Discontinued Tile Reproduction and Replacement Tiles

Your tile line was discontinued. The manufacturer closed, the pattern was retired, or the original was laid a hundred years ago and nobody knows where it came from. We solve this problem every week. Balian has been reproducing tiles by hand in the same Jerusalem studio since 1922, and we will remake your tile — the pattern, the dimensions and the fired glaze colors — whether you need a single replacement piece or enough to finish a whole floor. We ship to all 50 US states.

There is no minimum order. Making one tile to match a damaged original is a regular part of our work, and it is often the difference between patching a floor and ripping it out.

Original wallpaper pattern next to the matching reproduction tile hand-made by Balian — A client’s wallpaper pattern (left) and the tile we reproduced from it.

How Tile Reproduction Works

Send us what you have. A surviving tile is best, because it lets our painters match the glaze against the original under the same light they work in. Good photographs with a ruler or coin for scale are usually enough to start. If the tile is broken, send the pieces — pattern, body color and glaze depth all survive a break.

Balian artist hand-painting a reproduction ceramic tile in the Jerusalem studio — Every reproduction is painted by hand in our Jerusalem studio.

We then draw the pattern, mix glazes to match, and fire a sample tile for your approval. Color on screen is never color on ceramic, so nothing goes into production until you have seen a fired sample. Once approved, most reproduction orders are produced within two to four weeks, and door-to-door delivery to a US address adds five to ten business days, customs handled by us.

What We Can Reproduce

Discontinued commercial lines, Victorian and Edwardian encaustic-look patterns, Art Deco and Art Nouveau fireplace tiles, Spanish and Mexican patterns, Delft, Iznik and Ottoman designs, mid-century field tile in odd sizes, and one-off hand-painted originals. Because we paint, screen-print and digitally print in-house, we choose whichever technique matches how the original was made — and when the original technique is unclear, we test-fire until we have matched it.

Reproduction of a 6x6 inch Minton heritage tile in original colors — A 6×6 in. Minton-style heritage tile — the kind of discontinued pattern we remake.

We reproduce sizes and shapes as faithfully as the pattern: tiles are cut and fired to your dimensions in inches, including thicknesses to sit flush with an existing installation, plus matching bullnose, trim and border pieces from the same glaze batch. Browse our vintage tile reproductions to see period patterns from these eras that we already produce.

Matching an Existing Installation

Replacement tiles fail visually for two reasons: the color is a near miss, or the finish is wrong. We mix glazes against your physical sample, a paint chip or a Pantone reference, and we match gloss, satin or matte finish as well as the color itself. For historic homes, churches, hotels and restoration projects we regularly hold the design on file, so later repairs match the first batch exactly. Our reproduction work sits within the same studio process as all our custom ceramic tiles, kiln-fired for wet areas, floors and exteriors.

Victorian vintage tile floor of the type Balian matches and reproduces — A Victorian floor — reproductions must sit flush and match glaze, not just pattern.

Pricing and Lead Time

Reproduction pricing has two parts: a one-time design fee that covers pattern drawing, color matching and your approval sample, then a per-tile price that depends on size, technique and quantity. A single replacement tile costs more per piece than a production run, but every US quote is written in dollars with door-to-door shipping included, so the figure you see is the figure you pay. Send dimensions, photographs and your ZIP code and we will come back with a full written quote.

Neshan Balian loading hand-painted reproduction tiles into the kiln for firing — Firing locks the color into the glaze — most orders ship within 2–4 weeks of approval.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can you reproduce a discontinued tile from a photo?

Usually, yes. High-resolution photographs with something for scale let us reproduce the pattern and dimensions; a physical tile lets us match the glaze precisely as well. If you have both, send both.

Will the reproduction match my old tiles exactly?

Fired ceramic always carries slight variation — that is true of your originals too, and it is why a good reproduction blends in where a printed lookalike stands out. You approve a fired sample before production, so the match is confirmed on real ceramic, not on a screen.

Can you make just one tile?

Yes. Single replacement tiles for repairs are a specialty of ours, not an exception.

Do you ship replacement tiles to the United States?

Yes — insured, door-to-door, to all 50 states, with export paperwork handled at our end.

Have a tile to match? Contact us with photographs and dimensions, or read more about how our made-to-order tile work is produced and fired.