If you need some serious tile inspiration, look no further! We’re here to show you the latest and greatest looks from Coverings 2023.
If you haven’t heard of it before, Coverings is an exposition held within the ceramic tile and natural stone industry. It’s the largest show of its kind in North America, and more than 1000 global exhibitors from 40 countries gather there each year. So, what better place than Coverings to find new, breathtaking tile and stone options?
Without any further ado, let’s take a look at the latest in tile designs and innovations.
1. Natural Aesthetics
One popular look this year was tile in the style of wood, as seen in this bathroom from Floor and Décor (image courtesy of flooranddecor.com)
At last year’s expo, natural palettes and earth tones emerged in popularity. For 2023, that popularity is continuing to grow. Coverings 2023 showcased a lot of new tiles designed with wood looks, plant motifs, and natural colors.
Plant tiles like this one from Floor and Décor were very popular this year (image courtesy of Floor and Decor)
For wood looks, three popular styles were parquet, herringbone, and banding looks. Some new tile designs even mimic hardwood flooring, like this one from tile.co.uk:
A parquet tile floor, designed to look like hardwood (image courtesy of tile.co.uk)
So why all the interest in wood lookalikes? Well, wood trend comes a porcelain tile becoming a popular alternative to hardwood or vinyl flooring. For health and environmentally conscious homeowners, porcelain is emerging as the leading flooring choice for both wellness and sustainability. While carpet and other flooring can retain bacteria or allergens, porcelain tile is hypoallergenic. Plus, it doesn’t emit harmful substances into the air over time due to the lack of chemical additives or toxins during the manufacturing process.
There’s also the added financial benefit. For showers, tiles that look like wood can be cheaper than waterproof wood like teak!
2. Glitter and Gold
Iris Ceramica’s new tile dubbed Terrecotte Oro is a beautiful gold, with a mirrored finish (image courtesy of Iris Ceramica)
Last year, we saw an emergence in mirrored and glimmering tiles. They ranged the full spectrum of colors, from gold, to silver, to some that even had an iridescent finish.
In contrast, this year’s glimmering tiles were pared down to mostly golds and gold streaks. One standout was Terrecotte Oro from the award-winning Iris Ceramica group. Their Terrecotte Oro tiles keep the mirrored look of some of our past favorites, and work beautifully as a glamorous accent tile.
3. Outdoor Looks
At Edimax Ceramiche Astor’s award-winning booth, they showed off their new tile, “Nuances,” as an outdoor walkway solution (image courtesy of Edimax Ceramiche Astor)
We’re also beginning to see more outdoor tile designs, like Nuances by Edimax. The porcelain tile is also fit for indoor use, but in their booth, they showed it off as a great option for your yard.
Peronda’s new tile, Cluny, is designed for adaptive slip resistance – it feels smooth until it gets wet (image courtesy of peronda.com)
Edimax wasn’t the only group trending towards the outdoors, either. This year, Peronda came out with the Cluny tile – a new tile that’s smooth until it gets wet. After it makes contact with water, it becomes slip resistant. That makes it both an innovative bathroom tile, and a great option for outdoor paths.
Indoor-outdoor tiles like the Legions Collection from MSI were on display at Coverings 2023 (image courtesy of msisurfaces.com)
Another popular trend this year is indoor-outdoor tile for a continuous look between spaces. In the case of these quartz white tiles from MSI Surfaces, the look is accomplished through the use of two materials. One is the indoor tile, and the other is the outdoor porcelain “paver,” which is thicker than its indoor counterpart.
4. Squares and Curves
Wow Design’s new aquarelle tiles (image courtesy of wowdesigneu.com)
Previously, geometric trends with smaller mosaic tiles were emerging in popularity. Now, those intricate geometrics are moving aside in favor of more rectangular, brick-shaped tiles.
One twist on the brick tile was shown by Wow Design. Their Aquarelle collection features rectangular tiles with a smooth contour.
Plus, as an eye-catching alternative to mosaics, Wow Designs’ booth featured square tiles arranged with rounded designs painted on top.
The Wow Designs booth was all about square and rectangular tiles in 2023 (Images courtesy of Wow Designs)
So, rather than a mosaic made of circular tiles, the painted designs allow for a more abstract look. Plus, for a more textured look, they also displayed tiles from their Casbah collection, pictured on the right. The carved square relief tiles add fun patterns to a space, reminiscent of a jigsaw puzzle.
Honorable Mentions
Iris Ceramica’s award winning booth, featuring walls of glimmering, square tiles (Image courtesy of Iris Ceramica)
Beyond just new tile, we also saw astounding innovations in natural stone at Coverings. Iris Ceramica showed their Hypertouch system, which integrates lighting, climate, and other controls into its porcelain surfacing.
Sustainability and environmental features were also major themes at this year’s event. Tile and natural stone were on display as a fireproof exterior cladding solution for home exteriors.
That’s all the innovations from this year! Check back in with us for more design trends in 2024. Plus, be sure to check out our previous articles on Outdoor Kitchen Trends and Modern Lighting Solutions for even more design inspiration.
