Get the Look: Realtor Joe Everhart's Cool Mexican Tile

Thirty years ago, when Realtor Joe Everhart got his start downtown, everyone wanted historic properties with natural woodwork. Now, contemporary high-end finishes top the wish list. “People today want a jewel box,” he says. To wit: In the fall, Everhart Studio quickly sold a slick, remodeled townhome at 1332 N. Central Ave. for $550,000, a whopping $197 per square foot in a ZIP code where the average is $135. One secret? Imported Mexican tile. He used the interlocking black-and-white pieces for a ceiling-height kitchen backsplash and a bathroom floor. Late at night with his iPad, Everhart found this cement tile while browsing Pinterest and kept digging until he located a Texas source willing to ship it to Indiana. It’s an stunning product—and a practical one, at that. The finish goes about 15 percent through the tile, making it highly resilient; if you scratch it, you’re not going to see the terra cotta underneath. Everhart liked the tile so much, he also installed it in his own home.
Reminiscent of encaustic tiles found in France in the early 1900s, these handcrafted matte squares transform spaces into bold works of art, and are on-trend with the lean toward graphic statement tile in kitchens and baths. Want this aesthetic without moving? The Tile Shop (5531 E. 82nd St., 317-845-4241; 8014 U.S. 31 S., 317-616-3925) offers a similar product in Liria Negro’s 8”x8” encaustic cement tile with matte finish, $15.99 per square foot.