As economies continue to reopen, more and more workers are transitioning from the home office back to the traditional setting. Commercial interior design trends present innovative strategies for creating physical environments that bring people back together.
While whites and neutrals used to be standard color choices in workplace interiors, many companies are now introducing bolder color schemes in their designs, whether renovating an existing office building or acquiring new office space. Every designer knows that color and mood are inextricable. The emergence of color in commercial design may indicate the pure joy born of gathering once more in person after two long years of separation and isolation. Even if it’s just a desire to add a touch of whimsy, vibrant hues are an excellent way for designers to inspire optimism in commercial interiors.
We still love our neutrals, and we have plenty of fabulous ones to choose from, but here are some great options to consider if you are intrigued with the idea of sparking joy through color in your next commercial office design project.
COLORI
Colori is a colorful collection of porcelain primary hues — the ultimate palette with a spectrum of options.
PASTEL
There’s nothing subtle about the shiny, saturated palette of this versatile subway tile line. Convey your distinct style with Pastel’s lush, gloss-infused hues.
MURAL
Mural brings the bold colors of nature to your interior design with a daring collection of polished, 24×48 tiles.
FREESTYLE
Stylize your walls with dimensional decoration in a rainbow of cosmopolitan colors in our Freestyle collection.
GIO is your gateway to beautifully designed, strategically selected collections of floor and wall tile sure to fit your demanding specification requirements and unique style. We look forward to working with you!
Ceramic tile—including the exceptionally high-performing porcelain tile category—is without a doubt, the right choice in a post-COVID world. When it comes to commercial surfacing, tile is especially a no-brainer for floors, and it should be for walls as well. Tile has many advantages over other wall surface materials such as paint, wallpaper, wood, and brick to name a few.
Porcelain tiles are hygienic, extremely durable, easy to clean and maintain, fireproof, and resistant to fading, moisture, and odors. The material is environmentally friendly because it emits no VOCs, doesn’t require the use of caustic cleaners, and doesn’t require the destruction of other natural resources like wood or plant material.
And as for the cost compared to these other materials? When you consider the life cycle, long-term performance, durability, and easy maintenance of tile over the other materials often used for walls, tile is actually very cost-effective in the long haul. So what’s not love about tile for walls? Tile design has come a very long way from the bland commercial looks of the old days. When you factor in the extraordinary array of colors, patterns, and designs available that rival the detail of many traditional wall covering materials, there is absolutely nothing not to love about tile for walls.
Here’s a look at some of our tile styles for achieving fashion-forward looks with the performance characteristics your commercial design projects demand.
Bold Stone Styles
Make a statement on a wall or any vertical surface with dramatic stone looks, like these selections from our Mural, Rex, and Matera collections.
Mural in Aqua OnyxRex in Black Polished BookmatchMatera iin Anthracite
Subway Tiles with a Twist
Subway tile is classic, but as with many classics, it’s often a new twist given to the “expected” that makes the designs endure. Here’s a look at some of our fun and exciting takes on subway tile: Pastel, Lustro, Naxos, Subway, and Brick_Mood. Discover more subway tile styles here.
Pastel in AquaLustro in Light GreyNaxos in GreySubway in Architectural Grey BrightBrick_Moode in Black Glossy and Matte
3D & 3D ILLUSIONS
Thanks to the Art Deco revival going on, the three-dimensional geometric surface trend has resurfaced. You’ll find both actual and trompe l’oeil 3D tiles riding the wave of popularity. Our Arté and Rombo collections answer this trend to create big wow factors in both retro and modern design schemes.
Arté in DoveRombo in Sky
Artsy Wood Looks
Wood-look tiles are now a mainstay for floors, but they are a great alternative surface for walls, too. Wood tiles have become so realistic since they first arrived on the scene that even touching them often does not reveal their porcelain secret. We’ll always love a traditional wood look tile, but we’re also taken by artful, edgy renditions that offer the back-to-nature warmth we crave with something new and unexpected. Some of our favorite wood looks for walls are Tigerwood, Paintwood, and Char. See all of our wood-look tile collections here.
Tigerwood in SaddlePaintwood in VintageCHAR by GIO in Auburn
We hope you’ve enjoyed this look at some of our commercial-grade tile products for walls! Click here to see all our collections suitable for vertical surfaces. Samples for these lines, in addition to all our tile collections, are available free to the trade. Contact us anytime – we’re here to work with you!
Back in 2018, we published a blog about the rise of resimercial design (the trend of bringing home-like comforts into the workplace). Resimercial design is a marriage of commercial durability with a residential feel, a style that celebrates residential-inspired features over the standardized feel of traditional corporate designs and furnishings. We wrote:
“Home-like environments in the office can lead to more comfortable, and presumably, happier workers. And happy workers, according to current theories, work harder.”
Four years later, and more than two years into the global COVID-19 pandemic, resimercial design has new significance and is more important than ever. We’ve grown accustomed to the comforts of home because we’ve been working from home. Now, as we begin to shift to in-person work environments, adaptation is key to supporting the transition back to the office. Employees want and expect comfort rather than a stark, cold atmosphere, and they crave diversity and choice in where and how they work.
When merging residential and workplace elements, it’s important to understand that office still has to function primarily as a workplace. Residential aspects of design that are incorporated into the office must be flexible enough to be comfortable but should satisfy ergonomic needs as well as the integration of technology. And furnishings and surfaces that feel like home must be able to withstand the wear and tear of a demanding commercial environment.
Here’s a look at some of our tile collections that will lend a residential feel while offering low maintenance and durability for the long haul.
Wood Looks
There’s no doubt about it, wood surfacing is probably one of the top choices for injecting a homey feel into an office environment, But who wants or needs the upkeep to maintain them? We offer a range of wood look porcelain tiles, from incredibly realistic incarnations to more artistic interpretations, all designed to deliver warmth and inject a home-like vibe into any commercial space.
Tigerwood captures the varied graining, rings, and wavy wooden hues of a revered Brazilian hardwood species, offered in plank sizes for flawless installations.
Tigerwood in Saddle 6x 36 Rectified
Versailles masterfully replicates centuries-old parquet in a range of looks featuring modern planks, criss-cross, and inlay designs —stunning style for the modern traditionalist.
Versailles, 24×24 Grey Rectified Inlay
Atelier goes minimal for maximum style, and the result is flawless Norwegian chic in four fresh, lightly grained hues available in standard or chevron planks.
Remember when offices were mostly beige? Not any more. Injecting color into an office design scheme is a great way to amp up the residential feel, and we have the tile collections to do just that.
Vitro glass tile for walls is offered in crystalline colors with shimmering or frosty finishes. The line is thoroughly modern and available in both mosaic modular sizes.
Vitro, Aqua Mini Brick Mosaic
The rainbow reigns in this colorful collection of porcelain primary hues. Colori offers the ultimate palette with a spectrum of options for any fanatic of chromatic design.
Nature
We’re always trying to bring the outside into our homes, and the commercial office should be no different. Biophilic design elements, which replicate the sensations of the natural world, also contributes significantly to our productivity.
Mural brings the bold art of nature to your wall-to-wall interior design with this daring collection of polished, 24×48 tiles in two stunning groupings–sumptuous marbles and two animal-inspired styles.
Mural, Aqua Onyx 24×48 Polished & Rectified
Rex is a stunning vein-cut onyx look interpreted in enduring porcelain. Offered in four lush neutrals in a polished or matte finish, Rex is classic, sexy, and bold.
Rex, Black 24 x 48 Polished and Rectified Bookmatch Field Tile
Many companies have successfully invested in resimercial design for their offices so that workers can relax and collaborate more naturally. There’s really no argument—making the workplace feel like home is a big step in the right direction for transitioning employees back to the office, while increasing retention, productivity, and creativity in the long term.
GIO is your gateway to beautifully designed, strategically selected collections of floor and wall tile sure to fit your demanding specification requirements and unique style. We look forward to working with you!
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