If Tiles Could Talk

Floor tiles are currently all the rage in home design and are trending like wildfire all over social media sites with decorators and bloggers dedicating hours to finding the best slates, bricks and blocks to complete a room.

Designers are opting for dramatic effects in various homes by cladding stair risers and entire rooms in tile; from interiors to the terrace. Meanwhile, people that have a thing for floors have been posting pictures of their feet standing on cool tiles. It’s so popular that one account has more than 840,000 followers.

This appeal stems from designers and manufacturers producing everything from charmingly imperfect artisanal tiles to sleek and stunning slabs. If you can dream it, they can achieve it. For example, Los Angeles designer Amy Sklar loves patterned tiles with hand-painted designs.

She said:  “I’ve seen some really stunning ones that are truly like works of art. I also like ethnic patterns that have been given a modern interpretation; a continuation of the lovely handcrafted trend I’ve been seeing, but realised with brighter colours. I’m also seeing florals but in a more abstract way, and again with a stronger palette.”

Architect Joan Craig from Manhattan has also worked with some dramatic marble slabs. She said: “Over the past year, I’ve been selecting many of the vivid and highly figured Italian marbles for walls, floors and tubs- a gray and white marble called Capraia Arabescato with striking veining in the powder room, and a burgundy and cream marble in the bar.”

An Italian company has a collection called Electric Marble, in which veins of vivid colour are sandwiched between panels of glass. Meanwhile, Mia Jung, who works in an architecture and design firm, has 3-D tiles on her radar.

“I see more and more collections from Japan, Italy and other countries,” Mia said. “At the simplest level, they’re used to add some texture to plain walls. A more elaborate arrangement of 3-D tiles can function as an architectural element like a wall-like screen between two rooms. One can even have an art piece constructed with 3-D tiles serving as a focal point of a space.”

Nigel Maynard, who tracks builder industry trends as editor in chief of Products magazine, finds textures in ceramic tiles really exciting at the moment. He said: “There are so many ways the architecture and design community can use it, from fireplaces to indoor and outdoor accent walls. And there’s a lot to choose from, including subtle textures, fabric-inspired and deep-relief patterns.”

Metallic detail is a hot commodity in fashion fabrics and is also adding flair to tiles from bold swaths to subtle accents. These accents can be found in Walker Zanger’s Ellington collection which traces geometric outlines in gold on an ebony background. It is inspired by the Jazz Age and Art Deco. 

Digital printing and manufacturing has also advanced and can now create 3-D designs; scallops, hexagons and other unique shapes to use for flooring or even wall décor. Other designs include realistic weathered wood looks and oxidised metal finishes.

Now if only walls could talk, they would say check out the floor…its stunning!