Lincoln pavers are handmade from natural clay pressed into molds, air-dried, and kiln-fired. Each tile's position in the kiln creates subtle variations in color, texture, and surface character — nothing in the sequence is calibrated, and nothing is meant to be.

There is no glaze and no print. The color you see is fired clay, characterized by subtle variation across warm brown earthy tones, with gentle firing gradients and a chalky matte finish. Every tile is unique while the floor as a whole stays cohesive.

Dimensions move slightly from paver to paver, and faces carry the texture of the yard they dried in. That is the material behaving as intended — it is what separates a clay paver from a pressed porcelain look-alike.

If you have specified this paver before, you may know it as Tecate. Much of the trade still uses that name, and the two are the same tile — we list it as the Lincoln Paver. Either name gets you the same clay body and the same brown earthy range.

Set beside Saltillo, the difference is easy to read. Saltillo runs warm buff, pink sand, and light clay. Lincoln sits deeper and browner, with less pink in it, which is why it holds up in rooms with dark beams, walnut cabinetry, or heavy iron — and why it grounds an exterior terrace instead of brightening it.

Cuadrado is the square field format and the backbone of the collection, offered in five sizes — 3x3, 5x5, 8x8, 12x12, and 16x16. The 12x12 is the traditional choice and the one most Lincoln floors are built from; 16x16 quiets the joint count in a large room, while 3x3 and 5x5 give a tighter, busier field for small spaces, risers, and inset panels.

Hexágono and Octágono each come in 8x8 and 12x12, trading the grid for a geometry that reads more deliberate underfoot. Lantern in 12x12 brings the curved arabesque silhouette — the most decorative field shape here, and the one that carries a room on its own without needing a border.

For rectangles, Rectángulo is available in 4x12 and 6x12 for running bond and herringbone layouts. San Felipe (9x11) and Riviera (8x9) are the traditional near-square rectangles that break up a grid and read closer to a hand-laid historic floor. Picket (4x12) shares the slim rectangle footprint but comes to a point at each end, for borders, risers, and running bands.

Estrella (12x12) and Cruz (8x8) are the star and the cross — the two shapes that set together into the interlocking star-and-cross field found in Spanish Colonial floors. They are sold separately so you can set the ratio your layout calls for.

Three trim pieces finish the work. Bullnose (12x12) and Bullnose Corner (12x12) close the exposed edges of a field at hearths, thresholds, and step returns. Bullnose Surface (4x12) is the slim nosing strip for stair treads and step edges, carrying the rounded profile around the front of a tread so the stair reads as one continuous material.

There is nothing to choose between here, which is the point. Lincoln pavers are produced exclusively with rounded edges and a pillowed surface, and exclusively in Regular grade. Every one of the twenty pieces above shares that specification.

The softened edge carries a wider grout joint and absorbs the natural size variation between pavers, so an installer is not fighting to hold a tight line. The pillowed face catches light unevenly across the floor, which is what gives a Lincoln installation its settled, old-world depth rather than the flat plane of a square-cut tile.

If your project needs a crisp, closed joint meeting cabinetry or a stone threshold, the straight-edge Saltillo collection is the better specification — and it is where you will also find Super grade. Lincoln is built for the opposite look.

Unglazed clay is absorbent. Left bare it takes on water, oil, wine, and grout pigment permanently, so sealing is part of the installation rather than a finishing touch.

Seal the pavers before grouting so the grout cannot stain the faces, then apply the finish coat once the floor is set and cured. A penetrating sealer holds the matte, dry look of raw clay; a topical sealer builds a low sheen and a harder-wearing surface. High-traffic floors want resealing periodically — an entry or kitchen more often than a bedroom.