Curious about what tile trends were on display among the miles of tiles at Coverings 2023? Coverings bills itself as the largest ceramic tile and natural stone trade fair in North America. Over 1,000 exhibitors gathered at the Orange County Convention Center in toasty Orlando Florida. They were continuing a three decade tradition of coming together to share the industry’s latest innovations. So it’s a great place to take stock of what’s going on with tile trends.
Special thanks to designer and industry ambassador Alena Capra. She shared insights about what she expected to see at the beginning of the show and was spot on. So here are eight tile trends to learn and love—with a little extra side dish—from Coverings 2023.
This Tile Will Get You Cemented
An overarching trend of Coverings 2023 was tiles dressed up as other classic building materials. This offers homeowners the easy installation and high functionality of tile. But they need not sacrifice a vision that includes other materials. An excellent example of this is cement. The cool color and urban energy of a concrete look come together to create harmony. Plus, the latest technology now makes cemented tiles feel authentic through layering, sanding and tinting. They can be useful in edgy contemporary spaces like the one above—featuring Concrete X through Anthology—as well as outdoors.
These Are For Cobble Heads
Technically, a cobbled surface could refer to any collection of cobbles. (Those are the small paving stones that famously cover the surfaces of NYC’s Meatpacking District and other historic paved places.) But when it comes to cobbled-style tiles, it can refer to anything with the appearance of an aggregate. That also includes jaunty terrazzos and mosaics fit for the ancients. They can give a space a sense of history and grandeur, as with the above palatial Marmi Maximum via Fiandre.
This Tile Trend Looks Wooden
If you love the look of hardwood but wish it were hardier, it’s tile to the rescue. Ceramic tile can now be made in many shades of wood look—from pale birch to stained cedar—as Portobello displayed at Coverings 2023 with a striking, wall-wide gradient. Pairing multiple shades and textures can create a subtle contrast, as in the above vignette featuring Marlen Oak by Argenta. Meanwhile, Grespania caught our eye with its appropriately forest-adjacent wood-look names including Sherwood. And the Revival collection from Provenza offered a deeply convincing recreation of knotty reclaimed boards.
This Trend Leads Somewhere That’s Green
It was a good year for rich, nuanced color at Coverings, but green was almost certainly the MVP. You’ll find it in tiles that capture the look of exotic stone. And it’s omnipresent in the fields of foliates, from palm frond patterns to full-wall forests. The above bath transports us to a canopy fit for Robinson Crusoe, courtesy of Porcelanite Dos who showed floral tiles with a twist: color tuned toward muted greens and beiges. Cotto d’Este featured jungle-thick foliate patterns in a similarly out of the ordinary military-camouflage palate. And in a total twist, Porcelánicos HDC showed a classic, full-bloomed floral in unexpected black-and-white.
This Tile Trend Sees the Big Picture
Many of the brands at Coverings 2023 were evidently thinking big in more ways than one. Not only were they eager to brag about the increasingly larger tile sizes they could now make available. They were also wild about the bold design swings possible using larger format tiles and tiles that may be installed seamlessly to create wall-filling imagery.
Large format tiles can impress with their sheer scale, as with the above bold Fox through Navarti Ceramica. A highlight from the Pigmento collection by Ergon Engineered Stone was its busy and beautiful Pop Art design, the pattern busting with oversize nostalgia. Tele di Marmo Precious from Emilceramica offered impactful, large-scale peeks into the interior of precious stones. LaFaenza displayed full wall mural energy with its sumptuous Jungle mural in shades of icy blue and creamy orange. And the NiteLite collection of backlit art mosaics through Sicis certainly had onlookers lighting up, as well.
These Tile Trends Go Inside and Out
When the world went on pandemic lockdown, everyone with access to outdoor space came to treasure it. Whether it consisted of rolling lawns, a modest yard or a tiny rectangle of balcony, these patches of the outdoors became urgently worthy of redecoration consideration. That included flooring, where tile’s ability to offer the look of other materials means homeowners can create brick and concrete looks that more seamlessly connect outdoors with indoors. Similarly, styles that a designer might have once reserved for inside use only—from vivid colors and patterns to hardwood looks—can now grace the patio or garden. And one can create effects from subtle to high camp by juxtaposing floral and foliate patterned tiles with actual flora. As an added bonus, using the same flooring in outdoor and outdoor-adjacent spaces can make the whole home feel larger, as in the above patio/lounge combo featuring Crete via Cerdomus.
Touch These Tiles
If smoothness is the first thing you think of when you think of tile, it may be time to reconsider. Sure, those even-surfaced tiles continue to be available in a wide variety. But tile creators are using technology to build upon or carve into the surface of tiles as never before. Subtler variations offer gentle textures that surprise the fingertips. More dramatic offerings rise and fall in ways that are visible to the eye. These can create collections with uniform or sets of complementary undulated and spacer tiles that can be used to create unique patterns, such as the tornadic Twister from WOW Design. And some—like the Niagra from El Molino featured above—practically seem to be reaching out to touch your hand.
This Tile Trend Turns Back Time
There was plenty of style going on in the 1970s, so the decade’s resurgence represents a variety of looks. It was a decade that celebrated splashy spectacles including glam rock artists and flashy metallics—like the gold patterning we saw on the intriguing Reflet from Mirage. However, the ’70s were also still the time of the flower children with their breezy love of nature. That energy was on display in pop art florals such as the Homey (above) from Ceramiche Piemme. Other period-appropriate trends included flashy prints, nautical patterns, wood-look paneling and earth tones.
Also Clocked at Coverings
Of course, style trends are not the only thing we spotted at Coverings 2023. Others included sustainability, activated surfaces and increased representation. For example:
- Everyone was talking about sustainability. This included greater transparency about materials and processes, waste management and carbon footprint reduction. We spoke to Crossville about this as they prepared to launch their new carbon-neutral tile collections. Civilizations is one inspired by basalt stone, and Native Metal offers eye-catching metallics.
- Activated surfaces were also a hot topic. Notable examples included invisible switches built into Hypertouch-equipped surfaces from Iris Ceramica. And ABK showed off cool-to-the-touch conduction surfaces in an extraordinary demonstration involving Italian cuisine prepared to the tune of a live wailing saxophone.
- Diversity was on display—and not simply because Coverings 2023 welcomed exhibitors from 40 countries. When we reached Milestone, we were impressed by their desire to help diverse design community voices be heard. This led to their Stories series, which debuted this year and will feature a collaboration with an exciting new collaborator each year going forward.
- And our pick for most whimsical in show must go to Allison Eden Studios. Eden’s Brooklyn-based booth was alive with splendid colors in bold combinations—including a memorable matching outfit from the designer herself.
Visit their website to see more about the exhibitors who participated in Coverings 2023 and learn how you can attend next year’s gathering in Atlanta.
Dig what the latest technology is doing for tiles? Check out what digital printing is making possible in textiles.
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