Join the tile high club
KELLY Hoppen is known for turning interior design on its head and this time she’s done it with tiles: intricate, wooden tiles in geometric patterns for walls, floors, ceilings and more. “I think it’s the new wallpaper, really,” she says of her collaboration with wood flooring company Hakwood.
“I came up with this concept to do wood tiles in four different sizes, in different colour wood, that people could use on their walls, floors or ceilings to create the kind of patterns that people like to do but often find difficult.”
They are the first ready-made multicoloured patterned wood tiles, she says, available in combinations of taup, black and silver or “grey, black and white, which I love”.
Available by the square metre, they can be used anywhere. “Have a strip on a wall, or a headboard. Say it’s in an entrance hall, with a mirror; you’re creating this length.
“Or, better still, for a wall – have it raised so it’s slightly in relief.”
Cheaper than laying individual pieces of wood, they quickly make an impact.
Alternatively, mix patterned porcelain tiles with plain colours to maintain visual balance and harmony, says James Bacon at Stoke-based Tons Of Tiles.
“With many tile ranges now offering the same finish in several sizes it is easy to keep the overall aesthetic without it becoming overwhelming by simply using a different size on the walls and floors to distinguish between the two,” he adds.
‘I think it’s the new wallpaper, really’