This is a wonderful example of working with what you have. These saltillo tile floors had been glazed by a previous craftsperson, and over the years had gotten quite worn out, scratched and dirty. Plus, the new owners wanted a shift in color tone. They had already torn out much of this tile in the kitchen and replaced it with ceramic tiles. This was all wonderful, except that the rest of the house had acres of this sort of pinkish, umber tile, and the thought of tearing it all up was daunting, since they had passed (thankfully) the "construction" phase of their remodel.
The decision was made to repair and renew the tiles, which meant hours of careful touching up before a new, sheer glaze could be applied. It may sound like a lot of work, and it was, but ultimately it was so much less hassle and mess and cost than the nightmare of sledgehammering out the old in order to put in new. And this way they got a custom color that works well with all the different areas of their open-plan home, and a tough new clear finish on top will keep it looking good for years to come.
