The hottest trend in tile

Forget everything you believed you knew about tile styles. Today's tile producers are breaking the generalizations with vivid colors, creature printing, steel and wood results, and dimensional home design. Traditional floral components are being reinvented and are as much in need as contemporary components and graphic, round designs.

'The design is towards emulating components and styles already accepted in design, such as natural leather, silk, damask and jeans, and leopard spots, competition lines, gator and reptile skin designs,' says Tamara Religious, CEO of National Business Shows (NTP), the company that controls Coverings, the leading international display and conference devoted exclusively to presenting the latest in tile and diamond. 'Hot components consist of groups, areas and subjective florals. And distinctive tile that encourages responsive experience is in great favor with developers right now.'

Tactile Flooring

If your concept of tile is a hands-off, smooth, smooth surface, think again. Manufacturers have began putting as much touchability as overall look and sensation into their tile styles. Lines and reliefs add overall look and sensation and grow tile into a style declaration.

Some draw their motivation from classic structure, developing tile with containers, domes and pyramids furniture brands. Others go lively and contemporary with pentagonal forms, groups, areas and cushion forms.

'The concept is to make a tile that attracts your sensation of contact as much as your sensation of sight,' says Religious.

It's Hip to Be Circular ... and Colorful

Color is returning in design. And according to Religious, tile is following this design, offering styles soaked with color. Warm, fairly neutral tones discuss the stage with cool-water-inspired shades.

Round components are especially hot, from simple groups to more complex rounded styles (Hello Kitty wallpaper).

Grout is Excellent

Grout has gone way beyond its unique function as the simple difficult that held the tile in place. Nowadays, grout can be used as a decorative element to enhance the design message of virtually any tile.