Repeat. No Repeat.

A Look Back: The Best Stuff of 2011

What a year! With all the product releases and introductions, you would never know the economy is still slow. Manufacturers are meeting the demand for good design by consumers and end users, whether it be intended for personal use or on commercial projects. Good design is everywhere (Amen!), as evidenced by the slew of products that made their way across our desks and into our consciosuness. So what was the best stuff of 2011? Let's take a look back....

Row 1 (L to R): HBF - Nest, B&N - Infused Veneer, Allermuir - Octo, Bernhardt - Apel, B&B Italia - Tufty-Too. Row 2: 3Form - HighRes Imagery, Zero - Fisherman, Sancal - Tab, Lama - LED carpet, Vitra - Jill. Row 3: Brentano - Sputnik, KI- Itoki DP, Vibia - Wind, Axor - Axor Bouroullec, Milliken - Fixate. Row 4: Davis - Gingko, Mutina - Phenomenon, Andreu World - Nub, Tom Dixon - Base, Fritz Hansen - Favn. Row 5: B&B Italia - Husk, B.Lux - Around, 3Form - Timber Latitude, Bernhardt - Forest, Davis - Sola.

Row 1 (L to R): Kartell - Comback, Plumen - Plumen 01, Haworth - Reside, Beside, Belong, Davis - Kontour, Steelcase - Soto II. Row 2: Skyline - 5+ Collection, Carnegie - Pixie Applique, Knoll - Krusin Guest, Unika Vaev - Ilias Collection, Keilhauer - Moss. Row 3: Lori Weitzner - Cinema Posters, Corque Design - Puf String, Leland - Ebb, Infiniti - Loop 3D Vinterio, Martin Brattrud - Kurve. Row 4: Murano Due - IXI Lights, Dune - Asteroid, Bend - Farmhouse, Buzzispace - Buzzihub, Duravit - Darling. Row 5: Geiger - Loophole, Humanscale - Trea, Coalesse - Sebastopol, Lobmyer - One Crystal Chandelier, Coalesse - EMU Pattern.

Tile Trends for 2010: Report from Coverings

Last week was the Tile and Stone industry's big trade show, Coverings, which took place in Orlando.  The show is a treasure trove of sources for ceramic, porcelain, glass, and stone materials which are new to the marketplace. Three big players in this market and thus heavily present at the show were the Tile Council of North America, Tile of Spain, and Ceramic Tiles of Italy - all promoting their respective companies in regional pavilions.  Many visitors, like me, were blown away at the sheer volume and quality of the manufacturers on display - especially for porcelain tile, which is a market that has exploded with options in the US over the last few years. The beauty of visiting these booths was that trends were easy to spot and abundant for 2010. After hearing an inspiring presentation from Tile of Spain's Patti Fasan, and walking the show to see the products for myself, here are the trends in tile for this coming year:

Color: Saturated Colors are very popular this year.  Tiles in all shades of rich accent colors are being seen everywhere, with heavy focus on reds and periwinkles.  Also, high contrast is also popular, with black and white used together in tiles leading the way.  Patti Fasan from Tile of Spain believes this is because we all are looking for whimsy and optimism in this still-slow economy.

Tau Porcelanatto's booth featuring Karim Rashid's No-Stalgia collection

Patterns: The quality of digital printing on tile has increased dramatically and now it seems like the entire tile industry has embraced the technology.  Just about every manufacturer showed some version of printed tile, whether it be a wood look or a stone look. The good news is that the tiles are looking much more realistic, some almost impossible to tell that they were not stone. Many purists out there will be skeptical, but there are so many good reasons to use porcelain tile over stone: it's sustainable, it's durable, it's cleanable, and it's often less expensive.  So the more authentic looking these manufacturers can get the tile to look like stone, the more the consumer will benefit.

An example of the stone look for porcelain tile, looking very authentic

Panaria's booth showing porcelain tile planks to mimic wood

Mosaico+ booth showcasing their digital graphic capabilities 

Textures: In addition to digital printing, micro-textures are included to increase the realistic looking nature of the stone and wood tiles. There has also been a lot of experimentation with surface texture to create more unique and high-end looks, especially with the addition of metallic glazes. Also, we saw lots of deep surface texture and relief where profiles are faceted or deeply molded.

Florida Tile's Cornerstone porcelain mosaic 

Argenta's Aventurina tile, metallic and heavily textured 

Sizes: Tiles are getting really large! The last few years has seen the addition of larger format rectangular tiles (18"x36" for example), but now we are seeing 30"x60" and even 48"x48". This is great news for designers and architects who design large open spaces and want to minimize grout joints.  The Tile Council of North America is examining the installation issues that are inherent with working with large tiles, and now they are able to test tiles in their lab up to 60" in both directions.  We are also seeing super thin tiles, which are perfect for cladding, but these too come with their own concerns over installation.

Lea's Mauk collection which uses their Slimtech Basaltina tiles

Other trends: Other trends spotted that we imagine are here to stay include tiles with much higher recycled content than previously; tiles that are anti-microbial and self-cleaning; tiles that integrate l ive vegetation like plants; photo-luminescent tiles; dynamic cladding - i.e. tiles that are shaped to perform certain duties, such as exterior siding; and extruded tiles that look more like tinker toys and to be used as building bocks for decorative elements (screens, etc).

Sustainable Message shown at the Crossville Tile Booth 

Tile of Spain's campaign was everywhere, especially underfoot

  Extruded Tiles from Natucer used to create screens and dividers

Lamosa and Porcelanite's fantastic booth made from their shipping containers!

Lamosa's newest decorative tile called Straus Tech  

The Gloved One made an appearance in mosaic tile at Coverings!

TVs Become Tiles: EcoMarmo by Marca Corona

Italian tile manufacturer Marca Corona has introduced a beautiful new porcelain tile product with an intriguing story: these tiles, known as Eco Marmo, are made from recycled television parts!  This is truly intriguing, especially since the main ingredients of porcelain tile are typically sand and minerals from the earth such as feldspar, all natural.  It is rather incredulous upon first hearing that tile can be made from TVs. However, Marca Corona has derived a way to recycle glass from the cathode ray tubes of the unwanted TV sets and use it as raw material for their new line of tile. The TV sets are procured locally in the Sassuolo region of Italy, and thirty television sets yields approximately 230 sf of tile - impressive! The TV glass contributes 40% post-consumer recycled content, and Marca Corona also recycles 40% of water used in the production of the tile.  This tile line bears the Ecolabel certification, which is a European standard concerned with a product's low environmental impact.

The Eco Marmo collection has the look of natural travertine, and comes in three colorways (beige, white, and gold).  There are two finishes: natural (honed), and reflex (polished), and both have a slip-resistant texture.  The tiles are available in large format, ideal for architectural projects of a grand scale. (In fact, the ubiquitous 12"x12" tile isn't even an option - sizes are 18"x18", 12"x24", 18"x36", and 24"x24").   This tile is brand new in the USA, just now making its way to our shores.  It was first introduced in Italy in the Fall of 2009, and will now be available in the US imminently.  Prices to the trade are typical for Italian porcelain tiles, ranging between $7 - $9 sf.