Not only floors: porcelain stoneware becomes a piece of furniture
When you think of porcelain stoneware, the first image that comes to mind is that of a floor tiled with this material. Porcelain stoneware tiles, in fact, are increasingly used for the flooring of all types of environments, from homes to business areas, and guarantee excellent performance both inside and outside.
However, thanks to its peculiar technical and aesthetic characteristics, porcelain stoneware can also be used successfully in a long series of other applications, thus becoming a real piece of furniture. Here are some tips and ideas that can change the face of any type of home.
Stoneware for surface coating
In addition to flooring, porcelain stoneware can also be used as a coating material for walls and vertical surfaces. This application is particularly used in bathrooms, since stoneware is a waterproof and moisture-resistant material, and therefore it is ideal for coating environments that are very exposed to water. You can use the same stoneware tiles for both the flooring and the walls of your bathroom, or choose contrasting solutions, perhaps orienting yourself on tiles of complementary colour or with particular decorations, in order to highlight specific surfaces of the room, such as the internal walls of the shower, the shower tray or the wall behind the sink. Porcelain stoneware tiles are also available in a wide variety of sizes: by choosing large format slabs for your bathroom, you can minimise the number of leaks, with consequent advantages from the point of view of aesthetics, ease of cleaning and hygiene.
The use of porcelain stoneware, however, is not limited to the coating of bathroom walls or other surfaces that are traditionally tiled, such as the walls behind hobs, stoves and kitchen sinks. Thanks to their reduced thickness and versatility, stoneware slabs can also be applied in other rooms of the house, to create particular aesthetic effects and decorative coatings that can strongly characterise the appearance of any room.
Stoneware for the creation of worktops
Porcelain stoneware, in addition to being waterproof, is also particularly resistant to scratching, abrasion and thermal changes, and these characteristics make it perfect for use as a worktop for kitchens.
The kitchen top is an element that, by its nature, must be able to withstand different types of stress: it must resist cutting, the accidental fall of heavy objects, the corrosive effect of acids, contact with hot surfaces, and more often – for aesthetic reasons – it must be made with a single sheet of material cut to size. It must also be easy to clean and must not encourage the proliferation of moulds and bacteria, despite being a surface continuously exposed to water.
Porcelain stoneware is able to meet all these needs, and is available in a wide variety of sizes (up to 160 x 320 cm), thicknesses, colours and finishes, which make it suitable for use in any type of kitchen, regardless of the style chosen for the furniture.
Tables and furniture in porcelain stoneware
Another item of furniture generally subject to significant stress is undoubtedly the dining table, which must guarantee a high level of resistance and which often, given its size, significantly characterises the environment in which it is placed. A large porcelain stoneware slab can perform all these functions very well, guaranteeing resistance over time, ease of cleaning and great aesthetic beauty. In addition, choosing porcelain stoneware for this application allows to create visual references of great effect within the environment: it is possible, for example, to use the same type of stoneware slab for the table and for the worktop, or for the table and the floor, obtaining very particular results.
Its resistance to water, weathering and temperature changes makes the porcelain stoneware tables perfect for use outdoors, in gardens, terraces or verandas, without fear that rain, sun or frost will damage the top or make it lose its colour and shine.
Furthermore, the applications of porcelain stoneware can go even further: it is possible to use this material to cover any type of surface, therefore also the walls and doors of cabinets and wardrobes, or to make decorative frames around fireplaces and doors, or even for the coating of partition walls: there are no limits, in short, to the creative freedom guaranteed by the use of this material that is resistant and versatile at the same time.
Do you want to know more about the possible applications of porcelain stoneware as a coating material? Contact the Tagina team and find out how porcelain stoneware can change the face of your home.
