Zia tile experience?

Has anyone used Zia to source tile? My go-to for a Spanish/Moroccan-look tile doesn’t have exactly what I’m looking for, and I’ve seen several influencers who have used Zia. Wondering about personal experience with customer service/quality/durability. Thanks!

Hi @coritadrus! I have so far had great experiences with Zia tile. I work with their trade team and their customer service has been good. I love their Cotto and Cement lines. Their samples arrive quickly and I’ve been very happy with the quality of these lines in terms of durability. I actually just ordered the Zia Cotto Stars & Cross you’ve mocked up. I got a special order color, so they should arrive next month!

Zia’s Zellige color spectrum is really nice, but I am not sure about the quality. I’ve only gotten samples and not done a full Zellige job yet, but I think other brands like Riad have slightly better quality Zellige.

What’s your go-to source for Spanish and Moroccan tile usually?

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Thanks for the input @isalyn! I’ve used Arto for cement tiles a few times in the past, and I’m wanting more of a clay finish for this project so thought I would give Zia a try. I’ve ordered a few samples and already spoken with their customer service team, but I didn’t really get a straight answer on the difference between cotto and zellige, other than cotto is marginally thicker. Any insight on this? I was also looking at Riad for zellige, I have done pool coping with zellige before but it was through a builder and I’m unsure where they sourced it. So this will be my first time ordering direct and am a bit overwhelmed with options! Also curious about the special order color you chose for the stars & cross tiles? Thanks again :slight_smile:

In my experience, Zellige is slightly thinner than Cotto and has less straight edges compared to due to how the tile is made. Zellige tile edges are hammered or chiseled off and may have more chips (which is the desired character!), whereas Cotto is made in a mold so it’s edges are straight and there shouldn’t be chips. Because of this, Zellige typically has minimal grout lines, whereas Cotto can accommodate a thicker grout line. Zellige tile is also usually glazed, whereas Cotto is not. Unglazed Zellige isn’t as durable and I would not recommend using it for flooring. Cotto is definitely the better choice IMO for flooring!

I ordered the Cotto Madera for my project in Stars and Cross. I also ordered some rectangle tiles for the border of the room and these had a slight shipping delay when I ordered.

Here is the Spoak design:

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That is all very helpful, thank you so much! I was thinking of cotto for the floor and zellige for the shower/wainscoting… but I might also do cotto for the walls depending on the look. I’m looking forward to getting the samples in and so glad you’ve had a positive experience with Zia. :slight_smile: