Products Trends
Ceramic connections | by Antonia Solari
The bedroom opens directly onto the bathroom while also housing a private gym. The living room is the perfect place to relax after a hard day at the office or to socialise with friends, but also doubles as a home office. And the terrace has become a natural extension of the interior of the home, a living space in its own right that is designed and furnished with meticulous care. But as the functions of the various domestic spaces multiply, it is becoming increasingly important for the interior design project to find a way of maintaining a sense of continuity despite the fluidity and ever-changing nature and functions of the different spaces. This can be achieved for example by carefully choosing a furnishing style or a type of material and sticking to it in every room, regardless of its function.
Ceramic tiles are ideal for these applications as they are highly versatile and can be installed in spaces used for different purposes, both indoors and outdoors.
Invisible Grey for the wall and floor tiles and Blu Saint Laurent for the wardrobe are Italgraniti’s proposals for this bedroom, which features porcelain wall tiles inspired by prestigious marble.
The Flauti series of wall strips from Ceramica Vogue are available in a choice of glossy or satin surfaces. Made of glazed porcelain, they come in the form of two three-dimensional and one flat strip in a 5×20 cm size mounted on 40×30 cm mesh and in six colour versions.
For contemporary design applications, Florim is presenting its Match Up collection which combines different patterns such as concrete and terrazzo to create tone-on-tone or irregular material textures. Available in both traditional and large sizes.
The Brazilian Slate ceramic slabs in the Pencil Grey version from Unicom Starker are based on research into the highest-quality slate from South America. They bring a unique touch to interiors and create a sense of seamless continuity between rooms.
Cerdisa’s Archisalt collection comes in a range of delicate shades including beige, Danish salt, pink salt and lava salt. These delicate colours are ideal for creating a connection between different rooms in the home.
In this installation the bathroom and bedroom are united by compositional choices and share the same wall tiling: Deconcrete from Ceramica Sant’Agostino (seen here in the De-Micro Pearl colour), available in four sizes.
Continuous interiors
The bathroom opens directly onto the bedroom, often without dividing walls and in some cases with simple partitions or decorative screens. In cases like these where the bedroom and bathroom communicate directly, using the same surface coverings in the two spaces is a successful solution as it maintains stylistic continuity and amplifies the perception of space. The same applies to the kitchen and living area or the entrance hall and living room. A seamless floor tiling based on large slabs or smaller size tiles will create more flexible and fluid spaces suitable for different functions, allowing either the living room or the kitchen to double as a home office.
The Anthology collection from Lea Ceramiche comes in five versions ranging from marble to stone designed to be positioned side by side to create seamless, stylish ambiences. Each of the five available colours comes in a choice of different surface finishes (time-worn, natural, sandblasted).
Prestigio Travertino from Ceramiche Refin, used to great effect on both levels of this residence, comes in the three colours Beige, Bianco (white) and Grigio (grey) (pictured in the Grigio Lucido version). Inspired by vein-cut travertine, the collection comes with a soft or glossy finish.
The Kalkaria full-body porcelain tile collection from Polis Ceramiche was chosen here for use both in the living area and kitchen and on the outdoor terrace. The slabs are also available in a 90×90 cm size.
Thanks to the application of Synchro Digit Piemme printing technology, the Journey tile collection from Ceramiche Piemme displays stone-look undulations, reliefs and effects and comes in four neutral shades. The surfaces are available in Silk, Naturale and Antislip versions suitable for both indoor and outdoor use.
The Chromatica collection from Naxos, Fincibec Group stands out for its cement-like material effect in a 40×100 cm size and 7 mm thickness, ideal for creating large palettes spanning different rooms. Available in 13 colours.
The bedroom, bathroom and terrace are united by the choice of Biondo colour tiles from Emilgroup’s Provenza Revival collection. Digital technology is used to faithfully reproduce the surface of wood.
The connection between interiors and exteriors
Open-air spaces have taken on a vital role. Whether a balcony, a terrace or a patio facing onto the garden, they are now considered living spaces in their own right and are consequently designed with the same care and criteria as the interior of the house. Here too, choosing the same ceramic tiles for both the interior and exterior ensures design consistency while further blurring the distinction between indoors and outdoors. The only difference is the slip coefficient, which should be at least R11 for exteriors. Many different stylistic variations are available in terms of size, decorations and textures, ranging from surfaces inspired by natural materials to fashionable, neutral tones and eye-catching designs.
Laminam’s In-Side collection, shown here in the Terra di Matera version, is suitable for use on floors and walls, worktops and kitchen countertops. Thanks to this variety of solutions, the collection becomes the key to the interior design project by maintaining a sense of stylistic continuity.
The Di Pietra collection from Cir Manifatture Ceramiche comes in five different colours and three different surfaces (including Grip R11 and Grip R11 with 15 mm thickness), making it suitable for both indoor and outdoor use.
Thanks to its variety of colours and sizes, the Full Body collection from Cesi is suitable for many different applications and serves as a unifying element in interior design projects. the 5×5 cm mesh-mounted version is available in 16 colours, including gallio (pictured).
The Rockin’ collection from Flaviker is inspired by an English stone quarried in the Lake District and comes in five different sizes. The 60×120 cm size is also available in a Grip 11 version for outdoor installation which maintains a sense of continuity with the interiors.
A single ceramic surface is increasingly being chosen for both interiors and exteriors and kitchen worktops. This installation from Marazzi features Grande Stone Look Limestone Sand on the floor and Grande Stone Look Travertino Pure and Grande Marble Look Verde Borgogna on the kitchen countertop.
January 2023
