Petrous showroom, Toronto

At the showroom for Petrous, purveyor of stone products to the building and design trades, the goal was to allow the client to display as much product as possible without making the space seem cluttered. The 1,500-square-foot display area showcases porcelain, glass and stone tiles – and their vivid colours and patterns – as if they were paintings in an art gallery.

Bisazza glass mosaics make up the front reception wall and a rear-wall mural. Polished marble slabs cover full-height wall surfaces. Honed marble-tile flooring showcases a Petrous product in a real-life application. Centre panels exhibit granite, onyx, marble and travertine. Pivoting side panels allow visitors to move, touch and compare products.

A marble-slab worktable at the back of the showroom, supported by structural H-beams, demonstrates the elegance and apparent weightlessness achievable with marble products.

Sorensen: It can be really difficult to show product. This showroom makes it seem easy.

Kruse: When you look at a tile and open the pivoting panel, there’s a sense of discovery.

Taylor: As a tile showroom, this is great. Still, there’s this incredibly sensuous entry area with the tiles that you can sit on, and it’s never repeated. Maybe if they had done something more organic-looking in the central display piece, the project would seem more unified.

Rock: Maybe they only had the budget to be sensuous in the front of the store.