2017 is already here and while many trends in tile design will emerge “on the go” as a year passes, some trends to follow are already known.
Artificial surface looking like natural texture is one of the hottest trends both in haute couture and tile design. While couturiers choose imitation of fur and leather, ceramic tile manufacturers prefer imitating various surfaces and textures, such as wood, marble, concrete, natural stone and even coal or fabric. The most fashionable patterns are white and beige marble interspersed with quartz and mineral pigments, colored terracotta clay tile, wood texture with stunningly realistic reproduction of the smallest vein lines and rough surfaces. The most unusual design features textures repeating popular fabric prints, such as check and chevron-shaped pattern or bag cloth texture.
It seems that tile designers try to counterweigh rapid development of innovations in the modern world with vintage elements typical for past epochs. The unique flavor of history somehow affects the designers, prompting them to create unusual tile collections of fancy patterns resembling Gzhel ceramics, Mediterranean majolica with classical, Latin and Arabic motifs, as well as traditional encaustic tile and dramatic imitations of ancient, time-worn textures.
Natural colors and simple shapes will always attract tile buyers, since they are easily combined and can fit admirably into any space. So, it isn’t a big surprise that the Scandinavian style is very popular among tile manufacturers and designers, who introduce many collections inspired by light colors and clean lines of northern landscapes. Note that light gray color scheme,which dominated in tile design over the past few years, is considered to become a kind of a classic of the genre now. Experts believe that this trend will remain for another five years, but there are some signs of a challenge from various shades of beige, which, perhaps, will become a new trend in the next few years. Many gray and beige color schemes may be seen here, where the current trends in mosaic tile design are reflected.
To make the bathroom walls look more bold and extraordinary, some tile manufacturers create collections with 3D-effect that adds not only unique touch, but also depth and scale to any bathroom design. Also, tile with 3D-effect and sculptured surfaces on the kitchen walls provides dynamics to the space, making the wall decoration a real work of visual art. In some collections 3D-effect is achieved not at the expense of tridimensional elements, but thanks to an intriguing combination of darker and lighter shades of the same color.
We can describe the new trend as "combine anything with everything", since this year tile designers surpassed themselves in creating unique combinations of all kinds. For example, they combined glass, leather and fabrics to create extraordinary texture that features vibrant colors with a shimmering effect designed to deliver luxury and elegance of classic cars. Another fresh idea is to use tile that combines more than two shades or textures in one pattern like tiles, which shows four different pieces of wood textures in one design. Some manufacturers went further and presented contemporary style collections, which mix concrete and textile textures with wear and rust effects. It seems that in accordance with the rule, "the more you mix the better", designers also offer to play around with combinations in tile laying schemes. For example, you can create unique patterns using diamond-shaped tiles of five shades or lay textile textured tiles in random order adding encaustic tiles to the scheme.
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