b'TILE TRENDS (continued) ing and colors of hand-made tiles butits way to the residential market with withthetechnicaladvantagesofathe 24 x 48 formats taking the lead. porcelain rated for floors, walls, andFrom a design standpoint, the mar-wet areas. There are 10 colors cover- blelookhasrisentothetopasit ing traditional and modern styles andreplicates the real marble with supe-size package that can move from therior performance characteristics. Not wall to the floor in many applications,tomentionthe6mmpanelsallow featuring 4 x 8, 4 x 12, and 8 x 8designers to use this on walls more sizes, which is in line with continuingeasily than a traditional marble slab.trends for smaller formats and deco-rative tiles.A brand-new trendWhile I like to feature trends that drive volume, I also mentioned the importance of having a brand-new trend.ForthisIturntoasmall company in Salt Lake City: 3D Stone and Tile. Rod Katwyk, owner, opera-tor,andNTCAmember,hasdevel-oped a patented technology called MarazziZelligeembodieshandmadelooks,BreakThruBackerstocreate3D imperfectionsandundulatingstylewitha Moroccan flair.tiles from any field tile you choose, whichcreatesanendlessopportu-Additionally, Tressa Samdal, Floridanity for designers for feature walls, TilesDirectorofMarketingandbacksplashesandavastarrayof ProductManagement,remarked,other installations. Katwyk declared Thewallspaceisanareawherethatfocusingonthistrenddoes consumers and designers are startingnotimpacthiscurrentpositioning to be tastefully expressive. They areand therefore does not alienate his no longer shying away from fashionkeycustomers.Inthepastthe Mediterraneas Key West offers subtle shad- colors,texturesoruniqueshapes.only alternative for creating true 3D ingofhandmadetile,buttechnicaladvan-tages of porcelain tile.We are seeing larger-format wall tilesstone and tile installation was pur-andmoreelongatedshapes.Whilechasing expensive stone or tile that Shelly Halbert, Director of Producthexagonandpicketshapesarestillhad been specially milled to create DesignforMarazzi,commented,verypopular,wearenowseeingpre-cutwedgesorpiecesofalter-MarazzisnewZelligecollectionsomeinterestingtrapezoids,circlesnating thicknesses, he explainedreflectsthecurrentlyhottrendofand triangles. a fact that drove installers like Rod Perfectly Imperfect as embodied inoutoftheirminds.Buthisspecial Zelligeshandmadelooks,imperfec- Gauged porcelain tile panelsinnovationenablesadynamicwall tions, and Moroccan style while theand large-formatsundulatedsurfaceandvariationinAsmentionedpreviously,gauged colortonesaccentuatesthenaturalporcelain tile panels/slabs (GPTP) are imperfections and hand-crafted lookgaining popularity with the increased of Zellige. Furthermore, she noted,decorativecapabilities,fromtradi-In general, designs are getting bold- tional looks to stone and thicknesses er. We are seeing a Moroccan influ- forcountertops.Thelarge-format ence in new products as well as glob- sizeswhicharenotnecessarily al destinations like Portugal, Italy andneware being used more and more Spain, as handmade tile continues towith commercial applications driving be a top trend. the volume. However, this has foundBreakThru Backers by 3D Stone and Tile. 442020|TRENDS'