Lasting beauty. This Craftsman house isn't supposed to be perfect, but we are taken by its simple beauty, and especially the softly variegated tile roof, which looks original to this house from the teens or twenties.
Tile roofs are energy-intensive to manufacture and ship, expensive to purchase, and difficult to install. But boy, can they be beautiful and long-lasting. This example is a blend of soft green with peach and coral...
The paint on the body of the house is spot-on, with deep coral eaves, a pale green on the stucco, and creamy white trim.
While "durability" is often proposed as a way to be green, we're suggesting an upgrade to "permanence" as an overarching concept.
Roof tiles have an important symbolic value, too: they bespeak craft and something essential to the idea of home. Even manufacturers of PV panels are crafting their products into shingle form.
© 2009 Apartment Therapy
Tile roofs also meet updated fire codes in many cities, which is why you see so many on suburban McMansions in California.
Depending where you live, tile may not be shipped very far or be any harder on the environment than wood shingles. You see a lot of tile roofs in the Southwest because we're richer in dirt than in trees.
view wende in the twin cities's profile
I can't acutally see the color variation on the tile in the photo. (The photo is too small for me to see past the variations in light.) The description is lovely, though. I wonder if you could plan to buy odd lots of tiles in different colors to get this affect for less than a single-color tile roof?
view RMkoske's profile
Aargh. Effect. Could you get this EFFECT for less.
(That misuse is a pet peeve, I can't believe I didn't spot it before!)
view RMkoske's profile