We live in a time when surfaces combining different materials make it easy to create imaginative, characterful spaces that develop their existing style in an eclectic way.
In interior design, choosing the right material for its setting and the desired result requires care. Although an attractive appearance is pleasing to the eye, users' main demands have always been durability, high quality and accessible prices. Choosing materials that meet those expectations and combining them in balance is the real key to timeless design.
We are now in a wonderful era of abundant material choice, with new options continually offered and endless alternatives in colour, texture and size. It is a time when the ability to create a shared chemistry through the right combinations and mixtures is especially valuable, particularly in surface coverings.
Walls and floors form the entire envelope of a space and provide its backdrop. They are the new playground for bringing materials together, provided that material compatibility, surface heights, durability and maintenance routines all work as a whole.
Hexagonal tiles and concrete, for example, may sound like a surprising pairing, yet hexagonal or pentagonal tiles flowing through a raw concrete floor are among today's most popular flooring combinations. Or consider a material with an unmistakably luxurious image, such as marble, paired with raw wood. If you want to bring a refined touch to a mountain home, take a look at how these two dance together.
Matching and combining materials may call for a curator's attention to detail and a tightrope walker's sense of balance. Of course, you can also make bold, untried choices and lead the way with your own combinations. Here are some of the most popular surface material pairings in recent years:
Wood – geometric tiles
Concrete – terrazzo
Wood – decorative ceramic tiles
Brick – concrete
Marble – wood
Natural stone – mosaic
Pebbles – natural stone
Marble – metro tiles
Terracotta – fluted tiles
Concrete – decorative ceramic tiles
Some tiles achieve this approach to pairing and complementing, known in fashion as 'mix and match', within a single product, resolving the dialogue between materials on one surface. One example is the Hued collection in the Kalebodur family, which occupies a kind of in-between world. A celebration of texture, material and colour from beginning to end, Hued brings wood, cement, stone and ceramic textures together. Offered in off-white, white, beige, grey, dark grey, taupe, anthracite, cotto and blue, this porcelain tile series is particularly worth exploring for its decorative tiles, with 14 different designs.
Another intriguing example is Çanakkale Seramik's Marmoles Brillo series. Here, different varieties of a single material come together. Bringing distinct marbles into one series, Marmoles Brillo hosts a remarkable meeting: the famous Calacatta marble associated with Carrara in Italy's Tuscany region; Pulpis, the renowned marble of Santa Magdalena in Spain; Mocha Perla, among the boutique marbles quarried and processed in Türkiye; and Canada's celebrated natural stone, Eramosa.
