Marazzi creates patterned stoneware for indoor and outdoor use

Italian flooring manufacturer Marazzi has launched a range of patterned stoneware flooring, which can be used both indoors and outdoors.

Marazzi's Grand Carpet is a new collection of six millimetre-thick ceramic tiles, that feature oriental carpet patterns inspired by traditional Kolam designs made using rice and coloured flour, and Indian henna tattoos.

"Grand Carpet combines the style of oriental carpet patterns with inputs from the Kolan tradition of ephemeral rice floor decoration, and Mehndi, the Indian temporary ritual tattoos," said designers Antonio Citterio and Patricia Viel.

"We see antique but transient decoration, which reinforces and evokes a sense of place and pays homage to a rite of belonging, as ideal for our aim of adding value to a material without letting the decoration as such predominate over its actual substance," they explained.

Applied using a printing screen, the tiles are made of porcelain but offer the appearance of natural stone.

The tiles can be used on floors and walls, and can be used both indoors and outdoors, which the brand says makes them perfect for creating "unbroken visual continuity" between different spaces or surfaces.

The large slabs, which measure 1,200 x 2,400 millimetres, are available in either a sand or smoke colour – there are six patterns to choose from. The tiles are skid resistant, frost proof and resistant to deep abrasion.

Founded in 1935, Marazzi is available to buy in more than 140 countries. Last year the brand released a range of porcelain tiles based on natural stone made from the darkest known form of slate and prized Belgian rock Pierre Blue.

Marazzi also has collections that include tiles that to look like both  wood and concrete.

For more information, see Marazzi's website.