Dopamine Décor

Dopamine Dressing is having a moment out there, and it’s heralded as the most exciting trend of 2022. It’s a mindfulness practice that started getting traction post pandemic. With colours, patterns, styles and fabrics in combinations designed to boost the appearance of our skin, bring the glow, and consequently put a pep in the step and a smile on the dial. Versace says it’s hot pink. Stella McCartney believes it’s the vivid blues that do it. Over at Valentino it’s all about the acid greens.

Optimism comes in many shapes and colours, but it’s all about looking fabulous and feeling fine. Because why? Because it’s time to have fun, for goodness sakes!

But that’s all very well for clothing, you mutter, what’s it got to do with décor? In a word, everything. We’re here to say that dressing your home to de-stress is a happening thing. The right combo of neutrals in layers will bring waves of calm, and dynamic dabs of matt black, bright peacock pops here and there, natural lighting and delicious cushions scattered like jewels across your furniture will channel all the positive feels. Put together with confidence – and some sound décor advice from yours truly – you will feel an emotional connection to it all and your home will exude all the joy, happiness, welcome and positive energy you need to refuel your fun tank every day.

We proclaim Dopamine Décor to be the ideal prescription for a mood-enhanced winter. It’s the happy-making way to make it through cold snaps, floods, droughts, flagpole jiggery pokery, loadshedding, potholery, money-stuffed mattresses in Limpopo and the storm of bad news that blasts at us from every screen.

Let's do interior design that looks good and makes us feel great. We are absolutely, positively 100% sure that it's hard to feel unhappy when succumbing to lush new marble look wallscapes in your bathroom sanctuary, as you sink beneath the scented bubbles in your new V&A bath, with the thrill of toasty towels heated to perfection by your Jeeves towel rail. Then gazing at your fabulous self in a crystal-clear Affirmations mirror, padding barefoot on the soft warmth of richly grained wood-look tiles into a kitchen with gloriously patterned floors or a bright and cheerful splashback, surrounded by delicious little bits of beautiful that include the high design of Tivoli taps and Franke Tectonite sinks.

Dip a toe in the dopamine. Relax. You don’t have to rip up your whole home and start again. Inject a little joy with utterly magnificent taps. We’ve got aisles of ‘em, so, choices. If you’re mad about glamour, or classic Victorian, or romantic and rustic farmhouse style, we’re prepared to bet your heart will beat faster at the mere sight of our Verano taps, from the Prato range. Dopamine factor? Well, let’s just say Gold, for starters. The Verano tap range offers high fashion looks with beautifully rounded forms and an unashamedly exquizz matt gold finish. Manufactured in Italy with full-on Tivoli heritage that includes a 15-year guarantee as well as a 5-year guarantee on the cartridge. They also offer a water-saving feature, slowing the flow to 6 litres a minute. These beauties are objects of delight that you’ll love longtime, thanks to their built-in durability.

Sofi taps are pure sofi-stication and sexiness. Contemporary classics, exclusive to Italtile. Divine style that will bring high levels of happiness – and dare one say smugness – every day. If you are a lover of all things contemporary and refined, Sofi taps by Nobili are true ‘turn-ons’! Underneath those cheeky brass curves enrobed in chrome plating you’ll find serious waterwise tech. This loveliness is backed by a 15-year guarantee.

Dress your bathroom to impress with one-of-a-kind Dress by Nobili. Original, bold and customisable. Choose the high-end finish of your choice – in a range of gorgeous neutrals – to blend in with your bathroom palette. These are basin mixers with an edge that inspire confidence and a sense of positivity. Like most of our tap ranges, Dress is a waterwise choice.

Still in the same space of little things that pack a positive punch, let’s look at the power of bathroom accessories to complete your sanctuary of calm. (The bathroom sanctuary is part and parcel of The Cocooning Aesthetic that arose during the pandemic brought powerful healing to many in a time of anxiety and uncertainty.) There’s something immensely satisfying about a full set of well-organised accessories, matching, harmonising, neat as a pin. Add luxury to the mix, and you’ve got a very happy situation unfolding behind closed doors. A loo-roll holder can bring joy? 100% yes!

Zack, Italtile’s exclusive German precision, is all about edgy stainless steel modernity, as featured in the world’s best-dressed bathrooms. Don’t just accessorise, Zacksessorise; elevate your minimalist bathroom vibe and up your feel-good factor. In high gloss silvery Linea, Scala and Atore. With the peace of mind of a 5-year guarantee.

Dominus Accessories have been our proudly South African bathroom accessory partners for yonks and we love that they believe little things do a lot. Each beautifully crafted piece comes with a lifetime guarantee – happy ever after or what? – so you can be sure you’re investing in lasting style. In Omega, Finesse, Heritage, Aston and Alpha.

 Get zingy with it. Colour yourself happy with our patchwork tiles. Like an infusion of Vitamin C. Honestly the most diverse and delightful range of patterns this side of the equator. Go blazing full colour, or elegantly achromatic with black and white classics, or rustic neutral with our local Retro and its honeys, browns and winter whites, or venture into the anti-anxiety blues with our highly desirable and Instagrammable new patchworks: Howard Blue and Leeds Blue. Both from Spanish tile masters Prissmacer Ceramica, renowned for their inimitable Spanish style, eco-chic credentials and craftsmanship. Firstly, take a look at Howard Blue, with its crispy fresh blue, black and white palette and woven details with botanical touches. Then Leeds Blue, with its gently worn look reminiscent of an authentic, antique Talavera-tiled floor. Soft blue and charcoal botanical graphics against an age-crackled off-white background. Prissmacer Ceramica’s choice of gentle blue links to the exciting New Neutrals trend, with whisper-soft lilacs, pinks, sage greens and blues redefining the aesthetic.

Give your walls Spanish flair. Continuing with Spanish-inspired happy-making, let’s zoom our peepers onto Italtile’s fabulous new range of Spanish Wall Tiles.

This cohort of neutrals is soft and gentle, with textured pattern leading the way. Parsel Perla, with its gently grainy pale greige. Pienza Avoria, an elegantly veined and mottled travertine-style tile. Quios Cream with its milky base tone and golden-brown veining. Savona Grigio and matching, textured Caph Savona, a double act in harmonising travertine looks. Urban Ivory, an ultra-pale, milky terracotta look. And Boulevard Natural, a warm, limestone-like neutral. These heavenly pales create a feeling of spaciousness and impart an undeniably lush glow. (These are white-bodied tiles, which give colour enhancement to each surface.) And because each range is available in a number of faces – different surface patterns – you’ll be assured of a wallspace with variation and no repetition. Each range in the new collection proves that you don’t need bright colour to create feel-goodness. Welcome to relaxing, comforting vibes every day.

Feel Marble-ous every day. Whether you’re a vintage gal or a thoroughly modern madame, or you vibe with any of the styles in between, one surface resonates with all of us. Marble. In 2022, Modern Marbles are trending in the tile world, for their monumental and majestic size as well as their incredible diversity of pattern, graphic mastery and colour. In a word, they’re intense. If ever you felt undervalued or unvalidated in your life, a marbled floorscape, countertop or wall just trumpets “Kweeeen”. Marble, in any room, is the crowning glory. It is, if you’ll allow us, the total and utter shiz.

A marble tile from Italtile will reward your investment with a dopamine rush, every time you glance at it, tippy toe across it, or run your fingers across its glossy surface. Leading the pack is new Mystic. More than marble. Outsize and outstanding in every way, with incredible, almost fantasy-style marbling that will take you to a place somewhere between dreams and reality. View Mystic, and our other jaw droppers, here.

Energise, energise, energise. Nothing brings the party quite like (Lol, did we hear you say tequila?) a wall of slinky charmers, aka Finger Tiles, aka KitKats – so called because they look like the little fingers of wafery, chocolatey deliciousness we’ve all loved since we were littlies. Say hello to the Japanese-inspired trend that’s literally breaking the hearts of Pinteresters everywhere. Each little finger is imperfectly perfect (that’s your Wabi-Sabi at work) and glazed with a gradient towards the edge, which creates eye appeal and depth to your installation. Go cool, calm and collected with neutral softness, or full-on peacock pop with sapphire blue or green.

Biophilic Design brings beatific happiness. Not one of us was, in any way, shape or form, ‘blissed out’ as the Coronacoaster began. It was the perfect time for

the rise of a design aesthetic – that had its inception in the 1980s thanks to Harvard biologist and professor, E.O Wilson, who wrote a standout book called “Biophilia”. He outlined a fundamental tendency of human beings to be attracted to nature and emulate its processes and structures in everyday life. The great Frank Lloyd Wright was totally on board, even earlier. He said: “I go to nature every day for inspiration in the day’s work. I follow in building the principles which nature has used in its domain.” That’s the ethos of Biophilic Design – not only aesthetically pleasing but also mentally beneficial. Powerfully positive. It’s the feel-good factor, on steroids.

More and more designers are interpreting this macrotrend, integrating elements like wood, natural lighting, plants and water into interior projects, along with what is called indirect biophilia – botanical patterns and motifs, textures and tones. And that’s where we come in. With a vast range of stone-look tiles, wood-look tiles, patterned tiles, marble-look tiles and many, many décor tiles with nature-inspired textures and tones, as well as botanical and floral motifs. Then you’ll also find our exclusive sanware from Laufen  – specifically the exclusive Palomba range – inspired by the shapes carved into rocks by wave action. Sanity, contentment and blissed out vibes. That’s Biophilia. Intrigued? Read more about Biophilic Design here.

Don’t Dopamine Décor without us! Of course, it's such a personal thing, feel-goodness, and there are a gazillion ways to up the smile content of your day. Don’t embark on the happy-making journey alone if you’re in any way concerned about the how-to. Let us walk with you. We’d love to help you put together your Dopamine Décor boards, up the Biophilic factor, and suggest products that best fit your style.

Most of our dopamine-infused signature style is exclusive, which means you won’t find it anywhere else. Make some time to visit us instore, or if your day is back to back, hop online. We can't wait to reveal all the dope flex that releases that hit of dopamine to make the happiness happen for you.

Live beautifully!

Ciao.