The deVOL Journal

Is Bigger Better?

21st June 2016

By Sophie Mitchell

If you’re an avid reader of interiors magazines, love watching Grand Designs or have any interest in interior design, you are bound to have noticed that the Great British public are well and truly in love with open-plan living. We can’t get enough of spacious kitchen diners; rooms that flow harmoniously from one to the other; patios laid with the same floor to look like an extension of the house; or wide, welcoming hallways.

Laying a space such as this with small floor tiles, can often compromise the look of the room, with lots of grout lines making it look cluttered and busy. You really need a floor that will stand its ground (pardon the pun) and complement and enhance the feeling of size and space.

Knowing that our customers are craving this kind of look, we have introduced a new range of large format porcelain tiles. The tiles are a generous 750x750mm and we’ve fallen a little bit in love with them here in the office!

Although it’s hard to choose, I think my favourite is the Cement Porcelain. As the name suggests, this tile has been designed to recreate that industrial, concrete look which is really on trend at the moment. The tiles have a slightly textured finish and a subtle mottled effect, to give the illusion of a concrete floor. Laying the tiles with a tight grout line, gives the appearance of a seamless, freshly laid cement floor, giving a room that slight edginess if teamed with other industrial touches, but also perfectly at home against more rustic, wood furniture.

The Alabaster Porcelain offers a softer take on the industrial look, with the same texture as the Cement Porcelain, but a much lighter, bone colour. I think this floor would be fab if you wanted a neutral backdrop to make the space more homely with lots of different tones and textures from rugs and textiles, but it would work equally well if you wanted to create a chic, Scandinavian look.

Next up is the Pewter Porcelain, this rich grey tile has a cleverly brushed surface, which gives a really luxurious finish to the tiles. The tiles are very consistent in colour, with the detail coming from the subtly textured surface, so perfect for those who want a simple, contemporary look.

The Gunmetal Grey Porcelain again has a textured, brushed surface, giving an almost leather-like effect. I love the dramatic dark grey colour, which would look amazing if you had a really light, open space, to ground the room and bring a sophisticated feeling to the space.

Finally, we have the Calacatta Porcelain. It takes its name from the renowned Italian marble, on which the design is based. The striking grey veins on the crisp white background look amazing, and I could really imagine these tiles in an opulent en suite or bathroom. If you have a solid wall, the tiles can also be used on the wall, which would make an amazing feature behind a bath or shower.

One of the best things about these tiles, is that they can be used externally as well as internally. So if, like so many of our customers, you are planning an extension to create a kitchen diner, with bifold doors leading out onto the patio, then these tiles are perfect. I love this look (often called an ‘infinity finish’) as it brings cohesion to the property and really unites the inside with the outside, to make the room appear even bigger. Especially when you can throw open the doors on a hot summer’s day. Bliss!

All the tiles are priced at £35 per sqm, inc VAT, and you can order samples, see more pictures and read more information over on our porcelain page. If do have any more questions, please give us a call 01509 234000.