What Hospitality Designers Are Specifying Now: Porcelain and Ceramic Trends for 2026

^{Article by Amanda Hopkins, hospitality marketing manager | published by Shaw Contract}

Porcelain and ceramic are having a moment in hospitality design, and it goes well beyond the surface. Natural stone is no longer the default as budget constraints, durability and new technology lead design decisions toward porcelain. Across the country, designers are rethinking how these materials tell a story, create continuity and carry a guest's experience from lobby to guestroom to rooftop.

This year, the Shaw Contract hospitality team traveled the country meeting with many hospitality interior designers through our DesignED Custom program and hosted dedicated porcelain and ceramic roundtables with designers from coast to coast.

What we heard points to a category in the middle of a meaningful shift, and it starts earlier in the design process than many might expect.

Travertine Takes the Lead

Travertine visuals are emerging as a defining look in hospitality porcelain. Designers are drawn to its organic variation, honed or brushed finishes and tonal restraint, qualities that feel grounded rather than decorative.

“When looking for a porcelain with a stone look, having texture makes it feel more realistic and higher end,” said Marlee Frances du Preez of BLUR Workshop in Atlanta.

In contrast to high-contrast marble aesthetics, travertine-inspired porcelain offers tactile depth and warmth that invite interaction. Specified in large format for lobby floors, mosaic in wet environments and coordinating wall tile in guestrooms, travertine creates a layered material palette that moves seamlessly from space to space. Its appeal lies in subtlety: texture over polish, movement over drama and an ease that supports hospitality interiors seeking authenticity rather than spectacle.

The Most Personal Space, Designed with Intention

Guest bathrooms have become the most expressive spaces in hospitality design. With fewer visual constraints than public areas, designers are using porcelain and ceramic to push color, pattern and installation strategies.

“Bathrooms are one of my favorite things to design because you can be a little more fun,” said Tara Wallis of BKD Design Collective in Springfield, Missouri. “I do see the envelope being pushed there—fun colors, fun patterns, creative installations that make a real statement.”

Large format porcelain on floors and walls creates calm, continuous surfaces with minimal visual interruption. Mosaic tile, specified for shower floors and wet room walls, delivers both slip performance and design impact, allowing shape and color to create moments that elevate the guest experience.

Bathrooms are also where color shows up most confidently. Saturated greens, warm earth tones and deep blues provide contrast to more restrained public spaces. In these highly personal environments, porcelain and ceramic enable designers to balance performance requirements with sensory richness, creating spaces that feel immersive, considered and memorable.

Terrazzo Returns: From Subtle to Statement

Terrazzo-inspired porcelain is generating renewed enthusiasm across hospitality projects. Expanded chip sizes, refined color palettes and flexible formats have repositioned terrazzo as both a grounding surface and a graphic design element.

“We’ve seen product recently where the colors are muted, but just so beautiful, and there are different scale options in the pattern,” said Jennifer Wright of Beleco in Los Angeles. “It doesn’t have to be really loud to be exciting.”

Designers are gravitating toward muted, tonal compositions as well as larger aggregate patterns, using scale and color mix to calibrate mood. Subtle terrazzo supports refined dining environments, while bold, graphic expressions anchor lobbies, bars and rooftop spaces. What distinguishes terrazzo’s resurgence is versatility. It moves fluidly across floors, walls and feature moments, creating cohesion through pattern and color without overwhelming a space.

Porcelain as Art and Strategy

Large format porcelain is increasingly specified as a curatorial tool. Rather than treating tile as background and artwork as an added layer, designers are allowing porcelain surfaces to serve as the visual focal point. “It becomes your art,” said Jaylin Gilland of Pickard Design Studio in Dallas. “Your tile is art. That helps a lot with decision making and writing specs.”

Used as feature walls or expansive installations, porcelain becomes both surface and art, simplifying sourcing while delivering a singular expression unique to the property. When porcelain operates at scale, it becomes a storytelling device, carrying color, texture and narrative across the space in a way that traditional materials cannot replicate with the same consistency or durability.

Key Takeaways

• Porcelain is specified earlier in the design process. Hospitality designers are moving beyond performance validation and using porcelain and ceramic as concept‑defining materials that support continuity, durability and narrative from lobby to guestroom.
• Travertine visuals signal a shift toward warmth and restraint. Texture, honed finishes and tonal movement are replacing high‑contrast marble looks, delivering surfaces that feel grounded, tactile and authentic to place.
• Guest bathrooms function as creative testing grounds. With fewer constraints, designers are leveraging large format tile, mosaics and saturated color to create immersive, memorable experiences that balance performance with expression.
• Terrazzo’s return is driven by flexibility and scale. Expanded aggregate options and refined palettes allow terrazzo‑inspired porcelain to move seamlessly across floors, walls and feature moments, supporting both subtle and statement applications.
• Large format porcelain is increasingly used as a design strategy. Specified at scale, porcelain surfaces are replacing traditional artwork, simplifying sourcing while creating singular, property‑specific expressions.

Looking Ahead: Material intention shaping hospitality spaces

Porcelain and ceramic are no longer secondary options to natural stone in hospitality design. They are primary materials, selected early and specified with intention. As designers continue to prioritize authentic material expression, durability and cohesive storytelling, porcelain’s role will only expand.

The hospitality interiors defining 2026 will not be shaped by a single trend or surface. They will be defined by how thoughtfully materials are chosen and how seamlessly they support the guest journey, from arrival to departure.