SEVENTIES REVIVAL
Pop Art, the fantastic curvy furniture of the late 60s and early 70s and the large surface patterns of fabrics and textiles of that era have influenced many of the most exciting décor ranges created by Spanish producers. A leading brand has even launched a tile series, reminiscent of the strobe light of a 70s Disco, that reflects light and features subtle flashes in its surface. Some of the small formats available imitate the chunky, angular ceramics of the decade with their rich syrupy glazes and a number of tiles referenced the iconic houseplant Monstera Deliciosa or Swiss Cheese Plant.
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1. Ferus by Vives is one of 10 patterned porcelain designs in the Pop Tile range available in a 15x15cm rectified format. There are also plain tiles in a palette of 8 colours.
www.vivesceramica.com
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2. Revival by Cevica is a white body wall tile featuring futuristic 3D shapes in a 13x13cm format. Available in brown, green and blue.
www.cevica.es
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3.Bond St Multi by Pamesa from the Jubilee Collection is a glazed porcelain wall tile in a 25x50cm format.
www.pamesa.com
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4. Joliet by Aparici is a glazed wall tile in a 7.5x30cm format available in toffee, jade, sapphire, white, ivory, blue, green, grey and black.
www.aparici.com
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5. Dolce by Natucer is a collection of 3D formats from their D’Autore series with geometric designs and a choice of colours.
www.natucer.es
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6. Akila by Azteca brings back memories of a Seventies disco with random light flashes in its gres porcelain surface available in five colours and three formats.
www.azteca.es
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7. Orion by Bestile is a relief tile with a metallic effect in a 19.8×22.8cm hexagonal format available in iron, gold, silver and pink.
www.bestile.es
ROCKING THE BLUES
Many of the key manufacturers displayed dazzling large format marble effects in hues of blue from Indigo and Cerulean to Teal and Sky. There were digitally printed slabs that resembled a Google Earth image in all its crystal clear clarity and other formats that were reminiscent of a richly veined marble – though not one that you’re likely to find in any quarry. But this trend was not only limited to the marble-effect porcelains as blue cropped up in many of the carefully curated colour palettes chosen for a brand’s décor tiles and one of the most striking offerings was a solid blue matt wall tile with subtle undulation. Whilst it’s not lost on many visitors to the fair that ‘Classic Blue’ has recently been heralded as ‘colour of the year’, blue is a perennial favourite as it’s an easy colour to live with and can even be used as a neutral to replace black/grey.
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8. Marble Nouveau by Roca is a polished porcelain in a 120x120cm format with strong colour and contrasting striations.
www.roca.com
9. Bow by Mut Design for Harmony is a 15x45cm white body wall tile collection inspired by typical Mediterranean roofs available in azure, clay and white.
www.harmonyinspire.com
10. Bay by Azteca is a marble-effect gres porcelain available in a striking blue as well as silver and grey. It is suitable for both floor and wall and comes in three formats.
www.azteca.es
11. Bahia by Geotiles is a super-polished marbleeffect gres porcelain in a vivid azure blue that comes in 120x120cm and 60x120cm formats.
www.geotiles.com
12. Look by Museum is a collection of 33.3x100cm wall tiles in blue, copper, white or metal that are available as a smooth matt format or two relief decors.
www.museumsurfaces.com
13. CR Lux Danae by Pamesa is a gres porcelain rectified tile available in two formats that imitates semi-precious Mexican agate.
www.pamesa.com
14. Duran Stack by Saloni is a 45x90cm decorative format – seen here in the feature panel on the wall – that is designed to complement the cement-effect tiles also in this range.
www.saloni.com
VOLUMETRIC VARIETY
One of the easiest ways of changing a space is to add volumetric surfaces. Of course 3D tiles are not new in the tile industry, but because of their increasing popularity in the design world Spanish manufacturers are coming up with ever more eclectic products from sinuous waves and lines to deconstructed shapes and graphic representations of flora and fauna to satisfy the demand for novelty. Thanks to their great versatility, ceramics can be used to create all kinds of eyecatching reliefs from a classic bevelled small format to large-scale geometrics. So me of the most outstanding examples are particularly inviting to the touch.
15. Tikal by Bestile is a 17x52cm stone-effect porcelain for walls that’s available in white, grey, magma and black.
www.bestile.es
16. Zinc by Apavisa are 3D gres porcelain relief tiles that come in a variety of formats including a 25x29cm hexagon.
www.apavisa.com
17. Avenue by Cristacer is a cement-effect porcelain offered in 60x120cm, 59.2×59.2cm and 29.2×59.2cm formats.
www.cristalceramicas.com
18. Eclipse by Realonda features semicircles that integrate light and shadow. Each 33x33cm porcelain format is available in 5 colours including iron (shown).
www.realonda.com
19. Alpine Waves by Peronda contrast rough and smooth. This white body wall tile is available in a 32x90cm rectified format in silver (shown), beige and white.
www.peronda.com
20. Paula by Azuliber is a rectified white body 32.7x100cm format that offers subtle relief decoration in 6 colours including rose. It can be combined with co-ordinating smooth tiles.
www.azuliber.com
21. Soften by El Molino is a white body 30x90cm rectified relief tile featuring fauna that comes in a range of neutral hues.
www.elmolino.es
CLAY AND EARTH
Terracotta is back in fashion, so much so that the porcelain and ceramic stoneware manufacturers so prevalent in theSpanish tile sector are making their own contemporary versions of this rustic-looking product. Ranges available areeither making a virtue of the warmth of the surface and offering monocolour tiles that are impressively saturated incolour – some brown or beige, others leaning towards orange – or experimenting with geometry. A number of brands,for example, are reinventing other styles of tile such as 3D or hydraulic formats by introducing earthy and clay tonesinto glazes and patterns. Some of the latest designs are picking up on the revival of Seventies fashion.
22. Kromatika by Equipe Ceramicas is a white body hexagonal tile for wall and floor in 12 matt colours including clay. Format 11.6×10.1cm.
www.equipeceramicas.com
23. Terre by Argenta is a white body ceramic décor tile for walls in a 20x60cm format that can be co-ordinated with relief and smooth formats in mud, natural, white and sage.
www.argentaceramica.com
24. Niza by Roca is a hydraulic-style 20x20cm format with a contemporary palette of colours in either azure or coral suitable for walls and floors.
www.roca.com
25. Delice by Gayafores is a contemporary interpretation of a traditional cement tile featuring shades of almond, natural and grey in a 33.15×33.15cm format.
www.gayafores.es
26. Chalk by Ceramicas Gala is a white body 7.5x30cm format available in terracotta, nude, beige, white, grey and green.
www.gala.es
27. Terra by Harmony is a porcelain series for wall and floor with patterned and plain formats in a range of sizes and shapes that combine clay, azure and white.
www.harmonyinspire.com
28. Forest by Alaplana is a gres porcelain 20x20cm format available in two earthy hues.
www.nuevaalaplana.es
MONOCHROME MIX
Although colour is having its moment in the design world, any trend always has its counterpoint and monochrome décor is enjoying something of a comeback. Spanish producers are finding fresh ways to make white and black tiles interesting with intriguing reliefs, textures and subtle patterns and, whilst there have always been advocates of the all-white scheme, the popularity of the all-black feature wall is rising, too. Most notable, however, is the proliferation of dramatic mixes of black and white tiles that utilise geometric patterns and draw on almost any art movement from Art Deco to Pop Art. Formats can be in any style from mosaics and textured bricks to décor tiles and larger 3D pieces.
29. Manhattan Gloss by Ceracasa is a porcelain rectified 49.1×98.2cm format with a swirled black and white marble-effect.
www.ceracasa.com
30. Rhombus and Hex by Realonda are geometric designs in a new monochrome series featuring rectified gres porcelain 26.5x51cm formats.
www.realonda.com
31. Matt Sixties by Togama is a 32x29cm mosaic format available in 13 colours that looks particularly striking in a black and white combination.
www.togamamosaic.com
32. Hex Pattern 11 by Onix is a mesh-backed 60.3×51.1cm mosaic format featuring hexagonal tesserae in white, black and grey.
www.onixmosaico.com
33. Abidos by Mijares is a textured stone-effect ceramic wall tile in a 10x50cm format
that looks dramatic in white and black.
www.azulejosmijares.com
34. Intuition by Apavisa can be arranged in a variety of ways to create 3D patterns such as this variation made up of Circle and Wave hexagonal formats.
www.apavisa.com
35. Botanic Winter by Keros is a 25x25cm ceramic stoneware format for wall and floor available in nine designs.
www.keros.com
PAINTED EFFECTS
Formats that look as if they’ve been splashed with paint have been a talking point amongst visitors to this year’s exhibition. These eyecatching designs have allowed the producers to show off new inks for porcelain which don’t lose their vibrancy when heated, but they’re also illustrative of how playful ceramic tile manufacture can be. Look out for streaked effects with a touch of glitter and smudged designs that give the look of being worn by time. All of this ingenuity shows that ceramics can be customised to evoke almost any concept and are incredibly faithful in reproducing a picture whether with sharp photo-realism or with impressionistic painterly brushstrokes.
36. Fire Rosso Décor by Apavisa has a splattered paint effect that shows off the vibrancy of new ink technology. The rectified porcelain tile is available in three formats. Paint streaks are also seen on a décor tile in the Wind series.
www.apavisa.com
37. Fundation by Habitat Ceramics is a porcelain tile with a streaky appearance available in three formats and three colourways including oxide.
www.habitatceramics.com
38. Amazonia by Colorker is smudged mono-colour design that can be paired with a décor tile featuring a flora and fauna pattern in the same hues.
www.colorker.com
39. Fresh by Life Ceramica is a white body 10x20cm format that features unfinished brushstrokes and comes in 3 colourways – pink, grey and blue.
www.lifeceramica.com
40. Samoa by Roca is a porcelain stoneware 15x15cm floor and wall tile that is available in blue, green and pink. www.roca.com
41. Goldstone by La Platera is a 35x90cm rectified white body tile with sparkly detail for walls that comes in white, burgundy and teal.
www.laplatera.es
42. Sospiro by Ibero Porcelanico is a matt porcelain in two formats and four colours including 20x20cm décors Boreal and Bind with their painted wash effect.
www.iberoceramica.com
43. Casona by Keros is a white body ceramic relief tile with a chalky pastel look in a 27x27cm format. Colourways include antiqued and white.
www.keros.com