Trend Flash is one of many exclusive benefits for Members of The Trend Curve’s subscriber family. Elaine Markoutsas, Editorial Correspondent for The Trend Curve, was in Bologna, Italy for Cersaie, the international exhibit of ceramic tile and bathroom furnishings. Here are her top trends, most in porcelain tile, unless otherwise indicated:
COLOR
- White was hot, especially in dimensional tone-on-tone patterns
- Blue remained a top choice, from azure, indigo and denim to turquoise and teal
- Greens like Pantone Greenery, and even older emerald, could not distract from new yellow-infused types
- Pinks functioned as grounds, pattern elements or grout lines
- The fair offered a surprising paucity of reds, though garnet/raisin tones did appear
MATERIALS
- Nuance and decoration softened large-format cement looks for residential use
- Terrazzo stepped up, with colors and beefy scales overlaying tighter specks
- Fabric mimicry was off the charts, including wool, linen, moire and toile looks
- Bold marble graining was joined by color flashes in turquoise, fuschia, saffron
- Wood-look porcelain planking added new iterations like Japanese charred wood called shou sugi ban
- Mosaics took on laser-engraved graphics or digitally produced optical looks as new effects
- Real metal showed an affinity for pattern and color, etched or raised
PATTERN
- Retro ’70s patterns made a statement
- Origami folding, in flat as well as dimensional takes, was key
- Foliage, florals and cactus lifted porcelain wallcovering options
- Geometrics persisted in everything from graphic black and white to pastel compositions
- Abstract art, recalling Orphism/Cubist paintings, took contemporary style to an extreme
- Exhuberant veining was directional for stone and wood
- Patchwork became more clever and modern, with bold graphics and even traditional styles in the mix
FORMATS
- Large slab porcelains satisfied stone-look lovers, as well as wallcovering aficionados
- With sizes up to 5 by 10 feet, some “stone” looked bookmatched
- Slim continued to ramp up, with easier installation possibilities vs. existing formats
- Rectangular hit a sweet spot with style and versatility
- Hexagons hung on, with graphics and assimilating into larger tiles being the newest directions