Style Classic: Tin Tile Ceiling

The trend for industrial chic shows no sign of fading, with raw materials and time-weathered materials still in the limelight. And nothing epitomises this trend more than tin tile ceilings – durable, elegant and classic.

The first tin tiles are reputed to have appeared in Brooklyn, where they were used as makeshift restoration for a worn-out plaster ceiling. Cheap, quick and easy, the idea quickly spread across America as an affordable alternative to ornate European-style plasterwork. Homeowners would paint their tiles white, giving the appearance of a hand-carved ceiling.

Tin tiles naturally strayed from their residential beginnings, finding a place in the world of commercial property. Particularly prevalent in bars and restaurants as they were both fireproof and noise-muffling, many were subsequently covered over only to be re-discovered with the onset of regeneration. No hipster Shoreditch bar or trendy hairdresser is worth its salt without one!

You don’t have to live in a former warehouse to get the look! Either go authentic with Andy Thornton and invest in tin tiles created on a press that dates back to 1896, with prices starting at £21.10 per tile or cheat with a wallpaper equivalent, for £219 per 10m roll, with the Brooklyn tin tile wallpaper by Merci at Rockett St George.