Vintage and contemporary ceramic tiles: the charm of industrial style atmospheres

The 2020 design concepts for floor and wall tiles harness the great potential of technical ceramics.
With its unparalleled beauty, effects and materials that were once unimaginable can now be reproduced, thus going beyond the simple concept of tiling. By offering more creative options, all the rooms in the house are enhanced and charged with new meaning, thanks to attractive design solutions.
Floor and wall tiles and furniture are thus also the focus of 2020 contemporary interior design, for residential environments, retail stores and public spaces.
 
In recent years, with these new interpretations, industrial style has played a key role in shaping new design concepts. This will also be the case for the floor and wall tiles for the environments that will be offered during 2020, as demonstrated by the partnership between Iris Ceramica and the Diesel brand, which has given life to the “Diesel Living with Iris Ceramica” homestyle dedicated to the world of contemporary surfaces.
In the last few years, Diesel Living has successfully teamed up with leading brands in the fields of furniture, lighting, objects and textiles. As a result of this, the partnership with Iris Ceramica, a benchmark company for Made in Italy products and a leader in the field of wall and floor tiling, developed naturally, thanks to a 10-year experience that began in the early 1960s.
The aesthetic research conducted by “Diesel Living with Iris Ceramica” has led to the creation of many different ceramic solutions (link) for the home, contract and retail sectors and for any environment in order to enhance its atmosphere with very charming solutions, inspired by metals, fabrics, oxidised glass, cements and, in general, all materials in their raw state.
This visual background is ideal to furnish environments with an industrial style, which is known for combining past and present elements with a single design vision: the vintage look of old abandoned buildings is combined with contemporary functionality and simplicity.
In the gallery, you can see some wall tiling solutions such as Fence, Ribbed, Ribbed Oxide and Shade of Blinds, which are ideal combined with the many floor tiling solutions by Diesel Living with Iris Ceramica.
 
Fence  is the “colour over colour” wall tiling solution that creates a dynamic effect thanks to a wire mesh pattern and a stretched sheet micro-pattern.
The “metal mesh” effect is a direct reference to the world of industrial interior design.
The transparent and overlapping weft, the alternation between full and empty, and the vintage feel are eye-catching aspects and form a pattern with a highly decorative component. It is no wonder that, due to its fascinating design, wire mesh has been used extensively in recent years, especially for furniture and objects such as chairs, lamps and lanterns, coffee tables and vase holders.
Shades, instead, are the most evident feature of the Shades of Blinds slabs: their combination creates an enveloping, deep and refined effect. This collection offers twice as many colours, ranging from extreme Black and White to Blue, Green, Grey and Pink, thanks to the various shades present in the single tile, which naturally vary creating a lighter and darker effect, providing a sense of intimacy and soft lighting.
This chiaroscuro effect is also present in Ribbed Oxide, where the reference element is oxidised sheet metal. In this highly textured design, the effect of time, which has corrugated and moulded the different shades on the metals, is particularly evident.
The Ribbed collection, instead, comes from one of the most typical elements of old abandoned factories, that is fascinating outdoor glass which, in this case, is enhanced by a coat of paint that creates original textures.
 
Iris Ceramica has been a benchmark company in galleries and stands at major trade fairs around the world for many years now, and is now also a leading player in the new showroom of the Iris Ceramica Group holding company in London, in the creative district of Clerkenwell (61-67 Old Street).
Designed by studio Area 17, the prestigious London installation is spread over 3 levels covering an area of almost 600 sq. m. In the exhibition, Iris Ceramica materials, along with the exclusive collections created from the partnership between Diesel Living and Iris Ceramica, offer attractive interior design solutions for any style.

Marco Privato