“Perfect Darkness” is tiled to perfection

Tiles are so much more than mere decoration. Depending on the way you use them, tiles can add architectural layers to your interiors, and a duo of prolific creatives have demonstrated this perfectly in their exhibition “Perfect Darkness”.

Danish creative director Josephine Akvama Hoffmeyer and Italian architect and designer Elisia Ossino partnered to create their own brand of tiles which they utilised in the restoration of a third-floor 18th-century apartment on Milan’s Via Solferino. The masterfully designed interiors featured earlier this month as part of Milan Design Week 2019.

“We wanted to create something new,” Ossino said in an interview with Kinfolk. “We had worked on the concept of an apartment that also serves as a gallery – a regular home where we can experiment with interiors, and where both of us can contribute with our knowledge and expertise.”

The pair carefully juxtaposed contrasting colour schemes when installing the tiles so that the resulting effect is layered and atmospheric. Adding to the sense of moodiness within these dynamic spaces, Akvama Hoffmeyer and Ossino enlisted the help of Italian musician Stefano Ghittoni. 

The curated playlist of different compositions and genres, as well as audio clips from feature films also provides a real-life element to the exhibition. “It made you feel like you are walking in your own apartment, where different genres of music randomly play one after the other, and someone in another room is watching a movie,” Ossino explained.

“The kitchen is almost completely covered in tiles. The floor comprises midnight blue and off-white tiles while the kitchen furniture features scarlet-red ceramic tiles.”

“We wanted to create a space wrapped in different colours, where design pieces contrast the surrounding walls and where music gives a somewhat suspended atmosphere,” Akvama Hoffmeyer said.

“The tile became central throughout all rooms—we wanted to revitalize the object by bringing it out of kitchens and bathrooms and into places where you wouldn’t traditionally see it,” adds Ossino.

The Milanese exhibition is a display of rich and textured design which would be well out of the average person’s budget, but it showcases the versatility and multifunctional aspect tiles can play in a home.

You can achieve the same look by creating a feature wall or retiling your kitchen splashback and the sides of benches. You don’t even have to stick to kitchens and bathrooms where tiling is commonly found — you can use patterned mirrored tiles in a strip on the wall in your living room. Any way you choose to do it, tiling can completely change the feeling of a room.

Source: kinfolk

All photography by Giorgio Possenti