Tile Inspiration from Cevisama 2020

Brick Tiles

The brick format trend continues to mature at the expense of traditional square formats with some of the larger industrial manufacturers introducing products into this segment. This was evidenced by Bellacasa with their Nubia range (1), a neutral colour palette of 8 colours in 300x100 with a rich almost puddle glaze effect. Another clever way that the industrial manufacturers are trying to enter the small format market is through large pressed tiles, designed to look like interlocking brick (2). When done well, as here, it is very difficult to tell the difference between the smaller individual tiles and the larger piece with the benefit of speed of installation and often, a more competitive project price. Long time CTDA partners Estudio have a well-earned reputation for innovation in small format tiles and our team were really wowed by their new offerings. An evolution of the Glass Block theme we saw in Cersaie and demonstrated by our Diesel Glass Blocks range was a frosted glass effect tile in a slim 25x5 format called Frost (3).

Estudio also took this idea of a slim brick shape and introduced a new chevron range called Lloyd (4). The Chevron shape has been around for a couple of years now but once again, Estudio have raised the bar with a structured relief décor that is sure to get designers excited about the opportunity to create unusual and bespoke feature statement walls. The pared back white and pastel colours of Lloyd is in sharp contrast to the rich colours and deep reliefs of other new ranges we saw however. In a style redolent of our Julep range, Estudio and Bestile showcased pressed relief decors onto brick format tiles with their Stucci (5) and Zubaran (6) ranges. Used on their own as dramatic feature walls or as spot inserts within the coordinating plain tiles, this is a strong trend that has been broadly embraced by the manufacturers. The strongest trend in brick format tiles was the continued development of the zellige tile theme. The star of the show in this regard was the DyRoy range from Peronda’s designer brand Harmony (7 & 8). DyRoy is an absolutely exceptional representation of Moroccan gloss zellige tiles in two formats, a square and a brick. The highly varied glaze of DyRoy coupled with a reassuringly authentic base tile and an absolutely perfect colour palette have really got the CTDA team excited about sharing this range with the design community.

Geometric Shapes

2019 saw a strong trend return with geometric shapes on small formats, mainly on floors for bar walks, WCs and hotel bathrooms and this trend evolved into feature walls also; so it was at Cevisama 2020 that manufacturers presented new ways to tap into this trend. Realonda offered the classic penny round concept and a hexagon (9) but in a slightly larger tesserae than would be expected. This range was also pressed onto a larger porcelain base tile for application versatility and speed of installation. Realonda's theme of slightly larger than expected pieces was also evidenced in a range inspired by our popular Meraki range but 50% larger (10). Esmarine from Tonalite (11) was a beautiful looking product in a hexagon, brick and square tile. Whilst the ‘Provencal’ shape (12) and stretched hexagon, seen here from Carmen (13) were also utilised well to make small spaces interested. These kind of formats and shapes work incredibly well in restaurant WC cubicles or bar fronts. One of the particular highlights of the show for the CTDA team was the Techland series from extruded porcelain specialists Natucer (14), deep earthy tones, excellent technical properties and a deep rugged edge profile really got the team excited. The story of Techland starts with Terracotta and Basalt but the format options explode out of include squares, rectangles, hexagons, arrows, stars, crosses, patterned decors and a full package of specialist edge pieces for stairs and swimming pools. This is a real winner we think.

Patterned Tiles

A parallel trend to geometric shapes was geometric prints on tiles (15). We have seen this trend, with its roots in the encaustic tradition present for a couple of years now and judging by what was presented at Cevisama, its latest iteration is either brighter colours or aged and worn ideas. Grespania dipped its toes in the water of this trend with its large Ikon programme of 20x20 floor tiles (16). Rondine added some décor options to its already popular Loft series with a worn down inlay décor (17). The collaboration between Peronda and the Spanish designer Francisco Segarra has been the flag waver for the ‘vintage industrial’ trend and they delivered again in Cevisama with an incredibly authentic café/bar exposition (18) showcasing a new FS branded floor tile offer and a perfectly on trend Raku inspired wall tile similar to our already popular Freehand collection.

The reference within CTDA for patterned tiles for a number of years has been Cevica and their new ranges delivered plenty to wet the appetite with their BOOM range making a lasting impression (20).

Tactile 3D Design

The Cevica offer was a treasure trove for the designer with bright colours and interesting pattern prints not the only themes of note, the CTDA team also enjoyed a number of new ranges featuring deep relief profiles and structured shapes (21 & 22). The 300x75 Rocky Trails range with its three base tiles across an 8 colour tonal palette screamed versatility (23 & 24).

There were also some interesting pieces presented by Decus, a small batch producer of bespoke product. They took the same base tiles from our Shapes range, Japan and Mandorla and over glazed these with a metallic bright copper crocodile skin effect (25) and then a matt anthracite full of glittery sparkles (26). It was a great example of the flexibility of modern tile production and the ease with which ambitious design intent can be turned into practical reality. In the larger formats, the Genesis range from Margres added a new green colourway into the series which made a strong visual impact when used over a larger area (27).

Wood-Effect

Wood effect porcelain is here to stay and with inkjet printing technology improving every year, the realism manufacturers can achieve is at an unbelievably high level. Coupled to this realism is the ability to play around with formats and the CTDA team found the large format hexagon range from Vives called Belice (28) charming. Large format hexagons (in this case 52x59) are still relatively rare and this could be an interesting trend to keep an eye on. The most popular trend we are currently seeing in wood effect porcelain is undoubtedly the parquet/herringbone look, achieved with both planks and also chevrons. A hard working range that can deliver this and more was the Wooden range from Love Tiles (29), already established with designers, the addition of a chevron format into this range is sure to increase the appeal and longevity of this range.

For more information about any of the ranges mentioned above or if you would like to discuss an upcoming project, please do not hesitate to contact a CTD Architectural Specification Manager.

Telephone: 0800 021 4835 | Email: info@ctdarchitecturaltiles.co.uk