MATERIALS AND EFFECTS: CERAMIC TILES BOUTIQUE ON A BUDGET
Stone and Ceramic Warehouse (SACW) discusses the popular trend for marble-effect porcelain and the burning question of whether it measures up to the real thing.
Until recently, having a marble bathroom was a pipe dream for the average homeowner, only to be found in the world’s finest hotels and luxury residences. Now, with today’s modern porcelain look-a-like tiles at around a tenth of the price, we are taking a closer look to see just how good they really are...
Appearance
This is perhaps the most important aspect and, to achieve the marble look, porcelain tiles are digitally scanned with images of real marble. Unsightly mineral impurities and large pattern variations (as can occur in marble) are removed and so with the help of modern technology, we are left with an almost flawless ‘natural’ marble pattern. As well as creating an exceptional look, this also means that the tiles can be easily book-matched and fitted so that the veins appear to run from tile to tile.
The marble-look porcelain tiles from The Stone & Ceramic Warehouse also feature a special pressed surface, which gives the tiles a natural brushed feel. The end result is such that many people are unable to tell the difference in both texture and appearance to the real thing. The Stone
& Ceramic Warehouse are able to offer marble-look porcelain tiles in large-format slabs, further helping to enhance the seamless overall finish. With fewer grout lines and a continuous look, the result is clean, flawless and realistic.
These enormous slab tiles are available in sizes from 120 x 240cm up to a massive 160cm x 320cm, and at only 3-12mm thickness.
Process
Installing a real marble bathroom is a long process. Initially, the client would take a visit to the marble quarry (either in the UK or abroad) to select the exact piece of marble they desire. The marble suppliers would then visit the home or hotel to take a template of the bathroom before returning to the factory to cut the marble using specialist machinery. It would then be polished before being delivered. Due to its sheer weight, it would then take a team to deliver and fix into place. Looking at our modern porcelain option, as we know from before, digital technology means there is no fear of picking the ‘wrong’ piece which makes the initial selection process a lot more straight-forward. The tiles also weigh a
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www.tomorrowstileandstone.co.uk
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