Pocket tiles

What they are
Our tiles look their best in daylight. Pocket tiles let them shine at night, too.
A pocket tile is a shallow ceramic box, 14 cm square and 5 cm deep, that fits over a small wall light. Its front is screen-printed by hand to match the tiles around it, so by day it reads as part of the pattern. In the evening, light spills from its open top and through slots in its sides and bottom, casting soft halos across the wall.

Why designers use them
– Lighting becomes part of the wall: no visible fixture, and no trade-off between the tile layout and where the lights go.
– The pattern carries on: the screen print runs unbroken across flat and pocket tiles.
– Depth and shadow: each pocket stands 5 cm proud of the wall, adding relief by day and glow by night.
– Light where you want it: pocket tiles can go anywhere in the tile field.
– Fewer materials: the ceramic itself is the lampshade, with no metal or glass fixtures.
– Bespoke at scale: repeatable custom lighting for hotels, restaurants and large homes, without the cost of bespoke fixtures.

Size
Measurements: 14 × 14 cm / 5.5 × 5.5 inches; 5 cm / 2 inches deep. As with all handmade tiles, length and width can vary by up to 2%.
Ceramic: 8 mm / 0.3 inch thick.
Openings: open top; a 10 × 2 cm / 4 × 0.8 inch slot in each side and in the bottom; a 9 × 9 cm / 3.5 × 3.5 inch opening in the back, which fits over the light fitting.

Glaze and colours
Glazed on the front, sides and inside; the back is left unglazed so the adhesive bonds.
Base glaze: white or cream, as for our screen-printed tiles.
Screen-printed by hand in any of our 30-plus colours, which merge with the glaze during firing.

Bulbs and fittings
Fits over a wall light fitting with a small screw-base bulb, about 5 cm / 2 inches long and less than 3.75 cm / 1.5 inches in diameter.
Suitable bulbs include T25, E14 pygmy and E12/T8 tubular bulbs. Choose LED versions: they run cool and use little power.
The light fitting is not included; your electrician can supply one for a few euros or dollars.

Installation
We mark the position of each pocket tile in your custom layout. A qualified electrician installs a light fitting at each position. The pocket tile is fixed over the fitting with tile adhesive and grouted to the tiles around it.

Ordering
Pocket tiles are available as an addition to an order of Smink Studio handmade tiles. Like all our tiles, they are made to order.

Pocket tiles suit feature walls in homes, hotels, restaurants and bars. We first designed them for our tile wall at Personal Structures, an exhibition held alongside the 2026 Venice Biennale. To begin, just tell us what inspires you and we’ll design a layout for you by hand.