Flooring Tile - painting/staining saltillo

I was glancing through a decorating magazine and saw a kitchen tiled in a checkerboard pattern with what appeared to be saltillo tiles in terra cotta and green. We plan to tile our kitchen with saltillo tiles after doing some rennovations and already have the tiles ready and waiting. I wondered if anyone could tell me if/how it is possible to stain, paint or dye unglazed, unsealed saltillo tiles since I would like to recreate this look if possible. The look I'm going for is still pretty rustic, so I don't want the tiles so much covered with pigment as stained in a way that retains the basic look and texture of saltillo. Any ideas will be much appreciated.

Hi Anne,

Saltillo seems to be making a comeback. Great stuff.

After the installation is completely dry (wait 3 weeks to be sure) seal the whole floor with penetrating sealer. Aquamix makes good products for Saltillo. http://www.aquamix.com It'll probably take a couple coats to do the job.

Then you can stain anything you want -- checkerboard, etc. You can use wood stains or make your own by thinning oil base paint.

Let it dry throroughly and then apply your top finish, which will be acrylic.