am redisigning my home, mostly DIY and so I was hoping some of you know or have seen places that sells anything related to central America and south America, more precisely, tiles for floors and smaller tiles for walls design.
Painting is easy, since B&Q carries all kinds of colors, so orange, yellow, blues are easy to find.
But tiles, furnitures etc… not so easy. I thought of maybe importing stuff from over there, but that would be stretching it. There’s also eventually the possibility of painting the tiles of the wall, but. I’d rather have the real thing.
Anyways, if you know or have seen any nice stuff from that area that can be use in decorating please let me know.
Cheers,
If you start with any fairly matte tile with a neutral color, especially if the tiles are a bit irregular in color like Saltillo tile, for the floor, do a rough stucco on the walls with a basic matte white or off-white in some areas, with other walls or rooms in warm, earthy colors, and add rough, dark wood trim, you’re already halfway there. No need to source specifically Mexican stuff for those parts. Then you can make, paint and lacquer a few decorations in papier-mâché, looking at designs on the web (gecko, sun and moon, etc.), and do some stencils too. Get yourself some rustic, heavy, square wood furniture, add a bit of black wrought iron somewhere (like a lamp or two), and bring in a few decorations by mail order. Don’t forget an oversized crucifix and a statue of the Virgin Mary somewhere. 
For tiles, are you thinking of something like the polychrome Talavera tiles? That’s going to be tough, but you could do some simple stencil work to simulate them, and then put a gloss coat atop them. Sorry, I’ve not seen any place selling this kind of stuff, although if you hit a large number of tile shops you might find something similar. I once saw some Spanish tiles at a shop in Xizhi, for instance – just a nice rustic brown tile. You might also consider talking to Yingge potters about firing some for you. You could roll out some porcelain clay, prebake it in the oven, paint some rustic designs with cobalt or other glazes, and take them to Yingge to be fired. I did a few pieces with cobalt that way, myself.
I recommend a trip to Mexico for your next vacation. 
[quote=“igorveni”]I am redisigning my home, mostly DIY and so I was hoping some of you know or have seen places that sells anything related to central America and south America, more precisely, tiles for floors and smaller tiles for walls design.
Painting is easy, since B&Q carries all kinds of colors, so orange, yellow, blues are easy to find.
But tiles, furnitures etc… not so easy. I thought of maybe importing stuff from over there, but that would be stretching it. There’s also eventually the possibility of painting the tiles of the wall, but. I’d rather have the real thing.
Anyways, if you know or have seen any nice stuff from that area that can be use in decorating please let me know.
Cheers,[/quote]
Rats, this weekend at the bazaar they had those big eathware pots we have back home, very pretty, bit expensive because of delicate transportation but big enough to fit a cat.
The metal/raw wood combo is hard to find but I’ve found it in a couple of catalogues.
Instead of painting the tiles, bare the wall to red brick, and then paint over with white.
I’ve seen Brazilian and Spanish tiles here, really pretty. Go to ChangAn East Road.
Got some old magazines if you’d like to see.
Thanks for the post DB, all great ideas. I’ll post some pictures of what I am going for sometimes this week so as to give a clearer idea.
Thanks TC for the PM.
I actually have bunch of books, sold here, but go find a furniture shop that carries these kind of sofas or tables etc…
Have you been to El Gallo, the Mexican restaurant in Tianmu? Most of its decorations and furnishings are from Porch Gallery, which is nearby.
I don’t have the exact address with me. But it’s just up the hill from El Gallo, in a little lane perpendicular to Zhongshan North Road Section 7 – the one that was by the old Pizza Hut (now a 7-Eleven) and which leads to the side of the Wellcome supermarket (the one near the top of the hill). It’s just across from the Christian stationery story.
Disclaimer: Porch Gallery is run by my brother-in-law. But I like his stuff and can vouch that he wouldn’t rip anyone off.
[quote=“cranky laowai”]Have you been to El Gallo, the Mexican restaurant in Tianmu? Most of its decorations and furnishings are from Porch Gallery, which is nearby.
I don’t have the exact address with me. But it’s just up the hill from El Gallo, in a little lane perpendicular to Zhongshan North Road Section 7 – the one that was by the old Pizza Hut (now a 7-Eleven) and which leads to the side of the Wellcome supermarket (the one near the top of the hill). It’s just across from the Christian stationery story.
Disclaimer: Porch Gallery is run by my brother-in-law. But I like his stuff and can vouch that he wouldn’t rip anyone off.[/quote]
No, but I want to go and checkout a few Central/South American places and see their design, mostly to see where they get their stuff from.
El gallo seems like one of these places, I’ll be sure to go.
Would be cool if you could get me the address or phone number of Porch gallery. I couldn’t find it on google maps, even with street view.
Currently in Central America they like to follow Mexican style for homes, which for them means one wall painted red, one blue, next green…
Big clay pots on the hallways, great for striking your chins on…
Reddish tiles with fadding centers, leather couches wityh big metal buttons, and a rat, sorry lap dog on top.
I’ll post pics from my father’s place if interested.
ps.
How about some carved masks? Those are really cool. I also have some wood carvings for my furture home, colorful tropical birsd and stuff you put on the wall.
You can get molas here in Taiwan. So cool! Love em.
Thanks icon. Molas is very nice indeed. Where did you find them?
I am going to start with my rooftop, which, I reckon would be easier and more convernient. Going to do something really nice, I have a large space and I almost finished building my BBQ. 
Next will be the walls and floors and then decoration.
Yeah, it’s sometimes a bit to bold for my tastes. I like the more restrained neutrals, with the plants, art and accessories adding the color. Talavera tiles look great when applied sparingly, and gaudy when overused. This is a nice color scheme, IMO:
And with more color but still some tasteful restraint:
Yeah, if you’re very short! (shins, Icon? :p)
[quote]Reddish tiles with fadding centers, leather couches wityh big metal buttons…
I’ll post pics from my father’s place if interested.[/quote]
Yeah, that’s the ticket.
One could do a little architectural stuff to start with – bricking over an exposed column (see top pic), putting up some faux rafters in dark, distressed wood or covering a real concrete beam with planks, and filling in the upper corners of a square entrance (e.g. to an interior hallway) to create an arched shape, like the doorway here:
In a corner, brick in a pedestal, optionally covering it (or just the sides, or just the top) with stucco, as the base for a plant, vase or statue, like under the Don Quixote above.
That’s all minimal, easy DIY stuff for starters.
I’ll probably post some pics from my parents’ home too, to share ideas. Unfortunately, it’s heavy on the terracotta and talavera stuff, which is very fragile and hard to bring to Taiwan. On the other hand, some of it could be duplicated with hand-painted wooden tiles or direct stenciling, if you’re into that kind of thing.
I like the tiles in the first pic you posted DB.
I am going for something more into the yellowish and orange colors, if you know what I mean. More in these colors or these.
DB,
First you hit your shin, fall, and then hit your chin. 
Those tiles, I’ve seen in Taiwan. I was thinking that if I buy a house, I’ll put those on my floor.
The wood “braces” on the ceiling, those are also very typical.
And I had forgotten about the treasure chests. Igoverni, do you know what we keep them for? For linens and stuff when people get married. Wood and/or leather chests.
Oh, and the rocking chairs, bamboo and leather. I’ve always thought a hammock would be a great addition to a balcony.
How about a nice alpaca rug?
Yeah, those colors are very popular. You can also just do the upper 3/4 of the wall, and use tile, wood, stencil or a painted line to divide it from the bottom 1/4, which can be a neutral color or tiled (or flip this vertically as in one of your pics). I like that better than a solid orange or yellow wall. You’ve linked to one pic like this, and the dividing paint line is thin and green. Keeping it thin means the orange and green don’t clash too much.
I wouldn’t make more than one wall orange, personally. It can be overwhelming, but one wall area in a color like that provides a rich, festive look.
If your color is strong, consider using it just for the bottom quarter or third of the wall, then when you turn a corner, do the whole wall that color (on a wall with less surface area), like the magenta in this pic (now imagine that with orange and cream instead of magenta and cream):
One of the advantages to NOT doing the whole wall in a strong color is that it’s much easier (IMO) to find wall accessories (like paintings and masks) that look good on it.
You should be able to find suitable tiles in Taiwan – I’m not sure about the polychrome ones to use for accent, that’s all.
Yes, the 3/4 is also an idea and it is more what my wife likes, she doesn’t like too much the yellow and orange because, like you, she feels it is overwhelming.
Anyways, I haven’t decided yet, just poking around to see what is available here.
I appreciate the ideas and feedback, please, keep them coming.
When all is done, you guys are welcome to my BBQ party!!
You can tone down the yellow and orange a lot, and then also use it in limited areas; you’ll get the warm tones from that and the tile floor, and it will look more tasteful.
Bad:
bad:
Good (earthier, more subdued):
Also notice how wide white doorway borders help clean up the orangy wall, and how nicely wrought iron looks on that too.
Also, consider saving the orange for the patio and garden areas outdoors, where it will contrast nicely with the greens of the plants, then don’t use an orangish tile on the floor there. 
(Not a great pic, but you see how orange and brick work nicely in a garden.)
Indoors, go with the more neutral scheme, with some limited earthy green, earthy blue and so on.
Porch Gallery
156-1 Zhongshan North Road Sec. 7 (in a small lane near the top traffic circle in Tianmu)
tel. 2874-5005
tw.myblog.yahoo.com/porch-gallery
In Google Maps street view (outdated image) the store is next to where the first white car is parked.
Perhaps I should make clear that few items there will be from the Americas. But with proper design they should be able to help you achieve your desired look.
The store is a sideline, as my brother-in-law is mainly an interior designer. So if you’re interested in a big project instead of just buying a few pieces, you could talk with him about that. (He speaks OK English.)
Current fashion -at least, last time I visited:
Please notice all sofas are different colors. Most walls are either “sponge washed” or very “concentrated waxy finish”. Notice in one room you have light green and light pink. 
Also notice the details: pillows, dreamcatchers, knicknacks… all color coordinated… by zone.
As to where to get molas, we’ll have to wait to the next fair.
@cranky: Thanks for the address.
@icon: nice pics, but I don’t really like the greenish colors for what I am going for.
@DB: I actually like your first “bad” pic. I know it’s too much saturated, but I kind of like it. The “more subdued” one is nice though. I like it too.
More comments, pics all welcome.
That’s Mexican? I thought Mexican was corrugated iron and old shipping containers unless you’re a drug lord.
Those Dragonbones pics are Mexican? I always thought of that stuff as New Mexico/Santa Fe kind of style – very southern states kind of look.
No, they’re moneyed Mexican. That’s where all the people in Santa Fe came from originally. Now, they still come from Mexico, but have to live in cheap white-walled apartments.
OK, my bad for stereotype pushing.
I do like the half cream/ half orange look. But there’s not too much wrong with some of the earlier pics in the kitchen from DBs last post.