At one time, ceramic tile was only for the wealthy. No more. Today, for the same price as you will pay for manufactured cast resin, imitation marble or other polymer, you can have a one-of-a-kind piece of fine art, made by an American artist who is willing to work with YOUR ideas and concepts. Suppose you love plants and flowers, but the wall over your sink in the kitchen has no window? Tell the artist your favorites, she will paint your favorite ferns or perennials, in a basket or within its own little garden. What if you moved south and miss your paper birch trees so badly? A mural over your bathroom sink of these gorgeous white and black trees, with or without surrounding fall foliage, will guarantee a lifetime of the perfect view. No wall space for a mural? How about accent tiles placed every foot or so of your favorite cooking herbs in an 1800's style, right out of the Farmer's Almanac? Or an easy-to-clean backsplash behind the kitchen sink of fruits connected by flowering vines all in a lively color scheme?

The best part about tile is you only have to do it once. You choose timeless and tireless motifs and place them where you need something durable. Side-by-side with gold, ceramic is the most durable substance we know. What else has told us the history of human culture as accurately? Nothing the manufacturers have come up with can surpass ceramic tile for lasting beauty. Nothing.

Working with an artist as opposed to a factory has many benefits. The artist has sentimental memories too, and usually does the work she does for other reasons than moving out volumes of product for profit, so she is more than happy to fill your space with warm homey decoration. We all have a favorite old pattern or print, maybe Grandma's stitching or an old tapestry. Everything eventually wears out and must be discarded. Except ceramic. Have it painted on tile and installed for all time.

Framed paintings do not do well in steamy bathrooms or near greasy cookstoves, gathering dust and needing cleaning way too often. A tapestry or rug painted on tile will hang beautifully inlaid into any wall. In the hall where people always bump paintings is a great idea. Stair risers that always get scuffed up can be painted in a myriad of design motifs, like southwestern, Mayan or Aztec, any colorful design, and fill a dull stairway with brilliant color.

Do you work too many hours to have pets? A brilliant parrot on the wall in the corner of your livingroom, gleaming feathers shining, will welcome you home, making no noise and quietly demanding no food or attention! No other art medium can imitate the iridescence and brilliance of bird feathers like ceramic glaze. A skilled hand-painter can imitate textures and colored objects from all around the world. Mayan stone carvings, Egyptian hieroglyphics, even cave art paintings all look so real in ceramic. Solid blocks of color in modern graphic shapes is the other end of the design spectrum. Color makes a very powerful statement, as we all know.

Please do not feel compelled to use what the remodelling stores offer, the dull and unimaginative and very plain tiles they sell in volume. Email a hand-painter and she will help you come up with the only one in the world, a unique piece of fine art that is yours alone. Timeless and elegant decor is only a few weeks away.