Penny tiles are a popular look for interior flooring. While ceramic and glass are often used to make tiles, these beautiful penny tiles, which we noticed on 3rings blog, are actually cut from recycled wine corks. Designed by Jelinek Cork, the recycled tiles take advantage of cork’s natural resiliency and water resistance to create a stylish low-impact flooring material.
To make the tiles, Jelinek Cork takes old wine corks which “are cut into circular discs about 6mm (1/4″) thick and glued on a special paper backing to form interesting and unique mosaic patterns.” The material is adhered to the subfloor and grouted like tile, and then covered with urethane, like other kinds of cork flooring. Individual cork discs can be stained different colors to produce patterns. Cork can also be combined with other tile materials in a floor to provide even more design options.
Used wine corks are being collected for recycling by CorkReHarvest which has located drop boxes in many Whole Foods stores across the US and Canada. Recycled cork obviously cannot be reused in wine bottles, but the cork penny tiles are one of a number of reuse applications for used corks.
And we think wine corks seem a bit more practical than a floor made from peach pips.
+ Jelinek Cork
Via 3rings
Now that’s being “green”! Love the look. Maybe I’ll have to start drinking more wine
Love the recycled wine cork flooring. As an interior designer who loves her wine, and is interested in promoting eco-friendly flooring solutions to my clientele, this really struck home with me! Question, “what type of sub-floor or underlay do you need?”
This is really cool
How funny! I just received a shipment of these last week to install as part of a bathroom remodel. I can’t wait to see the finished result.
@sinteriordesign The adhesive that Jelinek sells says that it is intended to be applied over concrete. Since my bath is on the second floor, I checked with them about using cement backer boards, and they said it was fine. Their customer service reps are outstanding, so I’d suggest giving them a call if you need better information.
It’s a cool look and idea, but one of the few wear issues with cork is the edges…so I’m not sure how this would wear over time, considering how many exposed edges there are.
@kelray88 There’s actually some new products out of the market from a company called US Floors that is just tile flooring mad of cork. The edges are less exposed and they will wear a lot longer. I found their website: usfloorsllc.com there’s over 20 styles and they can even do custom jobs!
The cork is such unbeatable material! I am wondering if it is suitable for both public and home usage. As I can see on the pictures it could be used in restaurants or somewhere on the backyards of the house as well. Anyway, absolutely green idea…
[...] with these cheeky toast-shaped coasters? Made by Oiti, each one is crafted from sustainable cork and looks surprisingly similar in both color and form to that lightly browned breakfast staple we [...]
[...] cork tiles that let you create funky patterns over as much or as little of your floor as you like. Cork is a renewable resource that also happens to be very durable, so these easy-to-install tiles are [...]
[...] cork tiles that let you create funky patterns over as much or as little of your floor as you like. Cork is a renewable resource that also happens to be very durable, so these easy-to-install tiles are [...]
I very much would like to talk to you.
LOTS more info, please !