Totalook: interview with the designer
Bathroom renovations: Five tips for walls and floors
Every room in the house begins to show its age as time passes, and we are all able to remember the original look of each room, when its anonymous walls were transformed into a personal refuge, until changes and ageing gradually began to show their face. Refreshing the rooms where we live periodically during the course of our lives is something we should not shy away from: it is, in some way, useful both for purely esthetic reasons – a breath of fresh air is calming just to look at – and for health in general, and not just that of the house. Restoring the salubrity of a room has an all-round positive effect on our lives, as long as materials able to guarantee long-lasting reliability are chosen. This is even more true when trying to restore the luster to rooms requiring particular attention: renovation of a bathroom or kitchen, for example, merits high-quality materials which protect safety at all times, and for a long time.
Renovating bathroom floors while saving money
The bathroom, in particular, requires time and money at periodic intervals: this is inevitable, since it is one of the most frequently used areas of the house, and therefore requires greater care to be taken in its management, in order to ensure an appropriate level of hygiene. This frequency inevitably leads to accentuated wear of the materials used in the room: on the floor, common glazed tiles, for example, become dull and lose their appeal, while the grout joints become dirty. Wood – an audacious choice in a bathroom – must be treated frequently to prevent it absorbing water, expanding and lifting and becoming a health and hygiene hazard. Masonry walls can absorb moisture in poorly ventilated bathrooms particularly, causing deterioration and even leading to formation of hazardous molds. It is clear that, particularly for reasons of safety, scheduled reconditioning works will be required, with the risk of high costs. This does not mean that it is not possible to make savings however, but certainly not by choosing poor quality materials: in order to avoid spending painful amounts, and even worse having to do so regularly, it is as important as ever to focus on floor and wall coverings of certified quality, which are guaranteed to be tough and long-lasting even with heavy and intensive use. This will mean they need replacing less frequently, while still guaranteeing the highest levels of performance. Porcelain stoneware is the best choice for bathroom renovations.
Renovating bathroom floors while saving time
Time is money, as the saying goes, and this is very true in residential projects as well: the less time taken, the greater the savings will be both in purely financial terms, as well as long-term stress and worry. Renovation of bathroom floors using Emilgroup porcelain stoneware tiles is undoubtedly the simplest and most practical choice, and allows for a clean installation which minimizes the risk of mistakes and inaccuracies thanks to a wide range of formats – including special pieces such as baseboards and step tiles with corner extensions – designed for the utmost flexibility in combinations. A characteristic guaranteed not only for the technical aspect but also in terms of visual appeal, which never takes second place thanks to different color assortments and design motifs for each solution.
A practical example can be found in the Totalook by Emilceramica collection, the perfect choice for bathroom renovations: inspired by the versatility of resin with a clean and sleek design, this range encompasses a complete range of matching ceramic materials, intended to satisfy the most widely varying interior design needs. Totalook is a design system in its own right, with five elegant colors: Bianco, Sabbia, Grigio, Antracite and Blu Avio, incorporating a meticulous study of the colors and styles of a variety of materials. The association of different materials which can nevertheless be fully coordinated creates a collection whose strength lies in various peculiarities: ResinSoft tiles for example, are soft and comfortable, with a uniform surface ideal for metropolitan interiors in severe, minimalist style; ResinTecnica has outstanding non-slip properties, making it perfect for frequently cleaned spaces; the Incroci motif (40x80) is reminiscent of a honeycomb pattern, which can be fully and hygienically cleaned; the Dolcelinea option (30x60) features a series of multi-level horizontal lines, able to provide a sense of movement to the bathroom walls; ResiNatural, in 120x120 and 60x120 large formats, offers the purity of resin in dialogue with light, for a discreet, elegant environment. Design features are not lacking, with strong geometric rigor which nevertheless marries perfectly with the most recent trends: this is continuous with Cubo (20x20), which offers the collection’s color choices with a profound level of depth; Mosaico Sagoma (30x30) enucleates three cubes for an installation pattern with a strongly three-dimensional character. But the possibilities do not end there. Totalook offers a collection of 30x30 mosaic dot tiles, and majolica tiles, Matt (with matt finish) and Lux (with glossy finish) in 6x24 rectangular format, which allow for complete color combinations, ideal for renovating bathrooms in a more traditional style which does not completely leave out an on-trend touch.
Tips for small bathrooms
Porcelain stoneware is an excellent solution to protect you from worries and frequent maintenance requirements, even when it comes to renovating small rooms: small bathrooms can nevertheless have significant cleaning and care requirements. You can take advantage of the chance to replace your bathroom wall and floor tiles while providing a feeling of space and depth with the right combination of porcelain stoneware tiles able to create an illusion of spaciousness: it may seem difficult, but you just need a few simple tips with the right collection of Emilgroup tiles. Take Re-Play Concrete by Provenza for example: this collection takes its inspiration from industrial architecture, interpreting the strong, contemporary personality of concrete to create a complete, versatile design with structured colors and volumes. The color range comprises six extremely versatile, elegant solutions (Sand, White, Grey, Dark Grey, Verdigris, Anthracite): exciting, bright shades that can be easily combined, ideal for expanding space and giving interiors a sophisticated, distinctive mood. Here, the strength lies in simplicity: uniform surfaces in which light provides new space and life even for the most cramped rooms, without giving up on the practicality and strength typical of porcelain stoneware – significantly greater than natural concrete left on show. There are three designs which can be combined as desired: Recupero (in 80x160, 80x80, 120x120, 60x120, 60x60 and 30x60 formats), a distressed-style finish reminiscent of worn concrete; Cassaforma Flat (60x120, 30x60), which reproduces the board-marked concrete effect, inspired by a construction technique; and Cassaforma 3D (80x160, 60x120), which adds volume and textural irregularity to the Cassaforma formwork effect, with patterning corresponding to a surface structure that creates a 3D effect. Rounding off the collection are a set of mosaics and a set of offset strip tiles with Recupero effect: this unusual effect can be used to tile a shower or backsplash, for example.
Tips for large bathrooms
You may, however, be faced with the need to remodel a large bathroom, where space is not one of the main issues. In this kind of bathroom, a shower may be open and in view, so it makes sense to enhance it not with the use of small-format or mosaic tiles, but rather with wide large-format tiles or slabs which bring out the generous space; in the same manner, the wall on which the sanitary fixtures are hung could be sacrificed with the use of small strip tiles, and so benefit from a more spacious and uniform choice. And that’s not to mention the floor: with a large surface area, renovating a bathroom floor will require large-format tiles, with discreet but noteworthy motifs.
One of the Emilgroup collections which can assist in such a situation is Unique Travertine by Provenza, an evocative and versatile range which is able to reinterpret a classic material in an original and modern key: travertine, the classic and timeless limestone. The range is made up of numerous different options, in four different color schemes (White, Silver, Cream, Chocolate): from the most natural (Vein Cut), with the familiar lengthwise vein pattern created by cutting in the vein direction, to the most essential (Minimal), inspired by the way the underside of the travertine slab is shaped, to a more unusual version (Ruled), with its many three-dimensional grooves and ruts, and the distressed look (Ancient), with a sophisticated effect ideal for period renovations and projects with a vintage mood. In order to make the most of large rooms, the available Unique Travertine formats can make the difference: the 90x180 (in light White and Cream color schemes, and Minimal and Vein Cut finishes) and 90x90 porcelain stoneware slabs (Minimal White and Cream), with an installation pattern which minimizes grout joints, can contribute to creating an endless, vanishing effect, guaranteeing flair and continuity. Smaller formats are still available, however, including mosaics both in traditional and staggered strip styles, lending an air of dynamism to wall or floor layouts.
06 September 2021
Magazine
From our blog