"Ever since a physical distinction could be made between rural and urban, 'Country' has represented a set of values, a way of thinking.

'Country' is not simply a material equation: wood + terracotta + linen = country. Of course materials are a part of it, but the spirit of country goes deeper than surfaces and textures. It consists largely of stripping back the layers of artifice that have been built up over years to reveal fundamental values - honesty of materials and simplicity in appearance. It is more to do with attitude than accumulation: recognizing that beauty does not always come with a large price tag. True country interiors are about the emotions which lie beneath the surfaces and give them their structure, their character.

Houses where you can best convey the spirit of country are those in which you can relax, where there is no straining after effect. In 'country' we crave a simplicity of style, an aesthetic reduction. Traditionally, country interiors have leant heavily on the past. In recent years there has been a change in this attitude - mixing country with modern is no longer viewed as heresy. The spirit of country is at its most potent in a visually quiet interior that neither competes with nature, nor denies the present.

New rustic houses may contain echoes of the past - indeed references to traditional imagery may serve a psychic need in us to be connected to the past. The urge to return to a simpler lifestyle, more in tune with the rhythm of nature, coincides with a global need to consider the environment."

OETA's Rustic/Country range of tiles for the kitchen and bathroom are individually hand-painted by our in-house artist on base tiles manufactured in Spain and Italy using time honoured techniques.
Themes are simple, unpretentious, traditional: nature, plants and animals, food and herbs - the basics of life.

Herb series - all Herb series designs are available on round edge white or vanilla and square edge white and vanilla 100 x 100mm with the exception of the Fruit Bowl Series – available on 150 x 150mm white or vanilla square edge only.

Fruit and Vegetable Series – all designs in this series are available on square edge white and vanilla 100 x 100mm.

** Available in the heritage glaze colour palette (see Plain Wall Tiles).

*** Available in extensive hand painted colour range.