www.ceramicaetc.co.uk
Ceramica Etc, in Bangor's Balloo Industrial Estate, is Fired Earth's showroom partner for Northern Ireland. It's where you can see our tilesunder natural light, before any of them get fitted in your home.
You might think a photo online tells you enough, but a screen flattens a glaze the way it flattens paint, so a limestone or hand-glazed porcelain sample can look much like a plainer tile until you see both in person. Stand in front of both, run a hand over each, and the difference is obvious.
The range covers our wall and floor collections, from quiet neutrals to patterned and Moroccan-inspired designs, plus bathroom tiles that carry one scheme from floor to splashback. You can also order samples, or free cut samples of our large format tiles, so a shade gets checked against your own paint or work surface before you commit to it.
Not all of our collections will be available on the showroom floor on the day you visit, so it’s worth asking ahead if you have a particular collection in mind. If you’re planning a full retile, bring rough measurements and any fixtures already chosen. Think of it like taking paint colours to a room in daylight: the sample’s true colour only shows once it is next to everything else it has to blend with.
Frequently Asked Questions
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Tastes are running towards tactile, natural finishes: limestone and marble effects, warm neutral palettes, and large-format wood effect planks that suit period and contemporary rooms alike. Handmade and Moroccan-inspired patterns remain popular too, usually as a feature rather than across a whole room, so the pattern keeps its character.
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The 1/3 rule staggers each row by a third of a tile’s length, not the traditional half-brick layout. The edges then land in a new spot row to row, instead of lining up down the wall. Ask the team about it at Ceramica Etc, especially for long, plank-style formats like wood effect tiles, where a plain half-offset can look flat rather than considered.
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The best artisan tiles earn the name from the material and the making, not the price tag. Natural limestone and marble carry genuine variation. Hand-painted tiles have a depth that only comes from a glaze applied by hand. Among the tile shops in Bangor, Ceramica Etc is the only one where you can see and handle Fired Earth’s ranges in person, which is where a shade’s undertones actually become clear.
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Ceramica Etc is open Monday to Friday, 8:00am to 4:00pm, and Saturday, 9:00am to 1:00pm. It’s closed on Sundays. Tile choices can take more time to decide, so get in touch with the team to book a design appointment before you visit.
Ceramica Etc, Unit 20, 16 Balloo Avenue
Balloo Industrial Estate
BT19 7QT