These Fossil Tiles were intended to mimic the appearance of the preserved imprints of animals and plants from prehistoric times. And when viewed from afar, they do look like that. Up close, though, they reveal a more childish, playful design, with what appears to be hand-drawn lines doodled in varying patterns across each tile.
Rather than mark each tile with imprinted remains of an easily discernible organism, they covered the entirety of each panel with the kind of patterns you will find in fossilized remains. That small tweak made the result more abstract-looking, making for flooring that’s likely to fit in with more interiors than if it did look like an actual prehistoric slab.
Designed by Kasia Zareba for Design Tale Studio, Fossil Tiles are printed in five different patterns. You can choose your patterns carefully to ensure the imprints line up to create a cohesive-looking fossil or randomly to create a more abstract style. Either way, the result is attractive yet understated flooring that, due to the freehand line drawings, becomes more interesting the closer you inspect. Seriously, they look like someone just drew with markers on blank tiles, yet the combined effect truly feels a whole lot more sophisticated.
Construction is porcelain for the tiles, with each one measuring 60 x 60 x 9.5 cm. It features a natural top coat and comes in three colors: beige, brown, and gray.
Fossil is the latest first prize winner of Design Tale Studio’s “Create Your Tile” design competition. Pricing isn’t listed, but the tiles should be available now.