Decorating with ceramic tiles

Ceramic has got and having today a primary role in architecture. For story and tradition, it is a material between the most loved by architects and designer, because it guarantees aesthetic results and it excels in durability, easiness in laying and in maintenance. From Gaudì to Giò Ponti, in many buildings ceramics has given a special mark, “dressing” the volumes in an unique way.

The use of ceramic is more loved for interiors, since the ancient Rome when little tesserae formed floors and walls of thermae and villas. Its charm is unaltered. Today, it add to glamour of glass paste, with matching colours and various brilliance (metals, murrine) that allow new decors and matches.

Italian tile manufacturers reserve a great attention to the continuous changes of requests in the architecture and design world. Ceramic tiles are fundamental furniture components. Tiles are to furniture what frames are to pictures.

The success of a good ceramic floor covering does not only depend from good quality of ceramic tiles. In fact, ceramic tiles are only the upper part of a multilayer system that includes substrate, bonding and grouting materials, expansion joints etc. For this reason the installation is as much important as the tiles themselves.
The chromatic choices and the installation plans for a floor or wall must take into account various factors including the size of the space (height, natural or artificial lighting) as well as the laying patterns and style to be achieved.

It's at this point that the ability of knowing how to combine aesthetics and appearance and technique, design and execution, request and result, comes into play. Interior designers and architects, but also tile layers and consumers, must therefore prepare a project which, besides giving indications of appearance, also contain rules to follow during laying operation; rules which change according to the particular character that is desired for the floor or wall. The study of the floor covering should start at the very beginning according to the type of building, expected wear of the floor, expected static and dynamic weights the floor will have to stand etc.

The final result can vary due to optical effects perceived by the human eye caused by the colours and laying patterns. For example, spaces of identical dimensions may seem different depending on how they are filled: black and dark colours reduce a space as they absorb light; white and light colours diffuse light and therefore enlarge a space; vertical lines make a space look higher while horizontal lines make it look wider. Square patterns make a space look higher and wider. Black or dark surfaces seem smaller than white or light ones of the same size. Instead, an uniform light coloured floor visually makes a room seem larger and is particularly indicated for small rooms while contrasting tones reduce the perceived dimension. A contrasting floor-wall combination guarantees a wider perception of a room compared to its true size so this solution is particularly suitable for bathrooms and corridors.

Thanks to the advanced productive technologies of the tile manufacturers, today ceramic tiles answer to every aesthetical and functional needs.
Architects and interior designer can create new shape and colour solutions and make an innovative use of the spaces.

Project Kronospace by Kronos Ceramiche

Collection Kerlite by Cotto d'Este

Architects and designers plan innovative installations such as ventilated walls, swimming pools illuminated by tiles with optical fibres, raised floors, large-scale urban design projects and large public surfaces In order to follow the latest trends in terms of interior design, it is fundamental to have a good knowledge of what the market has to offer, thus including tiles.

However, being updated about all the new lines and trends has become a complicated process that needs constant.

Thanks to its rich virtual catalogue, QP offers an updated picture of all the latest news and trends in the sector, helping both interior designers who need to support their clients and architects who need to decide which tile to use in their tender specifications.