Echelon by Ca’ Pietra: the bold tile that refuses to sit quietly

Some tiles are very good at sitting quietly in the background. Echelon is not one of them.

New from Ca’ Pietra, Echelon is a richly veined porcelain collection in three gloriously deep colourways: chocolatey Emperador, wine-red Levanto and a dramatic green called Verdi. It comes in 60 x 60cm and statement-making 60 x 120cm formats, with a coordinating cube mosaic for each colour. It was designed for homes that could do with a little more personality underfoot, on the walls or, preferably, both.

Echelon takes its cue from beautifully figured stone, with all the depth and movement that implies. Its real trick, though, is that it’s porcelain. You get the colour and the veining in a surface made for real life, which makes being brave with your decorating choices considerably easier.

One idea, three ways

One of Echelon’s biggest strengths is that it changes character depending on how you use it. Lay the 60 x 120cm tiles across a floor or wall and the sweeping veining has room to really show itself. Switch to 60 x 60cm and you can start playing with more structured layouts, pairing colours and finishes or setting out a classic chequerboard with a very modern edge. The cube mosaics take the same rich palette and turn it into something altogether more graphic. It’s variation without bringing in a completely different material every five minutes.

Grazzie Wilson, Head of Creative at Ca’ Pietra, says: “There is a temptation when decorating to think that more interest means more different things, but often the best rooms do the opposite. They find one really good idea and have some fun with it.

“That’s what I love about Echelon. You can have these lovely big expanses of richly veined porcelain and then completely change the rhythm with the cube mosaic. It still belongs to the same family, so the room feels pulled together, but it stops everything becoming a bit too sensible.”

And sensible is certainly not a word that springs to mind when you look at the colours.

Emperador: deep chocolate

A deep, chocolate brown that warms a room instantly. Emperador looks particularly good alongside timber, brass and cream, and with those slightly muddy, earthy shades that make an interior feel collected rather than decorated.

Levanto: the show-off

Levanto is the one that demands to be noticed. A rich red with burgundy and wine tones running through it, it brings warmth without ever feeling sweet, and makes a brilliant foil for plaster, tobacco, dark timber and chalky neutrals.

Verdi: the grounding green

Verdi is a deep green that’s surprisingly easy to live with. Treat it less like an accent tile and more like a decorating colour, pairing it with walnut, pale timber, soft blue-greens or warm whites.

Why stop at the skirting board?

“The colours are strong, but that’s exactly why they work,” says Wilson. “We talk about being confident with paint all the time, yet people can still be quite cautious with their floors and walls. Why should the interesting colour stop at the skirting board?

“Echelon gives you another way to decorate. Levanto can bring the warmth that a deep red paint would, Verdi gives you this wonderful grounding green and Emperador has all the richness of dark wood or chocolate brown. Suddenly the tile isn’t something you choose at the end of the scheme. It can be the thing you build the whole room around.”

Beyond the bathroom

Echelon works well beyond the obvious tiled spaces, too. Picture a richly coloured floor running beneath a dining table, a tiled section around a fireplace, or a cloakroom where there is absolutely no need to behave yourself. Frankly, tiny rooms are made for decorating experiments.

That is perhaps Echelon’s greatest appeal. It has enough personality to change a room completely, and enough flexibility that you decide exactly how far to take it. A little? Lovely. A lot? Even better.

Emperador, Levanto or Verdi? Tell us which you’d choose on Instagram and tag us #annelouisemag.