TILES & TILING


NEW STYLES AND RETAIL TECHNIQUES CONTINUE TO INSPIRE IN THE TILING SECTOR


The annual awards of The Tile Association provide a snapshot of what is hot and what is not in the tiling sector Faux finishes


T


he 2017 TTA Awards were presented at a gala celebration event in central London


recently and once again they


recognised the key product trends that retailers should be keeping an eye out for.


For some years faux finishes have been a key fashion trend in tiling. This was the case once again at this year’s TTA Awards. The advantages of tiled surfaces over wooden ones are many – hygiene, durability and ease of maintenance being among them.


However consumer fashion continues to value the wood look in the home. The development of new digital printing technologies which allow wood-effect designs to be replicated onto tiles has therefore been seized upon eagerly by manufacturers and there are now many such products on the market which combine the advantages of wood and tiles. The two product awards – Best Floor Tile and Best Wall Tile – were chosen by public vote at this year’s awards, so the accolade is


representative of what the market is currently looking for. Best Floor Tile was won by RAK Ceramics for their new product called Circle Wood. Swirling grains, gnarls and circular annual rings bring to life a wood effect in a tile which has all the performance benefits of porcelain.


Bold brick


Another finalist in this category was also a faux finish – this type in brick. Brick has been another design trend which has gained in popularity over the past year. These tend to be small format tiles (70mm x 280mm) with unique designs and textural surface effects. Vintage Brick from Craven


Dunnill is made from porcelain but offers the earthy tones of an aged brick finish.


Brick was even more to the fore in the Wall Tile category. Winning product Country Brick from RAK Ceramics includes both rectangular and hexagon-shaped


wall tiles. truly


The tiles feature rustic veining and vibrant colour variation to give depth and create an authentic stone effect in colours which vary from light grey to chestnut brown. One of the finalists in this category also references the brick effect. Classic Brick Style from EMC Tiles aims to replicate the subtly different brick designs from major


cities around the world


including London, New York, Paris and Bristol.


Take time out to spot trends Modern tile production technologies are enabling the development of exciting, evocative and eye-catching designs in tiling, which are opening up new sales opportunities for retailers. Several of the winning products at this year’s TTA Awards were


first


launched at Cersaie, Italy or other international exhibitions.


Named as Best Floor Tile, RAK Ceramics’ Circle Wood capitalises on te trend for wood-effect tiled floors, while finalist Craven Dunmill’s flooring (right) showcased a popular vintage brick finish


6 DIY WEEK 16 JUNE 2017


www.diyweek.net


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32