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Stone continues to be hot. Granite, long time the most sought-after stone product, has begun to slip back while travertine, slate and limestone are gaining popularity. Polished marble is another trend to look for. Up until about five years ago, stone was used primarily as a kitchen backsplash or countertop, but now there is an explosive growth in upscale residential bathrooms, as well as foyers, dining rooms and hallways.

Glass tile’s popularity has been on a steady rise, too. More architects, designers, builders and homeowners are using or are requesting the use of glass tile for its splashy colors, performance and overall versatility. Used for backsplashes, shower walls and as accents on floors, glass tiles add a depth, sparkle and luminescence not found in ceramic or natural stone. When used sparingly, vivid glass tiles can provide exciting visual highlights. Conversely, when covering an entire bathroom wall, glass tile can create a luxurious spa-like atmosphere. Glass tiles are as durable and functional as they are beautiful. Being probably the easiest product in the industry to manufacture and purchase, glass tile not only offers unlimited design capabilities, it’s relatively inexpensive compared to other products. It is a very popular product in residential backsplash remodels and wet areas of the bathroom. The commercial building sector is using glass tile for mosaic glass walls and artistic glass murals for entryways of hotels, restaurants, office buildings, etc.. In the past two years, glass tile has really come into the forefront as a surfacing material for more than just an accent or decoration.

 Metal tiles are used more and more each day for inlays, for backsplashes in kitchens and bathrooms, decorative walls and for wainscots in hallways of public areas, but also on floors. They are elegant, resilient, heat resistant and of course artisan quality. Metal tiles are smooth, radiant, contemporary, and innovative and may also help you achieve balance in your kitchen design when you start to feel overcome by all of the wood. For the urban loft or the suburban ranch, metal tiles appeal to our textural and visual senses and can be designed as funky or finessed as your design tastes allow. The tiles are available in many metals, including bronze, nickel/silver, brass, copper, titanium, zinc and iron rust and can have many different finishes — gloss (polished), matte, satin, antique, rust or rough (sandblasted).

With the latest green trend, recycled metal tiles are making a big entrance. 

Porcelain tiles have gained ground vs. traditional ceramic tile that dominated the market for centuries. For many years porcelain tile was only available for commercial-type products and not well-suited for residential applications. A new technology evolved through which porcelain tiles are glazed and that opened the door for a limitless number of new designs and applications for porcelain. This process produces a frost-proof material that has less than a 0.5 % water absorption rating, and is much more chip-resistant than traditional ceramic tiles.

Tiles emulating wood (and even leather!) have been seen in the market as of late. The newer, higher levels of technologies used in the porcelain tile manufacturing process are enabling manufacturers to create incredibly realistic wood looks which can be taken beyond the place where real wood could actually go — both in look and durability. Tile stands up better under wet conditions, is able to be used outdoors and in commercial situations that could be challenging for wood and is also fire- and frost-proof and does not take the life of a tree, which meets environmental concerns.

Mosaics are the tiles of the moment. They can be stone, porcelain, glass, or metal, with traditional motifs or modern. And shapes range from chipped pieces to squares, rectangles, or circles. Black and white mosaic tiles are very popular and mosaic tiles fit well into more traditional designs as well as modern ones. Rug mosaics are another traditional look gaining popularity and these tile rugs rival the lushness of any Persian one.

A new, hip and very important category in the tile industry is represented by the
ECO-friendly products which are invading and aren’t going to go out of style anytime soon. There are more and more options to choose from: from recycled materials (glass tiles, metal tiles, concrete tiles) to the ones produced from renewable sources (cork tiles, pebble tiles) to manufactured stone made of all-natural ingredients (it’s 30 percent harder than the real thing!) and the new linoleum.

• Terra cotta: warmth, simplicity and timeless beauty are the defining qualities of terra cotta. An ideal backdrop for everything from formal antiques to modern furniture.
• Pebble tiles are a hot flooring option because they can give your bathroom a Zen feel and a natural look which is very desired nowadays. They are used for flooring, baths and showers, countertops and backsplashes, patios and pool decks, pools and spas, interior and exterior walls and water features. Pebble stone tiles bring the textures and colors that only natural stone can, they are beautiful, organic, natural, interesting and highly decorative as well as water resistant, comfortable and safe to walk on.
• For homeowners with adventurous tastes, rubber leather offers a truly different floor. This exotic-looking product comes in rolls or tiles, and while it looks and feels like the finest leather, it wears just like the 100 percent rubber that it is. That means you can wash it down with soap and water and touch it up with occasional waxing.