It’s been reasonably hard to explore the vastness of the tile world and select the stand-out trends, and we’ve really missed collecting our ‘curiosities‘ at Cersaie and Cevisama, but really the next best thing is to see what tile giants like Ceramics of Italy have found to be trending. So that’s exactly what we’ve done. Autumnal The rich comfort of all things autumnal was seen … Continue reading Tile Trends 2021
The exhibition Concrete in All its forms is reopening throughout August at the UQAM Centre de Design in Montréal, Canada. Created by artist and architect Mark West, the exhibition takes the traditional conception of concrete and turns it on its head. ThisThe works are a surreal mix, absorbing elements of architecture and structure and transforming concrete into something less industrial and rigid, to something that … Continue reading Concrete in All its Forms
Materials master Enis Akiev has taken surface experimentation to another level. For the past few years she has taken inspiration from an eclectic selection of substances. A project at Hong Kong Polytechnic University led to the exploration of a cellulose creation from kombucha bacteria utilising black tea and various sugar solutions and heat treatment to develop skin-like materials that can be dyed with fruit juice. … Continue reading Plastic Stone Tiles
Building material alternatives are some of the most exciting things to write about – celebrating innovation that seeks to minimise our impact on the planet, and work for the benefit of non-human creatures is a pleasure that is thankfully becoming ever more common. In a research project from the Indian School of Design and Innovation in Mumbai aimed at developing healthy and environmentally friendly building … Continue reading Lightweight Loofah
Nothing makes a statement quite like an uninterrupted expanse of pink and nothing creates an imposing industrial impression like coarse colourless concrete. Forgoing all convention, greatly honoured and notable architect Sir David Adjaye has combined these two defining features to create an incredible signature. A similar effect was previously achieved at the Ruby City art museum in San Antonio, Texas which took pre-cast red-tinged concrete … Continue reading Pink Concrete
A whole new range of precast terrazzo tiles has come to Kaza Concrete. Employing a curious variety of shapes and formats, this collection gives a new lease of life to this centuries old building material. The modular pieces have been designed to give freedom and a wide choice of layout possibilities. Some standard shapes, such as triangles and hexagons feature, although it is those with … Continue reading Transforming Terrazzo
A rainbow walkway separates the sea and city along the West Beach in Benidorm, Spain. Designed by Carlos Ferrater and Xavier Marti The Paseo Marítimo is a waving, vibrant celebration of colour where locals and visitors alike can enjoy the surrounding area. The walkway was built in three distinct layers which help it to both imitate nature, and showcase modernity. The rim close to the … Continue reading Bright Benidorm Boardwalk
After a month of inpsiration from Cersaie, it only seems right to look to something a little different for a while. We have a few unique and incredible artists and projects to share – a whole raft of wonderful work with tiles, mosaics, and more. First up are these awesome form fitted fixtures from Portuguese artist Dalila Gonçalves. In Blankenbergue Square, Belgium, a collection of … Continue reading Form Fitted Fixtures
Concrete is no longer simply the dull grey surface that gets hidden under something more stylish- it is now becoming something of a modern look to crave (see, for example, Andrea Maffei’s DOT or Kaza Concrete‘s successful rebranding of concrete as a luxurious material). Companies like Lucem have taken it to another level, embedding LEDs to create luminous building materials that provide an atmospheric glow. … Continue reading Bring the Bling
A luminous portal made of fascinating light transmitting concrete has been created on Germany’s most beautiful and expensive island Sylt. Embedded in dunes, and with panoramic views of the North Sea, the Sylter Welle is a unique adventure pool with indoor and outdoor areas. Continue reading Luminous Landmark
For Cedit’s Matrice collection, Brondi and Rainò have taken various concrete-inspired surfaces and imagined additional design reverberations, using 3mm deep incised graphic marks cut into the slabs. These provide a framework for infinite design combinations when grouted in bold colours. This recalls embroidery where every stitch is at right-angles to another one to construct forms and decorations. Continue reading Sensory Structures
Mutina Accents is the latest piece of evidence that Mutina is a company that celebrates following a bold new approach to ceramics … no longer conceived as a mere material for making tiles but as an interior design project. Continue reading Integrated Inspiration
Recent tile exhibitions have also seen unexpected tonal colour combinations, such as blue with blue-green, or orange with red. These analogous colours share a common base colour and, when juxtaposed, create dynamic yet quite delicate compositions that can be both expressive and surprisingly elegant. Continue reading Commercialising Colour
At Coverings. Lea Ceramiche presented what has to be the most carefully-considered and fully realised concrete portfolio to date. Concreto, designed by Fabio Novembre is a varied and original reinterpretation of this iconic construction material. Continue reading Consummate Concreto
Concreto by Lea explores the possibilities of concrete through a hyper-realistic representation of cement surfaces. The design process started with aesthetic and material analysis to fully capture the features of the material. These were then warped and selectively emphasised so that the different textures and colours of cement could become the range’s background. Continue reading Concrete Collaboration
USA retailer Nemo Tile a new collection that is inspired by the classic American seaside destination after which it is named. It is a range of glazed ceramic subway tiles with a smooth yet uneven finish that mimics rolling ocean waves. The range, which has an artisanal, weathered look, is available in 12 soft pastel finishes. Continue reading Cape Cod Collection
The Microlibrary Bima, Sumur Bandung, Indonesia, designed by SHAU architects, was a Jury and Popular Choice Winner in the Architizer A+ Awards 2017. The façade was constructed using 2,000 recycled ice cream buckets that, in binary code, spell out ‘books are the windows to the world’ in Indonesian. Continue reading Ice Cream Cladding
With the additional element of three chromatic variations, the Origini range from Imso Ceramice also includes original ‘broken’ decorative pieces, that look as if they have been smashed and then put together again. Furthermore, the tonality of all Origini backgrounds is slightly different, which adds particular charm to the entire series. Continue reading Progressive Patchwork
Tile surfaces resembling natural textures have been around for some years now. One influence remains natural fibres, such as seagrass and coir, but the relief surfaces have become subtler, with new decoration techniques giving a false perception of depth of relief: thereby improving the cleanability of the tile’s surface. Timber effects are still surprisingly prominent. The look now is more towards simulating distressed and aged timber floors, and the darker hues of heat-treated woods and exotic rain forest timbers. In terms of format, the trends is away from parquet-effects towards larger planks – just as it is in the actual wood flooring market today. Continue reading Turning Back The Years: Pt 2
While greige, taupe and buttermilk are clearly the dominant palette in today’s homes, there is still plenty of scope for more vibrant, optimistic, hues: and for accent colours that celebrate life rather than withdraw from it. Continue reading Palette Psychoanalysis
