What goes around comes around. In ceramic tile design this maxim has never been more true as modern manufacturing technology increasingly allows effective re-imagining of age-old materials.
Perhaps the most surprising, and in many ways most significant, example is the current vogue for terracotta-effect porcelain tiles.
Of course, traditional terracotta has never gone away. But today’s tile designers have turned back to this rich source material in the knowledge that digital printing allows the creation of 3D and textured surfaces, accurate colour matching and the ability to create distressed decors of great sophistication.
A great example is Ragno‘s new Terracruda range. This ceramic material draws inspiration from historic construction materials in the form of sun-baked clay and straw. The tiles have a satin-effect matt surface that is soft to the touch, in a range of natural and contemporary colours.
The graphics impart a natural sense of movement to the wall surfaces, while the three-dimensional structure of the décor tiles and mosaics produces a dynamic interplay of light and shade.
A new post by Joe Simpson, Diary of a Tile Addict, January 2017. Full details of this range appeared in February 2017’s Tile & Stone Journal, page 71.
