Trend Alert: Terrazzo hits 2020 market strong!

Trickling back into the design world in the last few years and finally hitting the 2020 market strong, it is hard to miss the new terrazzo trend. Products are surfacing, and spaces are incorporating it. Expect to see more of the terrazzo look occupying floors, walls and accessories. It has moved beyond the traditional materials and methods by embracing the aesthetic through different scales, colours and applications. This new wave of the terrazzo ‘look’ that has been spotted in lamps, pillows, wallpapers, even shower curtains, now allows residential design to embraced it.

What is Terrazzo?

For those not familiar, today’s Terrazzo is a concrete or epoxy resin base composite material, poured in place and mixed with chips of marble, granite, quartz, glass, shell or recycled materials. This speckled material, being that it is sourced from recycled material, not only makes it durable and easy to maintain, it is sustainable.

Its roots go far back to Venice where the workers began using marble chips placed in mortar.

Fast forward to mid-century America and terrazzo has become a favoured material in commercial design for not only its qualities, but its elegant minimalism.  Its most common and more known application is commercial floors and walls. One our favourite modernist architect, Mies van der Rohe used this material in the Crown Hall in Chicago Illinois, designed in 1956.

You can find many more examples of terrazzo being used throughout the years, but why has this traditional material suddenly become such a huge emerging trend in the design world?

How has the traditional material evolved?

In the last few years it has made its way into residential spaces, through countertops, furniture and décor.

You are seeing the exploration of the traditional material introduced in other mediums by taking the speckled characteristic of Terrazzo and playing with pattern and scale. An attempt to turn a classical material into the more contemporary preferences of today’s aesthetic.  

Here are a few applications you are seeing the Terrazzo look:

Flooring & Walls

Putting aside the terrazzo we all know well, you are seeing a large selection of ceramics and porcelain tiles available that embrace the pattern that can be used on both floor and walls. This is a great way to incorporate the material not only in commercial spaces, but also residential applications.

Technically, terrazzo itself is a costly material to install and having these new alternatives make it easier to incorporate into more spaces.  As you can see below, there are many variations and colour that are now available.

Countertops & Sinks

Now that the material can be precast, countertops have become a welcomed application in the world of Terrazzo, through kitchen counters and bathroom integrated sinks and counterstops. The creation of Marmoreal, an engineered marble and polyester resin binder made by Dzek in collaboration with Max Lamb, is a collection that offers bold large scale designs, which really makes an impact in a space. These materials are beautiful, however may not be in everyone’s budget because they can be pricing.  

There are surfaces that ‘look’ like terrazzo that are available, for example, Formica has a solid surfacing material. It is a durable and non-porous material resin-based product. With any of these materials its important to understand where you will be incorporating the material in order to know which material is the best application for you.

Wallpapers & Fabrics

If you want to incorporate terrazzo because you love the look but don’t want to commit to remodeling your space, there are wallpapers and fabrics that are now available. Using wallpaper can be a great feature wall idea to any space. There are also fabrics available that can be used for pillows, bedding, drapery, and shower curtains.

Furniture & Accessories

There are also a lot of décor pieces that have emerged into the market that are easily available. A few of these accessories can be used to bring texture and colour to your space. You can find anything from side tables, vases, lamps, candle holders, dishware and more.

We are not big on following trends as designers, I know it sounds crazy, but we do love terrazzo as a material for the fact that it is durable, easy to care for, unlimited design options, and most importantly sustainable. So we are exciting to see this versatile material be brought back to life.

We understand that it is not something in everyone’s budget. You may not get the same properties and sustainable aspect as the real deal, but the products wit the Terrazzo ‘look’ that are now available are a great way to add some of that pattern, texture, and colour that terrazzo offers to your own space.

What are your thoughts on Terrazzo or the Terrazzo ‘look’ that has dominated the 2020 design scene?