Today’s Tile Addict is inspired by two things. The first is to remind fellow tile enthusiasts that, although wood-effect tiles may have lost their star billing at recent tile exhibitions, ravishing new ranges are still being developed. And, secondly, I felt it was high time to shine the spotlight once more on an Italian manufacturer that has provided me with so much wonderful ceramic eye candy over the past couple of decades, Lea Ceramiche.
The range I want to highlight is Lea’s Bio Select. Like many wood-effect tiles, Bio Select was conceived to recreate the natural elegance of wooden floors, with all their texture and warmth, but on an easy maintenance ceramic material.
It is inspired by oak and walnut. Lea’s research team then conducted a meticulously detailed analysis to create a superb range of colours and designs that has been reproduced on porcelain stoneware using innovative digital printing techniques.
The resulting colours are perfectly calibrated and the grain patterns completely convincing. The designs feature flowing graphics in the case of walnut, and greater irregularity and nuances in the case of oak. But both wood-effects deliver a perfectly harmonious aesthetic across all the base colours.
The collection, available in seven different colours and five different designs, is rich and varied. In the stylistic tradition of Lea Ceramiche, the sizes of the slabs allow numerous laying options, including geometric forms. The ability to lay Bio Select in herringbone or trapezoidal shapes, allow users to feature this ceramic material as a crucial element of an overall interior design.
The floorboards, available in 200 by 1,200mm, 300 by 1,200mm and an impressive 300 by 1,800mm format, provide a natural elegance, and also stand out for the sheer verisimilitude of the timber effects
The collection is rounded off by 300 by 1,200mm plank formats, 20mm thick, which can be used to create seamless continuity between interior and exterior spaces.
A new post by Joe Simpson, Diary of a Tile Addict, December 2018.