A number of recent projects offer an opportunity to see how Tonalite collections can be used to create public spaces of bold personality.
Ristorante Montalgeto
Let’s start with the two halls of a restaurant on the hills of Carmignano (Prato) in Tuscany, which we have already discussed in an article. Here, the Joyful series in the colour Cherry is used to cover a bench running right along a whole wall, to create a bumper band all around the perimeter of the halls and to skilfully coordinate other details. Their small size (10×20) turns out to be sufficiently versatile for all these uses, while colour introduces a key to the restaurant’s identity with warm, cosy spaces. Finally, the glossy finish introduces a lively note, balancing the matt finish of the terra cotta floor tiles.
Maniboo Nail Spa
Pink, grey and white: these are the key hues in the colour palette Studio 10 came up with for the Maniboo nail spa in Forte dei Marmi. Very much aware of the emotional and aesthetic aspects of interior design, the architects chose medium grey from the Examatt collection (in the Exatarget pattern) for the floor. A matt finish with a decidedly contemporary look creates a fresh, welcoming surface that translates not only into fullness of colour but into the material qualities characteristic of top-quality ceramic, the kind that represents nothing but itself. As the architects say in this brief interview, Exatarget adds new dynamism and vibration to the laying scheme, thanks to the white trim tracing its hexagonal shape, creating the sensation that the shop is expanding outwards in all directions.
Dimora Manfredo Luxury eco b&b
The architect who designed this B&B in San Nicola Arcella (CS) chose the Exanuance and Arabesque collections to cover the bathrooms and the heads of the beds in one of the bedrooms. The inspiration for the choice of colours was a chromatic criterion: the hues the architect used recall the colours of the earth, sea and sky. The matt surface captures light and returns full-bodied colours in a vast range of different hues. The sensation of continuing to surround yourself with the colours of nature even when indoors is very strong, underlined by the choice of materials. The laying scheme is left open to give the bathrooms a particularly refined, modern look. As we noted in this article, the open laying scheme breaks up the frame that traps the eye, attracting attention to the ceramic surface which, rather than a mere backdrop, comes into the foreground and dominates the space.
These three public spaces confirm that a solid design concept can make use of ceramic surface coverings to go beyond its own conventions and create unique, original spaces.
