A warm and relaxing ambience with wood-effect technical ceramics

Much loved for its timeless appeal, wood is still one of the most sought-after materials for floors and surfaces in general as it has the unique ability to naturally convey warmth and coziness. 

Today, it is quite easy to imagine rooms clad in wood produced in an environmentally friendly way, that is, without cutting down a single tree. This is achieved by using state-of-the-art technical ceramics that are able to reproduce all the main types of natural wood. 

The textures offered are incredibly detailed and are often also textured to the touch: ceramics accurately reproduce unique nuances and characteristic veining, as well as streaks, knots and even natural imperfections. Therefore, technical porcelain stoneware has many advantages over natural wood, which make it preferable to parquet.

 

First and foremost, technical ceramics are far superior to many products for surfaces currently available on the market, including wood, in terms of deep abrasion, water, heat and chemical resistance.
These factors can easily affect natural wood, which very often requires treatment after installation or in the following years. As a result, the strength of technical ceramics and the fact that they do not require maintenance makes them more durable. It is no coincidence that the metaphor “it has the visual impact of wood, but the strength of stone” is often used to describe this combination of performances.

Moreover, these properties make wood-effect technical ceramics perfectly suited to be used for outdoor flooring, where wood clearly highlights the harmonious relationship between man and nature. In order to retain the aesthetic appeal of natural wood, the plank format, typically chosen for the finest parquet floors, is also used, as well as special pieces (for example, block steps and skirting boards) and decorative elements. When it comes to style, as we all know, wood has been used throughout the ages and is still the most widely used material, not only in contemporary furnishing styles but also in more traditional and vintage ones.

 

The brands of the Iris Ceramica Group, a world-leading holding company in the field of ceramics, place great emphasis on the wood effect. This translates into a comprehensive range of solutions with a palette of colors ranging from white wood to wood in shades of red and beige, as well as ebony.

This is the case of Iris Ceramica, a longstanding company whose name encompasses “not only the acronym IRIS - Industrie Rivestimenti Italiani Sassuolo, but also and especially the values embodied by its products: research, design, ‘Made in Italy’ and, above all, the variety of colors”.

As a leader in the manufacturing of ceramics and “Made in Italy” design, this brand offers a variety of wall and floor cladding solutions for indoor and outdoor spaces, available in many different colors, textures and sizes, setting trends over the decades “with collections that have made history and have won international awards and recognition”.

 

Iris Ceramica’s extensive catalogue includes the French Woods and E-Wood collections, which are presented here in the gallery.

French Woods brings back natural wood in six varieties: Beech, Cork, Ebony, Elm, Larch and Olive. In its various textures, the textured look is enhanced by knots and veins, which stand out on a surface that becomes all the more interesting due to weathering and the ravages of time.

Deep and intense, E-Wood comes in five shades (Black, Blonde, Grey, Oak and White), an assortment that allows for a wide range of styles, from classic to modern, and to easily combine furniture in different colors and materials.

In exterior applications, E-Wood retains its expressive qualities, which makes it a high-quality, natural-looking solution suitable for both small and large outdoor projects.