By Rami Moorosi
Kate van Niekerk, Marketing Manager at Tile Africa reports on some of the tile trends she spotted at Cersaie 2012, which took place in Bologna, Italy.
Styles
- Three dimensional tiles in all shapes and sizes – from bold and carved designs to textured 3D and contemporary shapes. The most interesting aspect is that all of these were made out of ceramic.
- Metallics combined with mirrors and crystals result in glitzy and glamorous feature walls.
- Through inkjet technology, it is possible to make very large mosaic panels. Customised images are printed on the panels to create huge feature walls – from portraits and objects to colourful geometric designs.
- One of the most popular trends at the exhibition was the wood and stone-look ceramic tiles. High-definition inkjet has allowed for ceramic and porcelain tiles to now be printed to look exactly like limestone, granite and different wood grains. The technology even creates tiles that imitate distressed wood to make it look like it’s been weathered by the sun and sea.
Decor and surface trends
- In this instance, inkjet technology is the hero. Imagery was seen on tiles of all sizes. Floral prints, funky and colourful graphics and geometrics are some of the patterns that were printed onto ceramic tiles. Textured surfaces and striking graphic images make for bold and dramatic fashion statements.
Colour
- Tiles in bright colours such as citrus yellows, tangerine, lime, raspberry and red were seen at most of the exhibition stands.
- For the metro or contemporary look, shades of grey are often teamed up with crisp white. This look is great for a bachelor pad or a masculine bathroom. Black and white is also still a very popular trend, and at Cersaie 2012 this modern look was enhanced by three dimensional black and white tiles.
With thanks to Tile Africa
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