Discover The Marvel of Metallurgy

Right now we’re gasping at Miu Miu’s gold chain-link micro shorts and Louis Vuitton’s goddess metal headpieces. Chanel, too, with their expression of the trend with rust-gold pieces of supreme beauty. Folks, Cyborg Life 2.0 is becoming a thing.

But metallic looks in fashion aren’t anything new. Shimmy and shine entered the eveningwear category in the 1930s and those Hollywood looks moved into glam interiors. A second rise to fame in the 1960s saw daywear shimmer alongside eveningwear... and shimmer power-walked into our homes with space-age everything.

It’s 2023, Siri is no longer surreal, many of us are conversant with ChatGPT, amiable androids as companion robots are ready to positively impact loneliness and stress ... and metallurgy is all over the fashion runways again. We knew we’d be seeing metal looks trend in the interiors world. From shimmering Gold in all her beautiful tone poems, to spotlessly dazzling Stainless Steel, Moody Silver, Lead and Pewter, to the sheen of Copper and Bronze ... and into the utterly extraordinary, transformative world of corroded and oxidised metals.

Metallic looks are huge in 2023 – we saw their emergence at Cersaie 2022 – and we believe they are powerful enough to create permanence, to move from ‘trend’ to ‘look’. So we’re curating a very permanent category in our showrooms and our online store. Welcome to The Metallic Tile Trend and Italtile’s Metallurgy Movement.

Capture the magic of moonbeams with Seattle. Silver and lead each offer their interpretation of the otherworldly sheen reminiscent of the moon reflected in waterscapes. Our spectacular 1200 x 1200 Seattle Glazed Porcelain Tile range brings the alchemy of mirror and metallics to life on porcelain, with a never-before-achieved “metal rainbow” effect. In bright Seattle Silver (like the moon on a clear night) and darker, moodier Seattle Lead (an overcast and stormier shimmer), eco-chic, Spanish-made Seattle will take centre stage and elevate any Urban or Modern space with an appetite for theatricality. An Italtile exclusive that carries the LiveGreen logo.

DripArt by Ceramic San’Agostino. This is a metallic porcelain tile range of staggering beauty. A strong player in legendary Ceramica Sant’Agostino’s tile concept “LiquidGesture”. This idea interprets the fluid effect of corrosive liquid on metals, with distinctive ‘drip’ lines that create powerful verticals and deliver a dynamic, live surface. DripArt is designed to dominate a minimalist, modern or urban aesthetic. Italtile has selected two of DripArt’s transformative metal colours: DripArt Copper (strong coppery tones with distinctive green drip lines) and DripArt Verdigris, which is all about intense, raw blue-green tones.

Interesting to note that Verdigris is the old French word for ‘ the green of Greece’, denoting the colour and texture created by the action of saltwater on old copper). DripArt is a large-format 600 x 1200 tile with 40 faces – which means you get a total of 40 graphic designs in your chosen range colour. Slim chance of any perceived repetition when installed.

Iron-hearted OxidArt, artistically handcrafted by Ceramica Sant’Agostino. Two years in experimentation and graphic development, using fire and acid. The result? An avant-garde take on sheet metal that has seen battle, been exposed to the elements, and survived, with the tell-tale scars of corrosion. The story of the passing of time, mottled and etched, radiating out towards the edges of each tile. There’s a sense of abandoned shipyards and old industrial factories. OxidArt Black, with lighter corrosive graphics, and OxidArt Iron, with darker, contrasting ‘oxidation’, will each bring their bold and unapologetically muscular metallurgy to the fore and elevate any urban, modern or minimalist space.

Each colourway has been worked into deceptively simple patterning; underneath the randomness there’s painstaking attention to detail. With its powerful personality, OxidArt is a solo player as a base canvas, but will layer beautifully with secondary décor tiles, harmonising textures and tones and a few, beautifully curated furniture pieces. As with Sant’Agostino’s DripArt, OxidArt is 600 x 1200 and presents with 40 faces, to provide individual graphic realism on each tile surface. Another Italtile exclusive that will carry the LiveGreen label.

The Metallic Tile Trend offers a powerful aesthetic and should be approached with respect and caution. If you are a lover of traditional Classic Style, these looks may be extremely difficult to pull off without a degree of interior discord... our Metal Look Tile Collection has been curated to elevate Contemporary, Urban, Modernist and Minimalist styles. As with all our signature ranges, we encourage you to speak to our interior design-certified sales consultants before diving in. #just ask