Ceramic tiles – decoration and functionality
Since time immemorial glazed ceramics is present in homes as functional and decorative items. Its relation to nature and heritage of cultures from around the world is obvious to such an extent that nowadays no one undermines its qualities. These timeless values also find their reflection in stove and fireplace tiles. Over various ages, artists and craftsmen gave them a character to match current trends, and the design reflected the time and age of creation. Frequently tile surfaces of stoves were made to suit a particular interior design of court, palace and sacred rooms. Today a stove is still a main “furniture” at a house, it is still a decoration and often a pride of its owners, almost in every case a result of a sophisticated custom project with a selected colour scheme. What makes a stove stand out from other furniture is the heat production and a healthy climate in a room for a long time. As no other heater or heating system, it “operates” in an off-season and thus makes us enjoy watching and provides a decoration all year long. Ceramic tiles are single elements forming larger assemblies in stoves and fireplaces. As coverings they occur as tile claddings of stove and fireplace bodies of varying sizes. They perform a function defined by devices provided within. In hearth stoves they provide decoration of heating area with a reduced heat-storing function. In the basic function, i.e. in heat-storing stoves, their operation cannot be replaced by any other material.