FLOORS AND WALLS
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Covering Ground From mossy murals to customizable carpets, exhibitors at IMM’s LivingInteriors embrace the leading trends in flooring and wallcoverings. W O R D S Jane Szita
Florim Ceramiche’s patterned stoneware is available in nine extralarge formats: Magnum Oversize is a range of high-tech porcelain slabs for both commercial and residential projects.
Aleksandra Gaca’s collaboration with Casalis resulted in the company’s decorative 3D Architextiles, which feel both soft and tough. The intriguing wallcoverings provide good acoustic isolation.
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Anything, Anywhere Flexibility is key to floor and wall solutions of the future.
‘FUTURE
surface materials will combine many characteristics,’ says Francis Vercaemst of Casalis. ‘They will have to be flame-retardant, easy to clean, strong and sustainable. High acoustic performance, easy mounting and, of course, flexibility are all attributes that will define the next generation of materials.’ Wall and floor finishes must increasingly be all things to all people – which is not a problem for Casalis’s own Architextiles. These 3D woven fabrics have built-in versatility thanks to their familiar knit-look herringbone motif and neutral palette. They can be used in a wide variety of ways, for everything from beanbags to soundproofing panels. Scalability is also a feature of Florim’s Ceramiche Magnum Oversize slabs: porcelain stoneware tiles that are larger (up to 1.6 x 3.2 m) than any comparable product. All Florim brands – Floor Gres, Rex, Casa Dolce Casa and Casamood – include the jumbo
slabs. With a thickness of just 6 mm, they are easy to cut to any shape or size for use on walls and floors, as well as doors, tables, kitchen counters, fireplaces and even furniture. ‘The extreme practicality of this product, together with the wide range of surfaces on offer, means that we see it being used in highly flexible and personalized ways,’ says Florim’s Silvia Alonzo. The oldest flexible floor covering is the carpet, and JoV is keeping up the tradition with its collection of customizable rugs: hand-tufted, hand-woven, hand-knotted or hand-knitted, they come in wool, silk, linen, mohair and cotton. Customers choose the size, shape, technique, material and colour of their rug, which is then handmade by Portuguese artisans. JoV states that one square metre of each rug takes four to five hours to complete, while assuring us that ‘timing and delivery’ are flexible. According to JoV: ‘A luxury rug is not just decoration but a testimony to taste and character that expresses who you are.’
