But what is distressed style and how do you choose coverings to suit this interior design trend?
Distressed materials have suffered at the hands of time. The distressed interior design style is similar in some respects to vintage and boho chic, but perhaps more elaborate: it aims to enhance the marks left by time on surfaces and objects, highlighting the time-worn look of salvaged furniture and not restoring it, to create interiors midway between antique and modern, where pieces seem to have been put together at random (although they are actually carefully chosen down to the tiniest detail). The personality and history of interiors decorated in this style emerge from the marks left by the passage of time, emphasised by the combination of furnishings in contrasting designs.
A real hymn to flaws, in other words. Everything that reveals the age of a home or an object adds to its value: small cracks, walls with crumbling plaster, and tiles worn by the passage of many feet. A vision that evokes the romantic mood of aristocratic but dilapidated old houses, repaired and restored so that their original beauty is not damaged by over-modern renovation.
Of course, not everyone is able to live in a skilfully restored period residence, but it still quite possible to design interiors in distressed style with the aid of matching coverings that give the room the same beauty and the same richness of style.
Texcem by Ragno is a ceramic tile collection that fits the philosophy of the distressed style to perfection: it mixes the solidity of the concrete-effect with the textures of woven fabrics, creating new tactile impressions and variegated interplays with light. The surface seems to have been polished and worn by time, an effect further enhanced by the assortment of 5 neutral shades: Bianco, Grigio, Ottanio, Avorio and Cotto.
There is a single main size (32.5 cm x 97.7 cm) with plain tiles available smooth or in 3D wall covering structures, which reveal all Texcem's real character: Tria is a structure which uses geometrical chiaroscuro effects, with a 3D pattern created by overlapping triangles and squares, generating an original alternation of light and shade, while Groove is inspired by the manual shaping of concrete, evoking the same surface appearance.
As well as these two types of relief structure, the collection includes a traditional square chip mosaic produced in all colours and 3 different decors: Magnolia, a floral triumph which creates a wallpaper look; Patch, inspired by woven fabrics; and Esagone, recalling traditional cement tiles.
From the choice of the neutral colour assortment to the decorative inputs, from the homage to hand-shaped concrete to a surface painstakingly prepared until perfect: everything in this collection seems to reference the beauty of distressed style interiors. The opportunities for mixing and matching decors and relief tiles, colours and patterns, provide infinite compositional potentials for creating homes and interiors with an eclectic, timeless mood.
