Italian taste for seamless floors

No-one does stone like the Italians. It’s in their heritage: stone piazzas and ancient stone buildings with elegant porcelain tiling are the pride of every Italian city.

It stands to reason then, that those famed for their taste and style in this ancient art, produce the most exquisite tiles.

Embodying that Italian sense of grandeur and history is the latest offering from Italy—Cotto d’Este’s new range, Lithos, which is available exclusively through casaITALIANA.

“Cotto d’Este is a company famed for its sophistication, elegant aesthetic and commitment to new technology—Lithos embodies all those things,” says casaITALIANA director Carl Whiteman.

The new range, which comes in a variety of thicknesses, textures and colours, also includes a pool coping tile, which means a seamless flow from indoors right out to the pool area is achievable.

“You can’t usually get tiles in the different thicknesses to create that seamless indoor-outdoor flow. But the Lithos range comes in 14mm and 6.5mm and in six finishes—so, for example, you might have a natural textured finish indoors, which directly flows onto a grit finish outdoors and transitions right out to your pool.”

Carl says homeowners are laying it inside homes from their bathrooms, right throughout the interior to the outdoors, thereby creating a grand aesthetic statement.

The porcelain tile comes in four hues, referencing the beauty of natural stone. From the moody ‘charcoal’, to the soothing ‘desert’, pale ‘moon’ and the contemporary ‘stone’, all of the delicately veined shades look at home in both character and contemporary settings.

The range of six finishes adds another dimension of luxury and allows clients to mix and match to create a consistent look, while achieving the practical qualities they need in different areas.

“Naturale has an opaque and tactile quality, while Lappata is smooth and pleasant to touch. Sabbiata and Bocciardata have the effect of bush-hammering; Grip creates a safe surface for outdoors; and Soft is perfect for tiling on work surfaces, such as benchtops.”

Not only is the range flexible in its variety of applications, but it also features the latest technology in germ resistance—something very much at the forefront of people’s minds given the global pandemic.

“The anti-bacterial protection system, PROTECT, means the Lithos range eliminates 99.9 per cent of bacteria—day and night. Some other ranges have an anti-microbial quality, but they aren’t activated 24 hours per day,” says Carl.

The PROTECT system contains an anti-microbial shield, which is built into the porcelain tile, using silver ion technology. This means the surface protection is not only activated by daylight, as some other anti-bacterial systems are, but protects against germs around the clock.

“The PROTECT system makes the Lithos range ideal for families with small children or for people with pets,” says Carl.

Busy households with animals or those who like to entertain will also benefit from the robust nature of the porcelain tile range.

“This speaks to that Italian heritage—the tiles are designed to last and can take the wear and tear of everyday life, while maintaining that elegant aesthetic.”

Learn more about the Lithos range of Italian porcelain tiles.