Styles come and go, but some decorative tile trends enjoy the spotlight time and again. Kirsten Schmit, president of Colorado tile mecca Decorative Materials, shares three tile trends coming on strong this year—and the manufacturers making them look better than ever.
MOSAICS
“Colorado is seeing an influx of people from all over the world, and they’re pushing the envelope when it comes to mosaics,” Schmit says. Her favorites include New Ravenna’s collaboration with wallpaper studio Gracie (shown above), for which five hand-painted designs were translated into exquisite glass mosaics, and Akdo’s Beacon line, which achieves the depth, movement and character of stained glass. Onyx France’s natural stone Chaplin mosaic may seem simpler but takes on a dramatic quality on the wall, she explains.
TILES WITH A STORY
“Knowing the story behind a tile creates a deeper connection to the material,” reflects Schmit. New Ravenna’s Femme & Function collection in dolomite, glazed basalt and marble takes pattern cues from textiles and pottery made by female artists throughout history, from ancient Japanese shibori-dyed fabrics to traditional quilts. Colorado’s own Delta Brick & Climate Company prevents sediment build-up in the Paonia Reservoir from harming the downstream ecosystem by using it to make vibrantly glazed clay tile, pavers and brick. And Artistic Tile’s polychromatic Moon Cosmati stone tiles (shown above) pay tribute to the mosaics installed across Europe during the Middle Ages by the Roman Cosmati family.
VINTAGE REVIVAL
“Old colors and patterns are back in style, modernized and reinvented,” Schmit adds. “Zellige tiles have been in Morocco forever, but they’re a fresh alternative to classic subway tiles.” Those square pink tiles lining grandma’s bathroom are back too. “Portland-based Pratt + Larson did a gorgeous color study with its new pink glazes ranging from light pinks to sherbets and making appearances on field tiles, textured tiles and mosaics,” she notes. But the retro tile flying off the sample rack the fastest, she says, is Spanish manufacturer Ceramicas Aparici’s Art-Deco Black Spritz tile (shown above), which captures the glamour of the Roaring ’20s.
