Top Flooring Trends at Cersaie 2016
There is always creativity and new tile technologies to discover at Cersaie. Here are some of the key flooring trends spotted at the show:
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Air by Verde 1999 is a collection of graphic porcelain tiles. The collection consists of six colors in a variety of formats, a series of mosaics and another set of decorative tiles.
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Textiles
Fashion and furnishings offer inspiration again this year with tiles that emulate the look of fine linens, cottons and wools. The subtle fabric textures add visual softness to installations while patterns add excitement and playfulness.
Fashion meets interior design with Tailorart by Ceramica Sant’Agostino. The new porcelain tile collection creates three-dimensional textured surface in madras plaid. Available in four sizes and five colorways in a matte finish.
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Tessuti of Cerim features a light, delicate texture on large-format porcelain. Available in a sophisticated palette of four colors and two sizes, the tile creates visual interest through texture and sheen.
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Dream by Fondovalle is inspired by the natural weft of linen, which is one of the world’s most ancient fabrics and loved for its simple, yet refined, appearance. The fabric-inspired tile is available in three pastel shades that evoke sky, earth and vegetation.
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Marble Interpretations
The classic look of marble is still going strong in interior design in every imaginable format, but not everyone likes the natural stone’s sensitivity to acids and stains. Porcelain tile makes it possible for the marble look to go in new places and with far less maintenance.
Casalgrande Padana recreates the look of marble on porcelain tile through digital printing. The Marmoker collection has been expanded this year to include new colors and formats, including new 90x180 cm and 75x150 cm sizes.
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Fioranese recreates the look of classic marbles with Marmorea. Digital printing technology accurately recreates the color, veining, depth and luminosity of marbles onto porcelain.
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Grand Tour by Naxos is a porcelain tile inspired by the material veining and movement of marble and travertine. The company introduced a new plank style format this year.
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Faux Wood
Wood-look flooring remains a significant inspiration for design this year. Advances in the tile industry have produced wood-look tiles to rival everything you love about wood floors with less maintenance required. Manufacturers are going beyond emulating natural grains and taking more chances with colors, shapes and patterns.
Gran Paradiso by Del Conca playfully emulates the look of real wood on porcelain tile in creative formats. The company incorporated various sizes and grains in triangle shapes for a graphic mosaic effect.
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The new Greenwood collection from Casalgrande Padana stands out for its simple design and delicate tones, which recreate noble Italian woods. The porcelain tile are available with antibacterial and self-cleaning properties.
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Wood Mood by Fioranese interprets the look of wood in porcelain stoneware inspired by the elegant and strongly contrasting colors seen on reclaimed antique floors. Installed here in a chevron pattern, which was a popular pattern at the show.
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Texture
Fashion designers often add interesting texture to their garments in an effort to capture interest, and tile manufacturers continue to do the same. Textured surfaces provide a tactile quality to what otherwise might be a simple design to elevate its uniqueness and modernize a space.
Texture ceramic mosaics by Appiani are a blend of textures, finishes and colors to create a varied appearance. Light bounces off each tile in a different way to create a polychromatic surface suitable for interior and exterior floor and wall applications.
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Leonardo Ceramica’s District collection uses geometry and three-dimensionality to create interest on monochromatic porcelain floor tiles. Blending tiles with smooth or raised surfaces helps to define areas and create subtle patterns.
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L’H Viva Collection by Emil Ceramica combines the look of salvaged, varnished wood with scratches and wear marks for a distressed, textured effect. The porcelain collection is available in four colors.
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Travertine
Travertine limestone has been used in buildings for centuries. Although the natural stone is widely popular, it requires sealing to keep it from staining. Tile manufacturers continue to make faux travertine looks in porcelain that offer all the warmth and texture of natural travertine but without the maintenance requirements that go along with it.
Boom by Ragno is a porcelain stoneware inspired by industrial concrete contaminated with materials such as terracotta, resin and natural stone. The tiles were designed to blend with other materials such as rough-sawn worn and salvaged timber, brick, machined steel or metals.
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The Alpes collection from ABK was created by combining the distinctive graphic features of a selection of stones originating from the south of France. The unique characteristics of sedimentary stone are alternated with style and personality to create two different aesthetic versions: Alpes Raw and Alpes Wide.
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Æxtra 20 is a series of monolithic porcelain stoneware slabs that are rectified and feature a thickness of 20 mm. Used indoors or out, the tiles can be installed five ways: on gravel, grass, sand, raised on supports or with adhesive. The collection features 31 colors and five sizes.
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Terrazzo
Terrazzo flooring, which consists of chips of marble or granite set in concrete and polished to give a smooth surface, has long been a favorite of designers to give high-end projects an elegant look. Tile manufacturers are taking inspiration from this traditional style of flooring to create porcelain tiles that emulate the look of natural stone terrazzo.
Inalco presents Fluorite, a new porcelain tile collection inspired by the terrazzo floors of yesteryear. Developed in collaboration with Katty Schiebeck, a talented young designer who took the mineral fluorite as her source of inspiration.
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Atlas Concorde’s Marvel Gems is inspired by Venetian terrazzo floors. The porcelain tiles are polished for a mirror-like effect with a honed finish. Hard, compact and scratch-resistant, the company says the surface maintains its beauty over the years without major maintenance.
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Art Terrazzo by Supergres is a cement-inspired blend of traditional and avant-garde styles. It has a natural-looking surface and is available in a sophisticated range of soft, colors enhanced by large rectified formants.