Stone
Gatsby proud
The Atelier Collection of stone tiles is the result of collaboration between two Montreal-based companies, Mosaique Surface and interior design firm Blazys/Gérard, and is a vibrant homage to the fashion industry with strong French Art Deco influences. www.mosaiquesurface.com
The bee’s knees
The honeycomb trend is back (or arguably never left) and Québec-based Ceratec has jumped on it in a big way with the new Twist series. Available in three classic yet complimentary colours of white, gray and black, the hex is moving out of the bathroom and can create strong geometric décor patterns anywhere. www.ceratec.com
Take me to the river
TheSize, Spanish designer and manufacturer of the Neolith brand, was inspired by silver travertine marble when developing the new Strata Argentum, defined by delicate, horizontal-veined white and silver lines that mimic the beauty of Italian marble in a durable, sintered compact surface. Available in a Riverwashed finish, Strata Argentum replicates the original texture of natural stone at its rawest state. www.thesize.es
Energico in stone
Opus, designed by Raffaello Galiotto for Italian industrial stone firm Lithos Design, consistently pushes the envelope when it comes to marble flooring optics, and with the new Tangram series ups the ante yet again. Broken down shapes focusing on the contrast between delicate shades of colour and bolder colourful brush-strokes define this series and challenge the eye. www.lithosdesign.com
Tile
Added valu(a)
Rubber flooring heavyweight Nora Systems brings the natural world into healthcare settings with the new Noraplan Valua. A colour palette of 32 nature-inspired hues and a rougher texture reminiscent of natural rubber, even the name carries the connotation: ‘valua’ means ‘flow’ in Finnish, and is meant to convey the idea that natural rubber flows directly from the tree into this product. www.nora.com
Squaring off
American Biltrite has introduced 18”x18” tiles to its TecCare Floating Floor System, which was previously only available in planks. The line will now include a palette of four classic and contemporary tile patterns for a total of 16 new colours, and still use the “floor in a box” concept combining a recycled underlayment along with “peel and stick” tiles in one carton. www.american-biltrite.com
Get grounded
Minerality, a new flooring system by Johnsonite, brings linear and striated visuals to rubber tiles and planks reminiscent of the natural grain of wood and stone materials, and is ideal for environments like healthcare or retail where slip resistance and shock-absorbing qualities are desired. www.tarkettna.com
Walking on rainbows
The new Eternal collection from Forbo Flooring Systems utilizes some of the most advanced digital printing technology, resulting in striking visuals. Subtle colour gradients can run along the full length of a roll with no pattern repeat over a 10 metre length, and custom tailoring can put almost anything in your mind onto the floor. www.forbo-flooring.com
Carpet
Doubling up
J+J Flooring Group’s newest Kinetex 24” x 24” modular carpet products, Analog and Analog Mono, share similar patterning and eight common core colours per style, which allows the duo colouring of Analog to fluidly interact with the solid companions of Mono, and vice versa. www.jj-kinetex.com
Prêt-à-porter
Kumo, which means “cloud” in Japanese, is a new flat weave rug collection designed by mist-o, the Italian-Japanese duo of Tommaso Nani and Noa Ikeuchi in collaboration with Italian brand Living Divani. It takes inspiration from the fabrics used for kimono, and attempts to bring the lightness and simplicity of a pattern that is usually worn to one now underfoot. www.livingdivani.it
Steppe in the right direction
The silk and wool blend Steppe carpet from Toronto-based Weavers Art is a visceral design inspired by the rugged grassland terrain and employs a cheerful colour pallet that hints at the first sign of springtime greenery. www.weaversart.com
Diver Down
Milliken’s newly launched Whale Song collection illustrates the melodic beauty and complexity of the sea’s oldest composers. Stretched and elongated or pixelated to convey greater definition, each of the collection’s four standard patterns – Orca, Narwhal (shown), Humpback and Beluga – offers its own perspective to the floor. millikenfloors.com
Wood
Selling Seashells
Canadian manufacturer Lauzon Flooring wants you to think peaceful, rippled sandy beaches when you look at its new hardwood flooring line, called Atlantis, which attempts to replicate the seashore in colour, tone and texture. Available in brown, cream and blond tones, the new line is infused with Lauzon’s Pure Genius air-purifying technology. Activated by natural or artificial light and by the movement of air, the flooring breaks down airborne toxins and significantly improves indoor air quality. www.lauzonflooring.com
Big Guns
Mirage has expanded their game– literally – by introducing new 7¾” plank widths in its Imagine, Flair, and Sweet Memories hardwood flooring collections. Available in lengths of up to 82”, the planks still carry natural characteristics unique to wood, such as milling marks, open and closed knots, mineral streaks, cracks, surface holes, and hairline cracks. www.miragefloors.com
Willkommen in Kanada
Bespoke German flooring manufacturer Schotten & Hansen has finally brought their wood plank products to Canada after 30 years of servicing the European market. Their 16” boards are wire-brushed, hand-planed and vacuum dried, making them extremely stable. Available in Toronto from Lovewood. www.lovewood.ca
Light Touch
Two new products, Irish Cream (shown) and Taj Mahal, have been added this year in Mercier’s Nature Collection. These white-textured floors, marked by the passage of time, are perfect for creating that modern industrial look but with a touch of softness. www.mercierwoodflooring.com
