The Latest Looks in Tile, Stone and Flooring
Patterned tile, faux hardwood and natural colors were some of the trends seen at The International Surface Event 2019
Julie Sheer
January 29, 2019
Houzz Contributor; journalist with more than two decades of experience as a graphics editor and writer at the Los Angeles Times and Chicago Tribune; outdoor guidebook author; lover of all things outdoors, nature and wildlife. Follow me at https://westcentric.wordpress.com/
Houzz Contributor; journalist with more than two decades of experience as a graphics... More
The latest tile, wood, stone and other products for flooring, walls and counters were on display last week at The International Surface Event 2019 in Las Vegas. Geometric designs, increasingly refined faux-hardwood porcelain tile and luxury vinyl-tile floor coverings were prevalent. Here are some highlights from the Jan. 22 to 25 trade show for the tile, stone and floor coverings industries.
Photos by Julie Sheer except where noted. Photo from Emser Tile
1. Patterned Tile Still Dominates
Encaustic, geometric and arabesque decorative tiles have been hugely popular in recent years, and this year’s Surfaces show displayed new takes on the trend. Pictured is the arabesque mosaic Divine Hera from Emser Tile.
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1. Patterned Tile Still Dominates
Encaustic, geometric and arabesque decorative tiles have been hugely popular in recent years, and this year’s Surfaces show displayed new takes on the trend. Pictured is the arabesque mosaic Divine Hera from Emser Tile.
Find tile, stone and countertop pros on Houzz
“Geometrics are thriving right now,” says Amber Leigh Martinson, director of marketing at Daltile. Though geometrics have been hot in recent years, mixing those patterns with neutral colors is now trending in a big way, she says. The company’s Bee Hive tile, shown here, comes in a variety of large-format hexagonal shapes in both solid tones and geometric patterns.
What’s Popular for Kitchen Counters, Backsplashes and Walls
What’s Popular for Kitchen Counters, Backsplashes and Walls
Photo from Bedrosians Tile and Stone
Encaustic cement tiles have been around for centuries, and over the past few years they have become popular for floors and walls. Today, the bold, graphic encaustic look is showing up in porcelain tiles as well, which tend to be more cost-efficient and easier to maintain than cement. The porcelain tile shown here is Enchante from Bedrosians Tile and Stone.
Encaustic cement tiles have been around for centuries, and over the past few years they have become popular for floors and walls. Today, the bold, graphic encaustic look is showing up in porcelain tiles as well, which tend to be more cost-efficient and easier to maintain than cement. The porcelain tile shown here is Enchante from Bedrosians Tile and Stone.
Arizona Tile’s Reverie collection features geometric and encaustic-style designs on several of its 8-by-8-inch porcelain tiles. They pair nicely with the collection’s corresponding solid-color neutral tiles.
Browse wall and floor tile on Houzz
Browse wall and floor tile on Houzz
2. Faux Wood Is Not Going Away
Wood-look tile has been trending for the past few years — treasured for its easy maintenance and (usually) lower cost compared with real hardwood. The wood look showed up everywhere at the Surfaces show, in materials including porcelain, laminate and vinyl. Pictured here is a selection of faux-wood porcelain tiles from Bedrosians Tile and Stone.
Wood-look tile has been trending for the past few years — treasured for its easy maintenance and (usually) lower cost compared with real hardwood. The wood look showed up everywhere at the Surfaces show, in materials including porcelain, laminate and vinyl. Pictured here is a selection of faux-wood porcelain tiles from Bedrosians Tile and Stone.
Emser Tile’s Hollywood tile. Photo from Emser Tile
Faux-wood tile is looking more and more like the real thing, thanks to improvements in the digital printing technology used to produce the tiles. Wood-look tile is the biggest seller among Bedrosians Tile and Stone’s porcelain tile lines, says the company’s Kyle Torosian.
Shop for wood-look tile
Faux-wood tile is looking more and more like the real thing, thanks to improvements in the digital printing technology used to produce the tiles. Wood-look tile is the biggest seller among Bedrosians Tile and Stone’s porcelain tile lines, says the company’s Kyle Torosian.
Shop for wood-look tile
Luxury vinyl tile seems like an oxymoron — those words just don’t seem to fit together — but today’s wood-look versions could fool you. These tiles are from Eagle Creek Floors.
There’s a huge color range in vinyl tile, and surfaces run the gamut from distressed and reclaimed-looking to polished and smooth. Pictured are Voila tiles from Taiga Building Products.
3. Colors From Nature Prevail
Gray still tends to dominate much of today’s tile and faux-wood flooring, but the tones are getting warmer and blue is big. “Rich blues, grays and dark color palettes offset with lighter accessories to make a bold statement,” says Crista Tekstra of Emser Tile. The company’s Nova glazed porcelain tile line, paired here with glass mosaic tile, is designed to look like natural stone with soft veining and tonal variation.
Gray still tends to dominate much of today’s tile and faux-wood flooring, but the tones are getting warmer and blue is big. “Rich blues, grays and dark color palettes offset with lighter accessories to make a bold statement,” says Crista Tekstra of Emser Tile. The company’s Nova glazed porcelain tile line, paired here with glass mosaic tile, is designed to look like natural stone with soft veining and tonal variation.
In hardwood flooring, you can still find plenty of driftwood-gray colors, but there’s been a move toward darker tones. “People are getting inspiration from nature. We’re seeing a lot more browns and natural colors,” says Angela Duke of Mohawk. “Consumers are liking those natural earth tones.” Shown here is RevWood Plus, Mohawk’s waterproof wood flooring.
4. Mixed Materials Add Interest
Tiles made of porcelain, wood, stone and metal provide visual interest for entire walls, accent areas and backsplashes, and the variety is growing. Those on display at the show were particularly eye-catching. This luxe-looking example from Pera Tile, dubbed Fifth Street from its Atelier Pera line, features marble-like porcelain inlaid with brass and other metals.
Tiles made of porcelain, wood, stone and metal provide visual interest for entire walls, accent areas and backsplashes, and the variety is growing. Those on display at the show were particularly eye-catching. This luxe-looking example from Pera Tile, dubbed Fifth Street from its Atelier Pera line, features marble-like porcelain inlaid with brass and other metals.
Photo from Bedrosians Tile and Stone
Bedrosians’ Montane tile, pictured, shows how metal, stone and glass can combine to form a striking surface.
Bedrosians’ Montane tile, pictured, shows how metal, stone and glass can combine to form a striking surface.
Photo from Daltile
5. Large-Format Everything
Whether it’s tile size or wood-plank width and length, bigger is becoming better, especially for flooring. “Twenty-four by 24 [inches] is now almost too small” for tiles, says Kyle Torosian of Bedrosians Tile and Stone. For wood flooring, plank width is growing, with 7½ inches being the sweet spot, according to an Eagle Creek Floors representative.
Browse rooms with large-format tile for inspiration
5. Large-Format Everything
Whether it’s tile size or wood-plank width and length, bigger is becoming better, especially for flooring. “Twenty-four by 24 [inches] is now almost too small” for tiles, says Kyle Torosian of Bedrosians Tile and Stone. For wood flooring, plank width is growing, with 7½ inches being the sweet spot, according to an Eagle Creek Floors representative.
Browse rooms with large-format tile for inspiration
At 8½ inches wide, the planks of Provenza Floors’ Lighthouse Cove painted and distressed European oak are on trend and also have rustic appeal.
6. Quartzite Is on the Rise
Among natural stone surfaces, quartzite is gaining in popularity. It’s good for countertops, says Amy Oakley of the National Stone Institute. “The great thing about quartzite is it comes in so many colors, so a lot of it looks like marble, but it’s much stronger.” Silverwater quartzite was used for the island countertop in this room designed by The Kitchen Studio of Glen Ellyn.
Kitchen Counters: Quartzite Offers Strength and Beauty
Among natural stone surfaces, quartzite is gaining in popularity. It’s good for countertops, says Amy Oakley of the National Stone Institute. “The great thing about quartzite is it comes in so many colors, so a lot of it looks like marble, but it’s much stronger.” Silverwater quartzite was used for the island countertop in this room designed by The Kitchen Studio of Glen Ellyn.
Kitchen Counters: Quartzite Offers Strength and Beauty
7. Other Interesting Products
In addition to traditional tile and wood, exhibits showcased other products related to surfaces at the Las Vegas event, including colorful vinyl sheet flooring, such as these products from IVC.
In addition to traditional tile and wood, exhibits showcased other products related to surfaces at the Las Vegas event, including colorful vinyl sheet flooring, such as these products from IVC.
There were several peel-and-press wood-like vinyl tile exhibits, but Mywoodwall uses real wood planks. The company says it can be used on accent walls and backsplashes, in entryways and laundry rooms and even as a headboard.
Here’s Pergo’s take on vinyl flooring. The gold “grout” in the sample on the left was getting a lot of attention at the show, says Jordan Biasetti of Mohawk.
Speaking of grout, this product from Laticrete allows grout to be color-matched to Benjamin Moore’s and Sherwin-Williams’ paint palettes.
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tile fax wood look is by far the best. I've installed for many years and it has always provided the best product for pricing, color selection, cleaning, and durability. Most floors are colder in the bathroom unless you install a heated floor under tile. Some standing throw rugs do the trick!
There are many kinds of floor tiles, but I think glass and ceramics are more beautiful and durable in terms of cleaning and maintenance。