5 Trends for Tile in 2019

Photos by Julie Sheer except where noted. Photo from Emser Tile

1. Weathered Surfaces

Many exhibits featured tiles that combined contemporary designs with distressed, weathered finishes, a look that has been gaining in popularity. The design seen here, from Emser Tile’s Rhapsody collection, has the worn finish and modern floral and diagonal patterns that exemplify the trend. “Rustic modern tends to be a huge trend,” says Crista Tekstra, senior brand manager at Emser. “We continue to see modern but distressed looks and patterns.”

Photo from Emser Tile

Here’s a look at Rhapsody’s floral pattern. The collection consists of 13-inch-square white, black, neutral, floral and diagonal-pattern glazed porcelain tiles that can be mixed and matched to create unique patterns on walls and floors.

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Pera Tile takes on the weathered or distressed look in its Village line, which offers a solid white tile and three patterned tiles in blue or black that are 6 inches square. The Caleta blue tile is paired here with the solid white tile.

Photo from Daltile

2. A Medley of Shapes

The tile collections seen at the event included diverse shapes and colors. Daltile’s new Color Wheel collection has rectangular field tiles as well as mosaics in herringbone, hexagonal and lattice-weave shapes. The wall seen here is tiled with the collection’s herringbone mosaics.

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Tiles in the Color Wheel line can be combined for one-of-a-kind wall designs. This photo shows how the collection’s hexagonal mosaics can “drip into” linear tiles for a custom look. Color Wheel tiles will be available this spring.

Photo from American Olean

The new Waterwood line from American Olean features faux-oak planks and matching hexagonal mosaic tile. The weathered-wood look of the tile was inspired by the water-soaked wood pillars in the waterways of Venice. This photo shows the collection’s oak-like planks laid in a chevron pattern on the floor and faux white oak planks on the wall.

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3. New Takes on Texture

More tiles are showing up with three-dimensional or etched surfaces, making them textured and touchable. Daltile’s Vintage Metals line emulates industrial Victorian-era metallic ceiling tiles. The collection includes four 4-inch-square tile designs; a mosaic fan shape, seen here; and an arabesque-shape tile that is shown below. Color options are whitewashed titanium, iron or bronze, and surface options are plain or patterned.

Photo from Daltile

“It’s taking that very industrial Victorian design and adding a subtle shift, with integrated design and patterns to scale it back,” says Amber Leigh Martinson, director of marketing at Daltile. The metallic tiles have the flexibility to be used as a wall detail, as a backsplash or behind a stove, she says.

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Marazzi’s glossy Nu_Tempo tiles combine flat and raised surfaces for a multitextured design. Flat square tiles and those with raised arches and “web” surfaces are interspersed with hexagonal mosaics.

Photo from Marazzi

Nu_Tempo’s Navajo Blue web-style tile adds texture to an accent wall.

Here’s a close-up of a flat tile inlaid with tiles that have a raised webbed surface, from the Nu_Tempo line.

Photo from Daltile

4. Muted Palettes

Subdued patterns were popular in many collections at the show. Daltile’s faux-encaustic and floral porcelain tile, called Modern Hearth, is a contemporary take on the popular patterned style.

“Last year we saw encaustics come in very strong, with their bright patterns. This year we’re seeing that they’re still very prevalent in style and design but in a more muted, subtle color,” says Daltile’s Martinson.

Photo from Arizona Tile

Here’s a close-up look at the Reverie 9 tiles. The collection offers 12 patterned tiles and four solid-colored tiles, all measuring 8 inches square. The line will be available in the spring.

Photo from Daltile

5. New Geometrics

The tile industry is awash in fresh takes on geometric patterns, from soft whimsical arabesques to large-format hexagons and cubes. The new Revalia line from Daltile has kaleidoscopic mosaics, as on the wall shown here, as well as rectangles and geometric fan shapes.

These rectangular tiles from Daltile’s Revalia line are beveled and rippled — a new twist on subway tiles. They are mosaics offered in two sizes — the beveled tiles are 2 by 6 inches and the rippled tiles are 2 by 10 inches. The Revalia line will be available in the spring.

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