The Villeroy & Boch tiles shown are licence products from V&B Fliesen GmbH

Can tiles of the same colour but with different nuances be laid together?

Ceramic tiles are made from natural raw materials and therefore vary in terms of surface finish to a certain extent within standard tolerances. Minor differences in colour, décor, structure, gloss or surface roughness may occur. However, many tile ranges require an even visual effect and differences in nuance would adversely affect the overall appearance. The tiles are therefore sorted by “nuance” (only Grade 1), and labelled and boxed separately. The nuance is identified by a code of two figures followed by a letter, e.g. 45 X. Tiles with different nuances should not be used together. To compensate for any remaining differences of shading within one nuance, the contents of the boxes should be checked before tiling and the tiles mixed as necessary, i.e. tiles from several boxes laid alternately.

In some tile ranges, floor tiles in particular, the colour-play is an integral part of the character of the range and intentional. That is to say, based on an average colour shade and brightness (nuance code), tiles of differing colour shades, structures and brightness are intentionally chosen for combination. In such cases, differences in colour shading are intentional and not reason for complaint. For a varied, yet balanced overall effect, we recommend checking boxes from these tile ranges, too, and mixing the tiles when laying. Where basic tiles and décor tiles from the same range are used together it is essential that the nuance codes match. The first two figures should always be identical. On some décor tiles, the figures are followed by a letter. If this is the case, the letter must be identical to that of the basic tiles.