As Tile Addict continues to evaluate advance notices of forthcoming Cersaie product launches, it is becoming apparent that this year’s Bologna exhibition will be one of the most diverse and interesting for many years. As well as the XXL formats and gauged porcelain panels seeking traction in the worktop market, 20mm exterior grade tiles looking to compete with traditional landscaping pavers, and the full-blown revival of small format wall and floor tiles, there are interesting developments in surface textures, colour palettes and graphic forms.
Take Ceramiche Piemme for instance. This well-respected Italian brand will be presenting four new collections at Cersaie. The first two, Stone Concept and Freedom, recreate the natural effects of stone for use in residential and contract environments. Then, the tiles and slabs in the Shades collection, created by designer Gordon Guillaumier, reproduce brush strokes and veiled finishes, breathing artistic beauty onto floor and wall surfaces. And last but not least is Majestic, the latest design from the 2018 Valentino by Ceramiche Piemme collection, inspired by some of the most refined Italian marbles.
The effect sported by Stone Concept is that of the characteristic white Burgundy stone of the medieval courtyards along the Loire in France: a chalky sedimentary rock with diverse, soft veined effects. This draws out the popularity of French limestone effects at Cersaie 2017. It comes in shades ranging from white to beige to grey.
The Stone Concept tiles are ideal for creating matching indoor and outdoor environments but also enhancing walls with three-dimensional surfaces in residential, public and commercial areas. There are four sizes and two decors, and so this range can be used to recreate traditional flooring patterns.
Using digital decoration technology, the tiles of the Freedom range recreate Hauteville stone, a natural material valued world-wide for its extraordinary compactness. Shining examples include the façade of the Empire State Building and the plinth of the Statue of Liberty. The impressive range of shades offered by this rock have inspired Piemme’s design team. It will be presented in three sizes and both lighter colours (from white to beige) and darker variations (from hazel to grey). The Freedom range can be used indoors and outdoors, on floors and walls.
For the Shades collection, designer Gordon Guillaumier drew inspiration from classic hand-decorated majolica. The tiles realistically replicate the delicate and imperfect mark left by the designer’s brush stroke; colours overlap to create unique shades that mix and match with the five basic cement effect tones. There are four decor options, each one available in five different nuances varying from dark to light blue, from white to gold to aviation blue: a true shifting of colours typical of the watercolour technique.
Modernity and tradition are also reflected in the choice of forms available: from 600 by 600mm or 600 by 1,200mm slabs with decorated hexagonal tiles reminiscent of traditional ceiling tiles, down to smaller formats (200 by 200mm) common in traditional majolica.
Majestic was inspired by some of the most refined varieties of marble: Carrara, Grigio Verona, Nero Levanto, Onyx, Nero Marquinia, and Bianco Arabescato. There are six tones with more than 150 different graphics designed to simulate the diverse aspects of natural materials and create replicas of marble surfaces. The collection is completed by a selection of decorations and mosaics, which make it possible to coordinate the decors in all environments.
A new post by Joe Simpson, Diary of a Tile Addict, July 2018.