We’ve just come back from another great show in Italy, where we’ve seen some great new products for the coming year.
Cersaie is the largest show for the Italian tile and bathroom industry, with stands from over 900 manufacturers. This year we’ve seen some very innovative products, thanks to advancements in technologies such as digital printing on tiles.
Here’s a look at some of the highlights:
Tiles: Infinite Designs
Digital printing has advanced quite quickly in the last few years, and it’s allowed tile manufacturers to get very creative. Pocelain tiles now ‘mimick’ natural stone, metal, wood and cement in a way that’s hard to tell the tile from the real thing. This has brought an abundance of new looks to the market. And with porcelain being cheaper than some of these materials, it means that even more creativity is available within the reach of more peoples’ budgets.
Tiles: Large Format
As our homes become more open plan, large format tiles have become a viable option. With sizes starting from 75x75cm, and going up to an astounding 1mx3m, there’s now a tile for every room. The sizes may sound big, but when you see them laid in a large open space, the size no longer looks substantial.
Bathrooms: The Year of the curves
The bathroom industry is also embracing curves at a very quick pace. As new manufacturing techniques evolve, the shapes that can be created with brass and porcelain, as well as other man made materials has become outstanding.
The perfect example of this is Axor’s Starck Organic range by Phillipe Starck.
Axor Starck Organic is actually a collection that includes several types of faucets and controls as well as accessories for the bathroom. Beside the collection’s functional innovation, ecological advantages in the form of responsible water use were highlighted by Axor.The water spray has been optimized to conserve water, it’s a fine spray with two settings “economy” and “boost” that provide a good flow – and the sensation of flow – and yet conserves water compared to traditional faucets. The finer spray also minimizes splashing.
