For 2027, Tile design is moving towards warmth, texture and a more considered use of colour. The collections launched at Cersaie 2026 in Bologna confirmed many of the directions that shaped this year and pointed clearly to what to expect for the year ahead.
For architects, interior designers and developers working on hospitality, workplace, healthcare and education projects, these trends offer new ways to give spaces character while meeting the performance demands of commercial use.
Below, we look at what stood out at Cersaie 2026 and then break down nine tile trends shaping commercial interiors for 2027. Each one comes with a specification note and a featured range from the Parkside collection.
What Cersaie 2026 Revealed About Tile Trends
Cersaie, the International Exhibition of Ceramic Tile and Bathroom Furnishings, took place in Bologna from 21 to 25 September 2026. As one of the biggest events in the ceramic calendar, it brought together close to 600 exhibitors and more than 90,000 visitors.
Manufacturers use the show to launch the collections that will reach specifiers over the coming year, which makes it a reliable guide to where tile design is heading.
Several themes ran through the show:
- Warmer palettes. Earth tones, terracotta and warm stone effects continued to replace cool greys, while burgundy, brown and botanical greens brought richer colour to the stands.
- Texture everywhere. Relief surfaces, curved profiles and three-dimensional wall tiles featured across collections of every style.
- The return of small formats. Compact tiles with handmade-effect glazes, laid in repeating patterns, brought rhythm and character to walls.
- Ceramics as a system. Rather than covering a single surface, tiles were shown wrapping entire rooms, from floors and walls to counters and furniture.
- Material realism. Stone, wood and clay effects reached new levels of detail, alongside a continued focus on recycled content.
The nine trends below draw on these directions and translate them into practical choices for commercial projects.
1. Warm Earth Tones and Natural Stone Effects
Cool greys defined commercial interiors for much of the last decade, but the palette has now firmly shifted. Sand, taupe, ochre and soft clay tones form the foundation of many schemes, often expressed through limestone, travertine and other natural stone effects. These warmer neutrals create calmer, more welcoming spaces and date far less quickly than bolder looks. That makes them a dependable choice for hotel lobbies, workplace receptions and healthcare environments where a scheme needs to stay current for years.
Specification note: Stone effect porcelain delivers the look of natural stone without the sealing regime, porosity or batch variation of the real material. Check slip resistance for each zone, particularly entrances and wet areas.
Shop the look: Kemble. A limestone effect porcelain with subtle veining and gentle tonal variation, available in Ivory, Sand and Grey in formats up to 1198x598mm.
2. Rich, Saturated Colour
Alongside the warmer neutrals, Cersaie 2026 made a confident case for colour. Burgundy, claret and deep brown appeared across many stands, with terracotta and fired clay reds remaining popular.
Botanical greens, from soft sage to deep forest shades, offered a cooler counterpoint.
In commercial settings these colours work best where a space needs a strong identity, such as restaurant and bar interiors, hotel bathrooms, retail feature walls and workplace breakout areas.
Specification note: Saturated glazes can show greater shade variation between batches. Order enough to complete each area from a single batch and approve samples under the project’s lighting conditions.
Shop the look: Klack. An extruded porcelain tile with a terracotta character in Flaming Ocre, Flaming Red and Flaming Grey, suitable for interior and exterior walls and floors.
3. Small Formats and Handmade Finishes
After years dominated by large format slabs, small tiles are back. Finger mosaics, compact squares and slim rectangles were among the most visible formats at Cersaie, often paired with glossy, reactive glazes and slightly uneven faces that read as handmade. Laid in repeating patterns, they bring rhythm and texture to walls without relying on print.
The look suits cafés, restaurants, washrooms and wet rooms, as well as reception counters and other areas with curves and fine details. Finger mosaic designs, often known as Kit Kat tiles, wrap neatly around columns and curved walls. Handmade-effect glazes add the warmth and individuality of artisan ceramics to otherwise simple spaces.
Specification note: Small formats mean more grout lines. Treat grout colour and type as part of the design and consider a stain-resistant or epoxy grout in food service areas and wet rooms.
Shop the look: Kit and Gopsal.
4. Relief and 3D Textures
Texture was the defining story of Cersaie 2026. Sculpted reliefs, undulating faces and curved profiles appeared across almost every major collection, alongside tiles that mimic fabric and natural stone. Reeded and fluted designs led the way in recent years. The focus has now broadened into softer, more tactile surfaces that shift with the light throughout the day.
Relief tiles are well suited to feature walls in hotel lobbies, bars, restaurants and retail spaces, where they create depth and interest without adding colour or pattern.
Specification note: Raised profiles hold more dust than flat tiles, so they are best kept to walls away from high-soiling areas. Lighting design has a big influence on the final effect, so consider both together.
Shop the look: Camden. A 3D porcelain wall tile with a curved, wave-like profile rising from 9mm to 17mm, in six colours including metallic Copper. For a linear alternative, see Flaunt.
5. Tile Drenching
One of the most talked-about ideas to come out of Cersaie 2026 was tile drenching. A single tile, or a tightly coordinated family of tiles, is used across every surface in a room for an immersive, enveloping effect. A related approach combines several shades from one range in tonal blocks, gradients or checkerboards, keeping the overall look cohesive while adding movement.
In commercial projects, tile drenching works particularly well in hotel bathrooms, spa areas, washrooms and hospitality venues. A seamless finish reinforces the design concept and reduces the number of different materials to maintain.
Specification note: Check that the range offers the sizes, finishes and trims needed for every surface, including slip-resistant floor options for wet areas and matching profiles for edges and corners.
Shop the look: Connect.
6. Tile as Art
Advances in digital printing mean tiles can now carry large-scale imagery with real depth and detail. Botanical murals, landscapes and abstract compositions are printed across a set of large format tiles that come together as a single image, turning a wall into the focal point of a space.
Statement walls of this kind suit hotel receptions, restaurants and retail spaces. Nature-led imagery can also help soften the feel of healthcare and education settings.
Specification note: Agree the panel layout and set-out with the supplier at design stage, since the image relies on each tile being installed in the correct sequence.
Shop the look: Orta.
7. Wood Effect Tiles
Wood effect porcelain has reached a level of realism that makes it hard to tell apart from timber. Oak-inspired collections at Cersaie 2026 reproduced grain, knots and surface texture in convincing detail. The trend is also moving beyond simple planks into parquet, herringbone and chevron layouts.
For commercial interiors, wood effect tiles offer the warmth of timber with the durability and water resistance of porcelain. They are a practical choice for hotel bedrooms and bathrooms, restaurants, workplace floors and wet areas where real timber would struggle.
Specification note: Long plank formats need a flat substrate and a suitable offset to limit lippage. Check slip ratings wherever wood effect tiles run into wet or external areas.
Shop the look: Oslo.
8. Indoor and Outdoor Continuity
Running the same tile from an interior onto a terrace, courtyard or roof garden creates a seamless transition that makes both spaces feel larger. Collections with matching internal and external versions in the same colour and finish were a recurring theme at Cersaie.
This approach is popular in hotel restaurants that open onto terraces, rooftop bars, workplace amenity terraces and the communal areas of large residential schemes.
Specification note: External tiles carry different performance requirements. 20mm porcelain provides the breaking strength needed for dry laying on pedestals, gravel or grass. External pedestrian surfaces should carry a wet PTV of 36 or above. Confirm frost resistance and check that the external version has its own test data.
Shop the look: Buk. A slate effect porcelain with a subtle metallic sheen, available in internal formats and external 20mm tiles, with the full range rated +36 PTV on the slider 96 scale.
9. Sustainable Tiles
Sustainability is now less a trend than a baseline expectation. Recycled content was among the material innovations highlighted at Cersaie 2026 and specifiers increasingly expect clear environmental data at the selection stage.
Sustainable tiles with verified recycled content and environmental product declarations can support projects targeting BREEAM and LEED certification.
Specification note: Request environmental product declarations and recycled content data early so environmental performance can be assessed alongside design and technical requirements.
Shop the look: Principle. Made from over 91% recycled materials.
2027 Tile Trends FAQs
What tile is trending right now?
Warm earth tones, natural stone effects, relief textures and small handmade-effect formats are among the strongest tile trends at the moment. Rich colours such as burgundy, terracotta and sage green are also growing in popularity.
What is the tile trend for 2026?
The defining tile trend for 2026 is texture. Relief surfaces, curved profiles and tactile finishes have appeared across collections of every style, usually paired with warmer, earthier colour palettes.
What are the bathroom tile trends for 2026?
In hotel and commercial bathrooms, the leading trends are warm stone effects, textured feature walls, small format tiles with handmade-effect glazes and tile drenching, where one tile is used across floors, walls and vanity surrounds.
What tile trends came out of Cersaie 2026?
Cersaie 2026 highlighted warmer and richer colour palettes, three-dimensional and relief surfaces, the return of small formats, highly realistic stone and wood effects and the idea of using ceramics across an entire room rather than a single surface.
Specify the Latest Tile Trends at Parkside
Parkside works with architects and designers across the UK on commercial tiling projects, from hotels and restaurants to workplaces, retail spaces and spas. Browse our full range of tiles to compare floor and wall options and order samples for your next project.
To talk through any of the ranges featured here or a specific commercial tiling query, get in touch with our team. You can also see our tiles in person at our design studios in Glasgow, Leicester, London and Manchester.
