The Chameleon Qualities of Salton Sea | Fireclay Tile
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Color Spotlights

The Chameleon Qualities of Salton Sea

By Blair Hagensen

The Chameleon Qualities of Salton Sea

We've searched high and low, and there isn't a glaze quite like Salton Sea. This pale green tile is distinctive for its chameleon properties: depending on the light or what it’s placed next to, it can read blue, grey, green, or somewhere in between. Throw in the glaze’s artisanal crackled texture and high color variation, and you’ve got a color that’s entirely unique (and consistently one of our bestsellers!). Whether your style is transitional, cottage chic, or midcentury modern, Salton Sea adds a tranquil touch to any space.

Salton Sea Tile

Tile Shown: Salton Sea

Salton Sea is all about creating calm, so bring a sense of peace to your home with this spa-ready hue. For kitchen backsplashes, bathrooms, and beyond, Salton Sea is both a beautiful and practical choice with an impressive breaking strength of 393 lbs per foot (making it stronger than your average porcelain tile!). Learn more about our hand-crafted tile's features here.

Scandinavian-style kitchen with pale blue-green tile backsplash of Salton Sea

Tile Shown: 2x8 in Salton Sea // Design: Hygge Supply & Hygge Style, Heather Landry, Breathing Room Inc.

In the bathroom below, Salton Sea’s light green hue is on full display paired with a floor of blue-green Flagstone and plenty of natural light. We love how the soaking tub is immersed in serenity thanks to the softness of a Salton Sea wainscot, creating an inviting space to indulge in some me-time.

Soaking tub in primary bathroom surrounded on three sides by soft green tile wainscot, with blue-green hexagon tile floor

Tile Shown: 3x9 in Salton Sea, 6” Hexagon in Flagstone // Design + Image: The Fresh Exchange

Wondering how Salton Sea will display in your house? Bring home free samples to find out.

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A full coverage installation allows Salton Sea’s color variation to shine. The pool house shower below, fully clad in floor and wall tile, keeps the underwater experience going with Salton Sea’s aquatic hue and rippling variation front and center.

Pool house shower fully clad on all walls and floor with light blue-green tile

Tile Shown: 3x9 in Salton Sea, 3x3 Sheeted in Salton Sea // Design: Amy Alper // Image: Adam Potts

If full coverage doesn’t work in your space, even a modest amount of Salton Sea makes a memorable design impression. Just four rows of Salton Sea, pulling more grey in this instance, creates an elegant bathroom backsplash that elevates the natural wood vanity in the bathroom below.

Bright bathroom with light wood vanity and petite tile backsplash

Tile Shown: 2x8 in Salton Sea // Design: KSDesigns LLC // Image: Madeline Harper

Unsurprisingly, this color is incredibly popular in shower installations. In the modern shower below, a straight-set installation pulls out Salton Sea’s blue and green undertones to create a soothing effect that will have you starting or winding down your day in serenity.

Modern shower clad with straight-set blue-green tile

Tile Shown: 2x8 in Salton Sea //Design: Michelle Lisac Interior Design // Image: Ellen Vanessa

Salton Sea's cool and varied coloring plays well with warm organic textures like dramatic woodgrain finishes. We love how the cool hue brings foggy beach vibes to the kitchen below, complementing the wood cabinetry with a modern vertical installation and attractive contrasting grout.

Kitchen with wood upper and base cabinetry with tile backsplash of Salton Sea

Tile Shown: 2x8 in Salton Sea // Design + Image: Alter Interiors

Salton Sea looks especially lovely on our specialty-shaped tile, imbuing the handcrafted shapes with mesmerizing color and crackled detailing. The bathroom backsplash below showcases Salton Sea on our best-selling Picket Tile in a luxe Braided pattern, giving the space a sense of spa.

Bathroom vanity with backsplash of Salton Sea Picket Tile in a braided pattern

Tile Shown: Picket in Salton Sea // Design: Shannon Demma, Urbana Design Studio // Image: Kate Falconer

The contemporary bathroom below used Salton Sea to turn a classic offset pattern on its head, choosing a modern vertical offset installation. The glazed ceramic wall tile features Salton Sea’s translucent-like finish for a look that steals the show.

Contemporary tub surround clad with Ceramic Tile in Salton Sea in a vertical offset pattern

Tile Shown: 2x8 in Salton Sea // Design: Cathie Hong // Image: Christy Quiambao

Mix and match shapes for a look that combines practicality with visual appeal. We love how the kitchen below uses Salton Sea in 3x3 Mosaic and Star & Cross Tile, letting the cool color bring together the two backsplashes cohesively.

Open kitchen with backsplash on one wall with Star and Cross Tile in Salton Sea, and another wall with 3x3 Mosaic Tile backsplash in Salton Sea

Tile Shown: Star & Cross in Salton Sea, 3x3 Sheeted in Salton Sea // Design + Image: Ashley Petrone // Installer: Joie Inn

Salton Sea’s grey side comes to the forefront in the shower below. The understated hue works beautifully in an expertly-installed parquet pattern for a result that will make every shower a memorable one.

Shower fully clad with Ceramic Tile in grey-green Salton Tile installed in a parquet pattern

Tile Shown: 3x9 in Salton Sea // Design + Image: Eliza Bigelow

A timeless tile backsplash of Salton Sea fits beautifully into transitional looks. This kitchen's Salton Sea backsplash offers a soft contrast thanks to its understated grey-green color (with plenty of distinctive color variation!) to the navy blue cabinets.

Kitchen with navy cabinetry and blue-green tile backsplash

Tile Shown: 2x6 in Salton Sea // Design: Metro Design Build Inc. // Image: Jeffrey Johnson

Love a good green-white color palette? This shower knocks the soothing combination out of the park, with Salton Sea cladding the shower walls and built-in tiled shelf complementing the floor tiles in off-white Feldspar.

Walk-in shower clad with blue-green tile on the walls and off-white mosaic tile on the shower floor

Tile Shown: 3x9 in Salton Sea, 2x2 Sheeted in Feldspar

The modern kitchen below turned Picket on its side and used Salton Sea to match the cool-toned cabinets and countertops. We love how the soft backsplash echoes the succulent garden outside, capturing nature in all its nuance.

Modern kitchen with dark grey-brown cabinetry and backsplash of Picket Tile in Salton Sea

Tile Shown: Picket in Salton Sea // Design: Todd Davis Architecture // Image: Eric Rorer

The tub below looks like the perfect place to relax thanks to the ceramic subway wall tile in soothing Salton Sea. If you love this look, consider tile wainscotting for your own bathroom–it's a timelessly classic look that offers a water-resistant surface around the tub.

Detail shot of light blue-green tile wainscot behind a soaking tub

Tile Shown: 3x6 in Salton Sea // Design + Image: The Flip Hubb

If you haven’t noticed, Salton Sea works particularly well with black hardware. The soft blue-green hue and black palette create a contemporary look that lends itself especially well to bathrooms–like the magazine-worthy design shown here.

Modern Victorian bathroom with blue-green tile along the shower walls and wainscot behind the vanity

Tile Shown: 2x6 in Salton Sea // Design: Flahr Design Build // Image: Elle Seanor

Salton Sea is also the perfect addition to craftsman style, demonstrated by the cozy living room below. Green tile is a staple in traditional craftsman interiors, and Salton Sea is an understated alternative on this traditional fireplace while paying homage to the style's roots.

Craftsman-style living room with fireplace clad with light green Salton Sea tile

Tile Shown: 2x6 in Salton Sea, 3x3 Sheeted in Salton Sea, 1x6 in Frost // Design: TVL Creative // Image: Jess Blackwell Photography

Pay homage to Moroccan tile and Spanish Colonial Revival architecture with your Salton Sea install like the bathroom below, featuring a gray-green tile wainscot in our curvaceous Ogee Tile that adds a splash of timeless global appeal.

Green bathroom vanity with Ogee Tile wainscot in grey-green Salton Sea

Tile Shown: Ogee in Salton Sea // Design: Harper Design Projects, Janie Clark // Image: Blake Verdoorn

From Moroccan to modern, this color transitions seamlessly. The kitchen below is filled with classic modern touches, like stainless steel appliances and clean white cabinetry, that blend beautifully with a braided Picket backsplash of cool-toned Salton Sea.

Modern kitchen with backsplash of cool-hued Salton Sea on Picket Tile

Tile Shown: Picket in Salton Sea // Design: Dawn Cook Design // Image: Suzuran Photography // Installer: Woodworks Design

Ready to see how Salton Sea looks in your space? Find out if it shows up more green, blue, or grey by bringing home up to five free samples. Want to create a spa-like Salton Sea installation, but aren’t sure where to start? Fill out our simple form to receive free individualized design assistance, including sampling, renderings, and cost estimates. Your dream of a peaceful retreat will become reality in no time.

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