A Spanish restaurant, a wall the length of the dining room, and one night to put it up. This is how a piece of Barcelona came to Aventura.

A taste of Spain in Aventura

Bulla Gastrobar is a Spanish tapas restaurant and bar, known for its paella, grilled octopus and sangria. Its Aventura location, just south of Aventura Mall in northeast Miami-Dade, opened just before Christmas 2025 as the 8th restaurant of the brand, with 253 seats indoors and out.

The dining room needed a signature, something that would say Spain the moment guests walked in. The answer was a mosaic in the spirit of Barcelona.

The trencadís mosaic running the full length of the dining room wall above the banquette at Bulla Gastrobar, Aventura — The whole wall

The Gaudí idea: trencadís

In Catalan, trencadís means broken up. It is a mosaic made from shards of glazed tile and broken china, set together in free, irregular shapes instead of the neat squares of a classical mosaic. Antoni Gaudí made it famous in Barcelona, first at the Güell Pavilions and then across the benches and walls of Park Güell, because broken pieces could follow curves that whole tiles never could. The World Monuments Fund describes how he replaced the regular cuts of mosaic with random fragments, creating a rich mix of forms, textures and colors.

Our task was to bring that language into a modern Miami restaurant: panels of broken tile and china in Gaudí style, flowing along the wall like a wave.

Close up of broken hand painted china and blue patterned tile set in white trencadís, Bulla Gastrobar mosaic

Broken china and painted tile Collage of hand painted Mediterranean tile and china fragments with orange and navy pieces, Bulla Gastrobar mosaic

Collage of hand painted Mediterranean tile and china fragments with orange and navy pieces, Bulla Gastrobar mosaic

A Mediterranean collage

The commission

The project came to us through Eaton Fine Art, a full service art consultancy in Austin, Texas, that curates and commissions art for hotels and hospitality projects. In August 2025 Eaton Fine Art and Apperlo Art, the studio of glass artists Mila Apperlo and Stevan Stanisic, agreed on the fabrication and installation of the mosaics for the new Aventura restaurant.

Eaton Fine Art's design follows the wall in long organic shapes, covering roughly 108 square feet: waves of white broken tile edged in orange, bursts of cobalt and hand painted patterned tile, and a green form rising like a tree near the windows. Between the mosaics, columns clad in navy and white patterned tile frame each section.

The trencadís mosaic sweeping across the dining room wall like a wave, Bulla Gastrobar, Aventura

A wave of tile Mosaic sections between navy and white tile columns along the dining room wall, Bulla Gastrobar, Aventura

Mosaic and tile columns

Made in Bonita Springs

Every piece was made in our studio in Bonita Springs, on Florida's Gulf Coast. The design was drawn at full size to guide the cutting, then tile and china were broken, shaped by hand and set one fragment at a time, directly onto lightweight PVC panels that resist moisture and warping.

Mila Apperlo setting broken tile on a large mosaic panel on the work table in the studio in Bonita Springs, Florida

Mila at the work table Mila Apperlo setting hand painted tile and china pieces into the mosaic in the studio

Piece by piece

The mosaic was far too large to travel in one piece, so it was divided into panels along the lines of the design. Each fragment near an edge was numbered, so that the joints could be closed perfectly on the wall.

Orange, white and green broken tile with numbers marked on the pieces for reassembly, Bulla Gastrobar mosaic panel

Numbered for the wall Warm orange, yellow and red broken tile pieces set in progress on the panel

Warm colors in progress

Stevan Stanisic setting broken china pieces into the mosaic in the studio workshop

Stevan setting the china Mila Apperlo at the long work table with a mosaic panel beside the tile saw in the studio

The long table

Before the trip to Miami, the finished panels were laid out together outside the studio, to check that every curve met its neighbor.

Mila Apperlo checking the finished mosaic panels laid out together on the driveway outside the studio in the evening light

The panels laid out Mosaic panel layout on the studio table, with the green tree form, cobalt squares and painted tile

Checking the layout

One night to install

The restaurant had to open at 10 in the morning. The only time to work on the wall was the night before. We started at 11 PM, hung the panels one after another, closed every joint with color matched grout so the waves would flow as one, and stepped back at 9 AM, one hour to spare. What a night, but another job completed.

We could not have done it without our installation crew, Asser St. Val, the artist and designer we worked with on Miami in Motion, and Tudcin, who has since sadly passed away. Thank you both for your amazing help.

The finished Gaudí style mosaic in the Mediterranean dining room of Bulla Gastrobar, Aventura

The morning after The mosaic wave rising beside a navy tile pillar and pendant light, Bulla Gastrobar, Aventura

Beside the tile pillar

The finished wall

Detail of orange, navy and white broken tile and painted china in the finished mosaic, Bulla Gastrobar

Orange and navy Detail of the green tree form in the trencadís mosaic, Bulla Gastrobar, Aventura

The green tree

The green and orange mosaic in a corner by the windows, Bulla Gastrobar, Aventura

By the windows Side view of the dining room with the trencadís mosaic and blue tile bar front, Bulla Gastrobar, Aventura

From the side

The mosaic mural above the long banquette in the dining room, Bulla Gastrobar, Aventura

Above the banquette Wide view of the restaurant interior with the mosaic mural, Bulla Gastrobar, Aventura

The full room

Front view of the mosaic wall from the dining room, Bulla Gastrobar, Aventura — Face on

The mosaic feature wall seen from the entrance, past the blue tile bar, Bulla Gastrobar, Aventura — From the entrance

Visit Bulla

Great restaurant, great food and great service. If you are in Aventura or anywhere in the Miami area, stop by Bulla Gastrobar Aventura at 2747 NE 193rd Street, order a paella, and look up at the wall.

Planning a restaurant, hotel or home in Miami or anywhere in Florida? See more of our glass murals and mosaics and commercial and hospitality work, or contact us to talk about your project.

Client: Bulla Gastrobar, Aventura, Florida, USA
Art consultant and design: Eaton Fine Art, Austin, Texas
Work: Gaudí style trencadís mosaic panels of broken tile and china, about 108 sq ft
Fabrication: Mila Apperlo and Stevan Stanisic, Apperlo Art, Bonita Springs, Florida
Installation: Apperlo Art with Asser St. Val and Tudcin
Year: 2025

Gaudí in Aventura: A Trencadís Mosaic for Bulla Gastrobar, Miami