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Don’t be so square. Mosaic tile offers possibilities for focal walls, sensational ceilings and even furniture.
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Mosaic tile has surfaced as one of the hot products for 2009. It offers an aesthetic scope that leaves marble and granite in the dust and a bottom-line appeal that stretches shrinking budgets. With innovations like the roll-out of Feel, Trend Group's new recycled glass collection, it even has the right earth-friendly credentials. All of this, combined with its versatility and ease of installation, is firing up designers' imaginations for new-wave applications.
"Did you ever sit on a recycled glass leaf? All you need is a wooden bench cut into the right shape, then covered with recycled green mosaic tiles applied with the proper adhesive ," says Federica Bisazza, head of Trend's Image division in Vicenza, Italy. Or create a mosaic ceiling. How about shaping water-jet cut agglomerates (a slab of mixed recycled materials) into an artistic design for the reception desk or spa counter? There are really no restrictions on where you can take mosaics."
With the silky look and variegated colors produced by using recycled bottles as its core component, Trend's Feel collection also opens up fresh ways of working with tiles on walls and floors. Color mixing with the mosaics is an easy way to develop a sense of depth and three-dimensionality.
"You can realize a green wall using five or 10 different shades of green without even perceiving the individual hues," says Bisazza. Tiles can be lined up from the deepest to the brightest tones with each set staggered for a rippling effect. Grout colors can enhance or underscore their pixeling effect against tile colors and in combination with furniture.
Creating contrast is right on trend. But bold's not the only way to go. The Feel collection's black, white and gray palette laid out along clean grid lines complements art deco or industrial looks. But overlaying a stylized white pattern on black, for example, offers an interesting wallpaper alternative that can add art nouveau elegance or baroque opulence to bathrooms, wet rooms and high-traffic, high-touch public areas. More contemporary statements start with options like Feel's earthy palette of greens and browns inspired by land and blues that recall the sea.
Bisazza advises that designers consider the repeat and the scale of surface to be covered-both up close and from across the lobby or spa-to determine which blends of shades and pattern best deliver the design message. The reflective quality of the glass tiles should work with the selection and direction of the space's lighting design to change the ambience throughout the day.
Durable and weather-resistant, mosaics artfully transition indoor to outdoor spaces without losing continuity. Walkways that spill out from restaurants to terraces are just a starting point. Murals, sculptures, seating and sculpture gardens can carry the identity of dining or function space into beautifully landscaped grounds. "First, make sure the tile is up to the climate challenge," says Bisazza. For example, Feel's ¾-in.-by- ¾-in. tiles are made to resist chemical agents, thermal shocks, water absorption and frost.
When using tiles on cement surfaces, Bisazza suggests using cement-based adhesives , not the epoxy usually required most other surfaces, including wood. Mastic yellows with age, she cautions. On the horizon are new green adhesives that can stand up to hotel's durability requirements and the toughest heat and humidity challenges from guest bathrooms to spas.
Above all, "Play!" says Bisazza. Trend's web site encourages just that with a feature called "Build Your Trend." Designers can custom-mix colors and shades and test their ideas. "The idea now is to go for striking effects. But achieving them has to be done responsibly," says Bisazza. "The most contemporary materials should still use natural resources as efficiently as possible."
SPEC SHEET
PRODUCT: Feel mosaic tiles
COMPANY: Trend Group, Vicenza; subsidiaries are Trend USA, Miami, and Trend Australia, Sydney
DESCRIPTION: Eco-friendly tile collection crafted from recycled glass bottles.
DETAILS OF NOTE: Tiles are available in 12 colors derived from natural shades including black, white and gray. Standard size is ¾-in.square. Options range from single colors to 26 intricate patterns. The collection contains a minimum of 80 percent post-consumer recycled glass.
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