Is this a carpet? Or not?

No, this is not a carpet but rather concrete tiles creating a kaleidoscope of patterns and colors in a house in Spain where I can imagine people walking barefoot to feel relief from hot summer days. In the South of Italy these floors are also very common.
For centuries the decoration of floors was an art, from the  most elaborate mosaics to the more simple and inexpensive, at the time, use of fragments of marble as in Venetian terrazzo. Let's see how we can enhance our homes starting from the...floor!

Late Gianni Versace’s villa at Como lake, Italy,  with a superb inlaid marble floor.

Villa Panza di Biumo, near Milan with a Venetian terrazzo floor.

An example of floor by Berti, who perpetuates the ancient art of marquetry,  mixing and matching  different veneers and colors in patterns of flowers, figures, creating inlaid floors with Asian, Mexican, Middle east motifs and more.

A modern approach to create visual interest on the floor,  from New Mosaics collection by Parquet In, where different hardwood tiles play with golden mosaic tiles. I find this fascinating, perhaps best in a large hallway?

What looks like a mosaic is a painted trompe l’oeil mosaic floor in the

Villa Paradou, in Nice, France.

The most simple way of transforming a concrete floor with a trompe l’oeil rug painted over, very simple and monochromatic as in this image or more ornate and colored.

Painted floors, trompe l’oeil, marquetry, use of multi materials to create unusual patterns, mosaic… the choices are endless.

©2011 Brillante Interiors writes about new trends, timeless decor, iconic pieces, design ideas, or at times just musing about "a certain Italian way of doing things".

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