As we continue our journey looking at innovative sustainable solutions, editor Hamish Kilburn casts his eyes on Tradition, a range of glue-down cork floor tiles from Granorte…
As we spend more time in our home during the new normal, we’re increasingly conscious of the materials and finishes we choose and the impact they have on our wellbeing. Materials that link us to the positive effects of the natural world are gaining popularity and helping us to feel calm and relaxed as we seek to feel protected and secure within our homes.
Cork, as we have realised for a while now at Hotel Designs, is an ideal surface to foster this connectivity and is one that not only links us to nature but helps to preserve it also. Cork’s unique aesthetic is deep rooted in the natural world and arguably, its status as a historic floor used in happier times cements its soothing and calming effect. Harvested from bark, rather than felling, cork comes from trees that live for hundreds of years, so it is a material that’s renewable and natural, and which also helps to sustain the balance of the atmosphere.
Granorte’s Tradition collection is as close to the original cork floors as is possible to find today. Possessing a history dating back over a century, cork tiled floors are the purest use of the material and to which Tradition stays faithful. With a natural sanded pre-finish ready for sealing, these stylish glue-down tiles are available in agglomerated designs that all provide a beautiful and richly organic cork aesthetic.
“While we have innovated to harness the benefits of cork with products that respond to today’s interiors in floating click floors and PVC-free LVT alternatives, it is the simplicity and pureness of Tradition that seems extraordinarily appropriate at the moment,” says Paulo Rocha, product and R&D manager, Granorte. “Tradition is a sustainable flooring choice that puts homes in direct touch with the natural environment – it is a simple execution of the material that feels all the more genuine and authentic for that very reason.”
Tradition is available from Granorte in a 4mm thick 600 x 300mm tile, manufactured in Portugal from 100% cork recycled from the wine stopper industry.
Granorte is one of our Industry Support Package clients and regularly features in our Supplier News section of the website. If you are interested in becoming one of our recommended suppliers, please email Katy Phillips.
Main image credit: Granorte
