Tasked with preparing a tile trend report on Cevisama, I travelled to Valencia with a mixture of anticipation and worry.

Since the 2008 economic crisis, Spain’s premier ceramic tile showcase has been a pale shadow of its early millennial best. It has also been steadily shrinking as overseas manufacturers from Italy and beyond have concentrated their exhibition spend on Cersaie and Coverings.

Even more damaging has been the growing trend among the big producers from the nearby ceramic hub around Castellon to run open days in their factory showrooms in lieu of taking space at Cevisama.

One of the biggest groups, Porcelanosa, always ploughed its own furrow, even in Cevisama’s heyday. When Europe’s largest tile manufacturer, the Pamesa Group, pulled out all its brands, this probably signalled the beginning of the end…

This year, with many more Spanish manufacturers following Pamesa’s lead, there were just 70 or so tile brands on display across two halls at Cevisama. STN was the only volume producer to exhibit. As a result, the show was hardly a representative snapshot of the Spanish tile sector.

On a more positive note, any exhibition featuring Alaplana, Amadis, Aparici, Arcana, Cerlat, Cevica, Cristacer, Decocer, Equipe, Gayafores, Mainzu, Mayolica, Monopole, Nanda, Natucer, Peronda, Realonda, Undefasa, and Vives is certain to offer plenty of ceramic eye-candy.

Most of the design innovations on show came from the small format, decorated wall tile category. Excluding Apavisa, STN and a few others, there was a notable lack of large format wall and floor tiles, ventilated façades, 20mm exterior pavers, swimming pool tiling, and commercial tiling ranges.

There were only a few porcelain worktops on show, from the likes of Peronda’s Museum brand. However, the presence of Nuovo Corso and Pure – two worktop brands that have been largely under the radar – should have piqued the interest of any worktop fabricators attending the show. 

As these two brands displayed, the ability to print texture and pattern in perfect synchronicity is certainly driving the pace of innovation in this market sector. 

Reflecting the product mix on display at Cevisama, this review will concentrate on small format wall tiles, looking at evolutions in the colour palette, new sizes and formats, the growth of pressed and printed 3D effects, and – perhaps the most significant of all – new interlocking tile shapes like star and cross which are being seen more widely in today’s market. 

Vertical thinking

The single most significant trend in the wall tile sector was the widespread adoption of long, thin rectangular tiles. Here, the main format is 50mm by 400mm, but we are also seeing 50mm by 500mm, 50mm by 250mm, and various options in between.

Most of these thin strips were displayed vertically stacked, rather than in patterns like chevrons, or in a simple horizontal brick bonds. These strips were generally in plain colours in matt, satin or gloss glaze finishes. They can be used in single colours, or with a second colour as a border or dado rail, or in more playful colour mixes.  

Another key trend is the mix or different material looks in a single range.  The most common pairing is wood-effect with marble-effect tiles. Tonally balanced, these material combinations bring instant grandeur and gravitas to any interior, and play to the castlecore ID trend, especially when these timber-, stone- or marble-effect combinations feature historic patterns.

Over the last 12 to 24 months, homeowners have been returning to pattern in a bid to make their dwellings even more nurturing and visitor friendly. This philosophy encourages decorating spaces with an emphasis on personal pleasure rather than prescribed aesthetics, and patterned tiles really work well in this respect.

For 2025, most tile manufacturers seem to be betting on shabby-chic distressed looks, and patterns where the main influences are Arabic or Moorish. The colour palette echoes the strong neutrals of cement encaustic tiles from Morocco, or Andalusia. 

We are still seeing a lot of 3D relief tiles, like ribbed-effect wood-looks, combed stone-look surfaces, or printed reliefs that further emphasise veins on simulated marbles or grain details on wood-effect tiles.

A new design director saw deep relief used as a frame on individual tiles, with either a contrasting inner space, or a central void. The stand-out examples were In & Out by MUT for Peronda, and Natucer’s Sunrise.

Another notable trend was PVD (physical vapour deposition) metallics from the likes of Aparici and InTheTile. The latter applies a range of sumptuous metallic finishes to sculpted ceramic forms sourced from Buit. You can argue that neither company is producing “real” metallic tiles as the surface finish is not fired after application.

The results are simply gorgeous, a high-end style just on the tasteful side of bling, these PVD finishes are for walls only – very sexy walls.

When it comes to shape, squares, rectangles, and hexagons are being increasingly challenged by interlocking star and cross patterns, fish-scale and leaf forms, octagon and dot combos, and new geometric forms that interlock to form visually dynamic walls.

Terracotta

The final trend is confirmation that terracotta is back with a bang, if it ever went away. From squares, rectangles and traditional medieval patterns, through to hexagons and octagons, there is now a terracotta for every taste.

There are three main colour options: pale straw-coloured cotto, darker brown with real earthy tones, plus the rich orange-red that started it all.  

Today’s porcelain terracotta facsimiles are almost indistinguishable from the real thing with authentic kiln scorches, pitting, trowel marks, and colour variations. Many feature more than 50 different design faces, randomly mixed in each box to ensure minimal repetition.

And yet these faux terracotta tiles are fully frost-resistant, stain-proof, and extremely hard wearing: even better than the real thing. The stand-out example at Cevisama was on the Anticfang stand, but great alternatives were scattered throughout the show.

Tile designers have also been playing with the terrazzo effect. Arcana presented Mousse, a white bodied wall tile in a single size and colour and a porcelain floor tile in three different colours. It has a new cement graphic that really comes into its own when paired with the Spuma collection.

Daring and non-conformist, Spuma comes in a wide range of colours, with graphics like tutti frutti that have an avant-garde originality and strong personality.

Other stand-out ranges included Antico Casale by Ape: a ceramic collection that is a contemporary reinterpretation of the artisanal tradition of Renaissance terracotta. Stone-effects were among the most restful tiles at the show, none more so than Argenta Cerámica’s Westone and Eastone series.

These were developed with Artech technology as faithful reproductions of natural Portland stone. Available in two finishes – matte and lappato – each tile pairs a unique texture with intricate detail.

Decocer showcased Senda Vibe, a collection of 150mm by 150mm square tiles inspired by organic pathways and natural textures. The pattern consists of concentric curved lines forming squares and repeated arches, creating a visually dynamic and sophisticated effect. It has a retro-modern aesthetic, evoking influences from Art Deco and 1970s design.

Finally, Deco Artis by Gayafores is a design that revives the original finishes of hand-crafted tiles, using reactive glazes and artisanal techniques.  The resulting surfaces are unique, and naturally rich. 

I would usually sign off a show review by anticipating how the trends will move on when I visit again next year.  But, as one prominent UK distributor commented at the show: “At least we can say we went to the last Cevisama!”  

I hope his words will not prove prescient, but it is hard to see how this key date in the ceramic calendar will last another year unless someone comes up with enough fresh ideas and investment to encourage the Spanish ceramic production hub to coalesce behind a single, successful ceramic show.  Otherwise it will be a case of “eso es todo amigos.”