As we continue our WDM Café and Restroom Feature: Workplace Edition, Ted Moudis‘ Nicole Zack is transitioning the conversation from Cafés to restrooms with this Cersaie 2024 recap. Stay tuned for more insight on the workplace restroom.
Cersaie, the international exhibition for ceramic tiles and bathroom furnishings, pushes the boundaries of tile design by blending technological advancements with natural and tactile aesthetics. This year’s trends highlight a growing desire for authenticity in design, achieved through advanced production techniques and respect for the tradition of the Italian tile industry.
Technology Imitating Authenticity
One of the most significant takeaways from Cersaie is the merging of technology with authenticity. Advanced digital imaging has revolutionized the ability to replicate natural materials, allowing tiles to mimic the textures and appearances of stone and wood with stunning realism. Earthy beige tones, caramel hues and structured brown veins are prevalent, leaving behind the cool grey tones from previous years.
This trend, combined with 3D printing texture technology, brings lifelike patterning and veining. Manufacturers create high-resolution reproductions of sought-after natural stones like Calacatta Viola, Taj Mahal, and Onyx variations. These tiles capture the rare beauty of these stones without depleting natural resources, combining luxury with sustainability.
Imperfect Perfection
Another trend embraced tactile design in contrast to the sleek modern minimalism. Tactile tiles with raked finishes, pleats, and handcrafted effects bring warmth of texture to the spaces they inhabit. These surfaces evoke the sensation of touching natural elements of rough sand or smooth stone encouraging us to engage with the materials around us. 
Irregular, hand-tooled or painted tiles that show natural variations align with a growing appreciation for craftsmanship and authenticity, offering a richness that mass-produced products previously lacked.
Embracing Earthy Warmth
Color is also shifting in notable ways, with warm, earthy 
palettes taking center stage this year. This shift also mirrors the trends seen at Salone del Mobile, where earthy tones and natural materials dominated the color scene, repeated colors embraced hues of terracotta, butter yellow, marigold, sage olives, and denim blue. Colors were not only seen in the tiles but in the bathroom furnishings as well. Bathroom furnishings were a spectrum of muted pastels to saturated vibrant colors as an opportunity for bold expression against the tile backdrops. The overall color trends suggest a continued focus on calm, subdued hues that create serene, inviting environments.
Seamless Maxi Formats
Another clear trend from Cersaie is the increase of large-format tiles, which are increasingly favored for their ability to create seamless, expansive surfaces. Tiles in sizes up 10’ reduce grout lines, creating a fluid, uninterrupted look. This trend reflects the broader minimalist aesthetic, where clean lines and continuous surfaces define modern interiors on the wall, floor, countertops, joinery and beyond.
Sustainable Craftsmanship
Sustainability was front and center, especially with a focus on eco-conscious manufacturing processes. Thinner tiles that use fewer raw materials, reduction and circularity of water use, with renewable energy sources align with the Ceramics of Italy sustainability efforts to reduce its environmental footprint. 
This focus on sustainability is not just about materials but also in the production process. The tile industry is responding with innovations that prioritize both beautiful design and environmental impact in the Sassuolo district.
Cersaie set the tone for a future where tile design is rooted in a balance between technology and tradition, between innovation and authenticity, and between beauty and community. As the industry embraces advanced production techniques, it simultaneously reconnects with the tactile, the imperfect, and the handmade. This fusion of innovation and authenticity is forward focused and deeply respectful of the past.
