Why We Love Small-Format Tiles and Recommend Them to You

Small-format tiles are an undeniable trend in interior design. Designers strive to create individual, unique projects—no other material can better bring these ideas to life and achieve a distinctive result. What makes them special and what advantages they have over large-format tiles—let's find out today.

All the new is just well-forgotten old

In Russia, ceramic tiles of small sizes (10×10 cm and 15×15 cm) were at the peak of popularity in the 60s–70s of the last century. It was hard to imagine bathrooms, kitchens, public institutions, or even subway stations without them.

In the 90s, large-format tiles took over, inspired by foreign interiors after borders were opened. Production was retooled, and traditions were forgotten. Today, small-format tiles are back on the market and winning over designers worldwide.

The Trend the Whole World Follows

For several years running, small-format tiles have been given special attention at international ceramic exhibitions. The most well-known Spanish or Italian manufacturers offer small-sized tiles in their collections. Designers continue to invent new shapes and textures (from flat surfaces to "plates" and "diamonds").

Russian manufacturers are not lagging behind foreign ones and delight consumers with a good selection of small-format tiles in various sizes: 20×20 cm, 10×20 cm, 10×10 cm, 15×15 cm, 7.5×15 cm, and 5×5 cm. You can easily find perfect tiles for any interior design.

Briefly About Production

In many foreign countries, small-format tiles are made almost by hand—British factories producing slip-cast ceramics, for example, are small artisanal workshops that can't boast large production volumes.

To produce small-format tiles in large quantities, a special production line with dedicated equipment (presses, stamps, sorting and packaging lines) is required. In Russia, such production was organized by the company KERAMA MARAZZI, which since 2014 has released over 100 small-format tile models.

4 Reasons to Use Small-Format Tiles

1. Unique Design

Small-format tiles resemble a construction set: you can combine different sizes, colors, and shapes to create a unique design each time. Even simply mixing elements from one collection in various ways will give you a distinctive and irreplaceable interior. What to say about combining several collections and textures? If you want to stand out, then small-format tiles are your choice.

2. Diverse Laying Options

Among all ceramic tiles, small-format ones stand out for the unlimited variety of laying patterns. Due to their small size, you can reproduce almost any design.

For example, in a small bathroom or on a tiny kitchen backsplash, you can lay the tiles in a traditional way (straight laying) or with offsetting (bricklaying or "pine tree" pattern). Within one series, you can easily make two- and three-color layouts. The ability to easily create various combinations is one of the advantages of small-format tiles over large ones.

3. Compatibility with Other Series

Small-format tiles are easy to combine both among themselves and with other formats. For example, you can use elements of different sizes in one design: square 15×15 cm and rectangular 15×40 cm tiles with borders or "pencil" strips dividing the tiles.

4. Wide Application in Daily Life

Small-format tiles easily solve any task in daily life: they reliably protect small surfaces from water and dirt, such as on a kitchen backsplash or near the sink in a bathroom. They are simply perfect for decorating small zones and placing bright accents.