Fired Earth’s Creative Director, Rob Whitaker shares his experience of using current trends to create contemporary designs with timeless, classic appeal.
I’m inspired by everything from architecture and travel, to old photographs and colours emerging on the catwalks. Versatile palettes of blues, greens and greys are particularly popular at the moment.
We’ve noticed that creative designers are choosing colours that are equally at home in traditional and contemporary environments. Versatility is key and I love how designers are using dramatic blocks of colour on walls or simple accent colours to create a look that is easy to live with and yet full of character.
As a general trend, people are becoming much more confident about experimenting with colour and pattern throughout the home and we’re seeing a rise in popularity of geometric tile designs.
We’ve been looking to North Africa for our inspiration as it’s important that a look has longevity as well as being part of a wider trend (particularly in the case of something like tiles, which are understandably expected to last for years) and these designs have timeless appeal.
For example, the beautiful muted colours and hand decorated patterns of our Casablanca range make a stunning feature, while the Valletta collection of handmade encaustic tiles offers a perfect combination of classic materials and modern pattern.
There’s recently been a noticeable trend towards using decorative tiles in bedrooms and living spaces, rather than just in kitchens, bathrooms and hallways as we’ve traditionally tended to use them in Britain.
Tiles are really taking centre-stage too, and shaped tiles are very much in demand at the moment.
Examples include the exotic curved design of Fired Earth’s Arabesque tiles, and stunning terracotta hexagons which offer a contemporary take on a traditional material.
The introduction of the hexagons to one of our much-loved ranges is an example of how it’s possible to keep pace with trends while offering something timeless and enduring.
