Terrazzo Australian Marble

Creating a modern haven for coffee lovers would be a designers’ dream. The elements in play could range from bright colored lighting fixtures, to soft textures such as throw pillows. But how do you incorporate texture and personality into flat surfaces and match it with the elements embodying coffee and the rest of the cafe’s menu?

Add sparkle and warmth to the barista area with Wood and Terrazzo countertop

An important area where customers and barista interact would of course be the barista’s serving counter. The common element found in this area is of course wood, which adds warmth and a natural touch to the surface. One can add glamour and sparkle by having a terrazzo countertop beside the wooden area.

Ghost chairs and glass tabletops

Pieces of “ghost” furniture, or those that appear as glass and are transparent came into the mainstream after these were used for events such as glamorous weddings receptions and celebrations. Adding such pieces of furniture against bright-colored walls can add a modern, dreamy feel to a café’s interiors.

 Geometric shapes plus terrazzo dividers in toilet

Another trend that made its way to restaurant and café interiors is the addition of geometric shapes and clear lines. The concept of geometric shapes and lines came in as a contrast to abstract and less-structured designs. Bringing this to the most basic corners of a café, such as the toilet and washroom, can add a quirky personality to the modern café. Having unusual geometric shapes for the toilet lighting fixture, for example, matched with terrazzo toilet partitions which appear with less-structured patterns and aggregates, create a good contrast and brings out a modern twist to a typically unnoticed area of the café.

There can be other elements that can bring out the modern café’s look and make a coffee-lover’s break more pleasurable than usual. To explore how you can incorporate Terrazzo in the café’s interior design, talk to our Terrazzo experts today.

There are several factors influencing and impacting office staff productivity. This could include non-physical determinants, such as company culture, work load, management and administrative support, but the most immediate factor that affects productivity on a daily basis is the physical work space.

Creating the right ambiance for productivity through physical space design is an aspect that should not and cannot be taken lightly by any company. It includes elements that should stimulate senses, evoke the right mindset and mood, and encourage continuous and sustained productivity across at least 8 hours of work. From lighting, colors, textures, people’s behaviors, actions, and decisions could be affected by the elements that impact how they accomplish tasks. This is more crucial for those working in mainly static environments like an office space.

How do we create an ambiance for productivity and how can Terrazzo contribute to achieving an environment that allows people to focus and consistently deliver?

You can start by choosing vibrant but gentle colors for the work space and carrying out your branding in the non-production areas. Businesses now are eager to “brand” their offices, pushing for brand identity across all departments. From the cubicle of the trainee, to the office of the VP, to the dispatch area for trucks and sales teams. One must remember that office work entails looking at brightly-lit digital screens for almost 8 hours. To help workers stay consistently productive, it would be best to give them a space where their senses and mind could take short breaks without necessarily walking out and around the office. If your brand colors are screaming red or orange, it may be best to put those colors in the production areas, and not necessarily in office spaces. Not all offices have the luxury of space so it is important to get the design of the workspaces right. Warm, earth tones can be good for the flooring and, with Terrazzo, you can combine different aggregates to achieve the color tone that you want.

Also, you can have quick-break lounges set-up in between cubicles. This allows employees to step out of their immediate work stations and refresh their eyes in the quick-break lounge area. The quick-break lounge area could also have terrazzo dividers, softened by couch or small pieces of furniture with cushion. The idea is to encourage staff to have quick “getaways” to refresh their minds before diving right back into work.

There are so many other areas that can be discovered and adjusted to achieve an ambiance for productivity. If you are looking for sturdy, design-flexible materials for flooring and other surface requirements, call us at Terrazzo Australian Marble today.

Terrazzo is a classic material that has been used in so many functions and forms in construction and interior design. Because of its flexibility and benefits, it has consistently been preferred by designers across Asia and the Pacific regions. In Sydney, Australia, Terrazzo remains as one of the top choices for flooring, counter top, and dividers. But creating the right Terrazzo mix requires understanding the parts and materials that constitute this widely-used material. One of which is the aggregates used in the mix.

Aggregates determine the colors, texture and overall uniqueness of your terrazzo design. Selecting the right aggregates will determine the success of your design’s execution plus the long-term maintenance implications. Here are three tips when choosing your terrazzo aggregates.

1. Pick the aggregate that best brings out the color/s of your design with the right lighting – Because Terrazzo aggregates come from different materials and have different compositions, they basically come in different colors. Choosing the right colors to match your design isn’t as hard because there are so many aggregates to choose from. The trick here is to understand the lighting of the space where Terrazzo will be laid out and test how light will bounce off, be reflected, or absorbed by the aggregate. Some aggregates may appear dark but when cool light hits it, it comes out with a much lighter shade of its original color. Different hues and warmth of light will give you a good sense of how it will appear on final lay. Also, do not be afraid to mix different colors of aggregates.
2. Varying sizes of chips brings out complex textures – Another layer of variety is mixing the sizes of the terrazzo chips. Suppliers can provide options on the sizes of the aggregates. Terrazzo chips can come in a range of sizes, between 0.1 up to 2, with 2 being the biggest chips. If you have a particular type of chip which you want to be emphasized in the design, you can make the size of those chips larger compared to the other chips. This adds texture to your design since the larger chips can retain much of its irregular properties versus the smaller chips which are reduced to really small bits.
3. Understand the hardness of different materials – Maintenance of terrazzo is key for longevity. One of the most common challenges of property owners is the chipping away of terrazzo bits. Replacing or repairing terrazzo can be a challenge especially if the supplier does not have supply of the original aggregates used in the original lay. This is where understanding hardness comes in. It is important not to pair soft aggregates with harder aggregates as this will require different surface grinding methods, polishing, and maintenance methods.

There are several other factors to consider when picking the right aggregates for your terrazzo project. Talk to Terrazzo Australian Marble today to get the best recommendations for your design.