Combining the familiar patterns and soft surfaces of fabric with the solid permanence of tile makes for many a marvellous design. Companies have created all sorts of fabric-inspired collections taking inspiration from craft, heritage, and texture, and here are six to show how unusual the end result can be.
1) Quilt from Studio Irvine
Designed by Marialaura Rossiello, Quilt references the patchwork nature of quilting, highlighting the corner of each tile in an assortment of earthy tones, or raw texture. How the tiles are laid out can create a variety of looks, including squares, geometric style patterns, or randomised to mimic terrazzo.
2) Granny Squares from Clé Tile
Making a nod to knitting, Clé Tile’s Granny Squares are uber stylish and wonderfully comforting. Teal and terracotta tones mix with black, white, and taro in an unusual sprawling shape, all mixed and matched to produce a magnificent patchwork like no other.
3) Gingham from Haustile
In four neutral colourways, Haustile’s Gingham collection translate this classic pattern to tile. Black and white Blackberry, black and beige Crater, blue and Grey Ottowa and white and beige Sand each offer up a distinct personality to bring this distinctive checkered pattern into your home.
4) Berber and Nomad from Zia Tile
Incorporating patterns from traditional Berber textiles, Zia Tile’s Berber and Nomad duo translate the simplified shapes of Mergoum onto handmade cement tile. In plain black and off white, the patterns are given space to shine.
5) Metal20 from Tonalite
Emphasising the texture of textiles, Tonalite’s Metal20 collection features all sorts of surface reliefs. In metallic shades of copper and platinum the Metal20 decors offer a variety of 3D weave imitations from plain weave to rib weave and basket weave to herringbone.
6) Tailorart from Ceramica Sant’Agostino
Designed with tradition in mind, Ceramica Sant’Agostino’s Tailorart collection features five plain muted neutrals (Light, Sand, Taupe, Grey, and Brown) and two Tartan decors (Dark and Light), all of which have finely detailed grainlines, perfectly duping their fabric inspirations.
If you can think of any other fabric-inspired tiles, we’d love to hear about them!
A new post by Hanna Simpson, Diary of a Tile Addict, September 2023.