Trends New Zealand Volume 33 No 4 | Page 96

Surface attraction Strong, sustainable and a breeze to install, Kerlite is an interior designer’s new best friend Above: Project designer on this seamless renovation project was Mark Ravening of Casa Italiana. The job involved reinventing tired surfaces by laying sleek, extremely hard-wearing Kerlite Exedra ceramic tiles on the walls and floors – directly on top of existing stone surfaces. Available in a range of looks and textures, Kerlite’s thin structure and extra large sizes are made possible by its fibreglass mesh reinforcing. search | save | share at Looking to renovate your space but worried about the mess, labour costs, and inconvenience? Now there’s a modern tiling surface that’s easy to cut, handle and install with minimum hassle. Kerlite porcelain stoneware tiles present an exciting wall and floor surface for architects and designers, says Maurizio Pesciatini lead designer for Casa Italiana, the company that imports the refined tileware into New Zealand. “Together with its pristine looks, Kerlite’s other big advantages are its versatility and sheer ease of use,” says Pesciatini. “It’s extremely light, easy to cut and install, and can be laid directly over a former covering – be it stone, wood, ceramics or any other compact material.” Customer benefits include saving time and money, as with Kerlite you don’t have to modify doors to install it, and there is no dust residue, no debris disposal, nor any hassle or noise. On the project featured here, existing limestone walls and floors were speedily and easily replaced with Kerlite tiles without a builder being involved. “This quality porcelain product is totally sustainable and comes in a 3.5mm thickness and new 5.5mm thickness – which further expands its technical and aesthetic potential.