SURFACES :: Orchid Ceramics

SURFACES is a yearly industry event where floor covering professionals from around the world come together in a 350,000 square foot space to show off new products and trends. Jeanene and I were asked by Orchid Ceramics to design their temporary showroom for the event. The idea for our space was to create mock rooms to show uses for tile all around the house. This was a very successful method and offered much more visual interest than endless racks of tile samples.


In the Kitchen, we contracted the local cabinet designers/builders, Hefner Woodworking. They created the cabinets used. We used a variety of tile on the counter tops, floors and back splash to create the modern look. In the Living Room, we used a unique floor tile and made the tile sample boards into the artwork of the room. We also incorporated two paintings from Charlotte artist, Charlotte Foust. The chain columns were built by Hefner Woodworking and consisted of hundreds and hundreds of feet of ball chain suspended in circular form with lights in the center. Two barcelona chairs and a natural wood side table completed the look of this room.

In the center area of the showroom, there were more examples of tile as art. The wall was created with a sheets of aluminum behind a wood veneer with 2" - 4" holes cut out. The veneer framed the tile to display it to potential buyers.
The Garden Room used the tile as art again on the walls, it was also used to build an outdoor sofa and on the floors. Three pouf chairs were between two custom built planters. As in all of the rooms, textured wall panels were applied to the wall to add another layer of detail.
The bathroom was a calm and chic room with two tones of tile used on the floor to create interest. The custom platform bathtub had a ledge around the bottom for pebbles and the floating cabinets featured a step ledge.