STEP INSIDE KITCHENS Be Practical
As well as offering a modern design, often at a lower price, ceramic tiles don’t stain and are much easier to clean, unlike their wooden and stone equivalents. This can be hugely practical, especially in the kitchen environment where spillages are a regular occurrence.
It’s imperative retailers discuss practicalities such as this with potential consumers who need help to make informed choices with their eyes wide open; for example, a frequent impracticality we are often forced to explain to buyers relates to glossy tiles in a solid colour. While beautiful, glossy tiles may complement or contrast with your current kitchen design, they do have require more upkeep. If the consumer has a family, with children and perhaps pets, they must understand water and dirt will show up clearly on these tiles. Even though the marks are very easy to clean, it may not be practical if the user has a busy lifestyle. Instead, it’s often better to select a ceramic tile with a busier surface effect, which will help to disguise the effects of daily use.
Food for Thought
Peter Vann, Director of Ceramique Internationale, discusses the latest
trends in kitchen tiles, and what 2017 holds for retailers.
The Modern Movement
In 2016, we saw consumer shopping patterns leaning towards modern and contemporary kitchen floor tiles, with homeowners looking to create a minimalist look. This style often goes hand-in-hand with large oblong and square shapes, usually in more neutral colours, such as beige, taupe and grey but they are not the only way to create a modern feel. Modernism can be fashioned from plank tiles, for that warm wooden effect, and the manufacturers of these tiles usually sit in two camps – those who are creating wood- effects with many different colours, often varying from very dark to a more bleached wood, and those who are creating more uniformed colour schemes. It is the latter that is usually seen as more modern.
These natural effects on ceramic tiles have continued to improve over the last five years, with the advancements in digital printing now providing consumers with a true look-a- like copy. These printing advancements mean retailers – and customers – receive a high-quality, durable product, which offers enhanced practicality at a significantly reduced cost, and this leads to a host of benefits over their counterparts.
26 | Tomorrow’s Retail Floors
Reflecting this trend for pairing practicality with style, there’s been an increase in the replication of natural materials, creating a continuous flow from indoors to outdoors. Thanks to the aforementioned printing techniques, we have the ability to preserve natural resources while still offering the desired end product and finish.
Style trends are also pointing us towards seamlessness in kitchen flooring. This stems from thinner grouting lines, which are easy to achieve with tiles that have rectified edges. The edge grinding is done after production, so it does add some cost, but it’s definitely worth it for the style and practicality benefits that come as a result.
Know Your Stuff
As well as ensuring the consumer’s practical and style needs are met, retailers must be able to educate and reassure customers who may have reservations about tiles. Some people still have an aversion to tiled floors, believing them to be cold and slippy. It’s a misnomer, as tiles have the same characteristic that exists in all hard flooring, including wood, laminate and stone. We also have copious numbers of people entering our showroom and querying whether a tile is “anti- slip”, and our response is quite simple- tiles with aggressive anti-slip properties are only necessary in wet areas such as swimming pools and shower drench areas in wet rooms. Retailers also have opportunities to up-sell to these types of consumers with products such as underfloor heating to combat the preconception of tiles being cold.
Think Big
2016 also saw an increase in large tile formats and there’s no suggestion to say this will differ in 2017. As these larger tiles have become more desirable in recent times, it’s likely that the industry will soon see the staple 600cm2 by 750, 800 and even 900cm2
being replaced .
In an ever-expanding industry of tiles, we’re all very excited at the prospect of seeing what 2017 holds!
www.tilesandmosaics.co.uk www.tomorrowsretailfloors.com
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