Caldera Collection: From High Desert to High Design
Apr 29
3 min read
In the world of modern interiors, "perfect" can sometimes feel a little cold. We’ve grown accustomed to factory-precise finishes and ultra-glossy surfaces that look great in photos but lack a certain soul. Clayhaus Modern Tile, the Portland-based studio known for its bold shapes and vibrant colours, is challenging that sterile perfection with its newest release: The Caldera Collection.
Created by Clayhaus co-founder Jason Coleman, this collection is a love letter to the rugged, quiet beauty of the Oregon high desert.
A Shift Toward the Earth
For years, Clayhaus has been a go-to for designers seeking a "pop" of mid-century modern flair. However, Caldera marks a thoughtful shift in direction. Instead of neon-bright glazes, this series looks toward the John Day Fossil Beds National Monument and the iconic Painted Hills.
The result is a palette of 24 matte glazes that feel alive. These aren't just colours; they are reflections of the landscape:
Organic Hues: Soft tans, muted ochres, and dusty terracottas.
The Red Stoneware Body: A newly developed specialty clay that gives the tiles a deeper, more grounded weight.
Two Unique Finishes: Every colour is available in both a flat and a speckled finish, allowing designers to mix and match to create a subtle sense of movement across a wall.
Caldera Collection. Image courtesy of: Clayhaus Modern Tile
Caldera Collection. Image courtesy of: Clayhaus Modern Tile
Texture You Can Feel
One of the most striking things about the Caldera Collection is its tactile nature. In an era where so much of our environment is smooth glass and plastic, these tiles invite you to reach out and touch them. They possess a "perfectly imperfect" quality that feels authentic to the land that inspired them.
“I’ve been enchanted by the desert since I was a teenager, when my family moved to Nevada, especially its subtle beauty, which sometimes seems lost behind what many see as a harsh landscape. I started experimenting with desert-like textures and colors, and it wasn’t long before I knew we had something special and personal." Jason Coleman, co-founder Clayhaus.
By stripping away the complex patterns and letting geometric simplicity take the lead, the glazes themselves become the main event.
What makes Caldera particularly special is that it was designed entirely in-house. It’s a personal project that grew out of Coleman’s own experimentation with desert-like textures. That passion is visible in the final product—a collection that feels less like a manufactured building material and more like a piece of the Oregon wilderness brought indoors.
Whether used as a kitchen backsplash or a statement wall in a spa-like bathroom, the Caldera Collection offers a way to bring the grounding, calming energy of the high desert into the home.
Discover the details. Download our exclusive guide below.
Bring Caldera Home
If you’re looking to add a sense of history and "place" to your next project, you can explore the full range of the Caldera Collection online.
Clayhaus has been enhancing commercial and residential spaces since 2011, when the company was founded by life partners Jason and Megan Coleman. Clayhaus offers an expansive colour palette and a large number of unique and standard shapes, all handcrafted at the couple’s production studio located in Portland, Oregon’s Central Eastside Industrial Maker District. The Clayhaus name, and the company’s driving influence, derive from the Bauhaus movement and its impact on mid-century modern design.
Clayhaus’ custom tile is featured in a high-profile New York City Times Square Subway station, in commercial and hospitality spaces of some of the world’s most iconic brands, as well as in countless boutique retailers and private residences across the United States and beyond. Clayhaus Modern Tile can be purchased direct to manufacturer or through local and online showrooms.
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