Tile dados can add a feel of extravagance, a bit of personality, and a touch of individuality to a home.

Tile is my favorite ornamental material. It adds luxury, character, and depending on the tile a touch of another’s hand. When tile is used lavishly it transforms an ordinary space to one that is extraordinary.

Dados can add traditional beauty to a space.

One of my favorite finds on Pinterest this year was the Palácio Belmonte in Lisbon, Portugal. The Palácio was built in 1449 with enlargements occurring in the 1600’s. In 1720, the family commissioned master Portuguese tile-makers to add 59 panels of 3800 tiles. These gorgeous tiles are what make this now hotel unforgettable. The bedroom above inspires me to dream of creating tile dados in the bedrooms of my home. Nothing else is needed in this bedroom – just simple white sheets. I did see another photo of this room with bedside lamps wearing green shades which looked perfect again the blue and white.

The suite pictured here combines green with blue and white. Just a small amount of tile shows between the window and door openings yet they add so much style to this sitting room.

Another simple bedroom made spectacular with blue and white tiles. More basic white bedding and a green accent on the chair seat.

Inspired by Portuguese quintas is this beloved room by Michael S. Smith. Simple white walls and sofas are perfect with the extravagant Portuguese tile dado in this gorgeous yet inviting living room. Being Michael Smith these antiques are surely priceless, but one could use some of a lesser pedigree and still achieve a stunning effect. The tile dado is the star of the room.

One of my favorite homes is this one in Marrakesh belonging to and designed by Jean-Louis Raynaud and Kenyon Kramer. The Moroccan tile dado is exquisite. The humble red striped fabric adds another layer of pattern that works well with the heavily patterned dado.

My own home features a tile dado in the dining room. Originally this room was wallpapered with a beadboard wainscot which I removed in favor of this combination of patterned hand-painted tiles from Morocco. Similar tiles can be sourced here.

Dados can also be quite modern with a bit of ingenuity.

The most ingenious use of tile I have seen in a while was in this bedroom created by Antonio Martins for the 2014 San Francisco Decorator Showhouse. It features panels painted to resemble Portuguese tiles blown up to a giant scale and then deconstructed to cover the walls. Just brilliant. You can read more about this room here.

The 17th century Portuguese Bilros bed began the inspiration for this modern yet historical bedroom.

Casa V can bring character to your home with the additional of beautiful tile.