Artistic Tile Tips & Tricks

Designers are not shying away from showcasingthe complexity or drama of these materials. Stone slabs are dominating backsplashes from countertop to ceiling, cascading to the floor in waterfall edges, and wrapping around islands.It’s an exciting development, as these stones are so unique and beautiful, and truly enhance these spaces as the basic neutrals they replace never could.

The high end of the market has moved away from the staid whites and man-made agglomerates that dominated design for the last decade, and is once more embracing the exotic, rare stones, and detailed patterns that have historically defined luxury tileand stone. Breccias, richly-veined marbles, layered quartzites, and onyxes—these materials have an incredible history and are once again becoming focal points in the most sumptuously designed spaces.

We’ve spent the pandemic in virtual spaces meeting our colleagues, family, and friends on Zoom. NFTs, Bitcoin, and the Metaverse are becoming household names. In a world that is quickly going virtual, the importance of real, genuine spaces is drawn into sharper relief. A longstanding trend in surfaces was one of imitation: rather than using actual marble or wood, photos of marble or wood were printed onto porcelain. Genuine luxury means using the real thing, not just another facsimile of the real. There’s a place for the imitation—just as there’s a time and place for a meeting on Zoom rather than face to face. But there’s no true replacement for the real thing.