Don’t we all sort of wish we had a Nonna? That ridiculously charming vision of an Italian granny, scooping handmade orecchiette pasta at the cucina table with her lace pinny on. Good news: this latest tile collection from the Studio at Ca’ Pietra is giving Nonna, big time. We might not be able to deliver you a Grazia (the name of our very own Head of Creative’s, Grazzie’s Nonna), but this is the next best thing, whisking you off to the cypress tree-studded Italian countryside, one tile at a time.

THE NONNA'S KITCHEN COLLECTION: MEET THE TILES

Ten tiles. All destined for your walls. Each one as charming as the other. That’s Nonna’s Kitchen for you in a nutshell. First up, we’ve got the florals. 

The Classica tiles are all hand painted in the UK in aquintessentially provincial Italian palette – blue and white. There are three floral designs and one left largely plain (save for the delicate foliage corners) that can be combined on one wall inwhatever way you please. Though, all white with then a gathering of florals in the centre like a piece of art is a characterful way to go about things in a rustic country kitchen – wooden pot hanger and all.

Sorrento is far jazzier and takes you to Nonna’s lemon grove. Pick between a buttermilk backdrop or a blue sky day, and if you really want to go big on the rustic Italian kitchen feel, go for a whole wall in them – in a pantry with vintage pine shelving in front looks so great.

Nuvola has more of a playful feel to it with the two pastel colourways to pick between, each with a cloud effect and two colours of falling fruit. It’s a dreamy way of depicting sunset and sunrise skies and abundant Italian harvests all year round. Imagine those behind your stove.

And finally, Cornelia and Floreale that take a pure white glazed tile with decorative foliage and gentle colour. A whole kitchen in these with coloured cabinetry or exposed timber will bring you your very own la dolce vita.

THE TALE BEHIND THE TILES

For one of our first collections to come out of Studio, we wanted to create a collection that transported you to someplace else – somewhere nostalgic, somewhere comforting, some place that breathes good food into the heart of your home before you’ve even got out the chopping board.

Who better to do just that than the Italian Nonna you never had – or maybe you’re the lucky sort who did and perhaps still do. It’s no secret that the Italian home kitchen is a special place. In recent years there’s been much written and brought to our television screens via various cooking shows featuring the wisdom and wonder of Italian pasta grannies, hand-making every shape and every sauce you could imagine. The kitchens we see them in are full of stories, tiles that are decorative but not fussy and that sit back against the farmhouse kitchen table and antique cabinetry that have been in the multi-generational family home for decades.

It’s that very scene that we had in mind when designing the collection. You might not have olive branches extending outside your window, but the soul of the Italian kitchen can still be brought into homes far and wide. From country cottages to period townhouses in the city, these are tiles that will live their days richly, encouraging you to bring in fresh cut flowers and fruit from the market in their crumpled brown paper bags, to always keep the fridge full for whoever descends, to cook fine fare with family and friends and to live the good life in the heart of your home. “There’s an old Italian saying A tavola non s’invecchia that translates as: at the table, one does not grow old,” says our head of creative, Grazzie. “The notion of spending hours over proper food and that never ever being wasted is something we really had in mind when designing these tiles. But they don’t have to stay in the kitchen, remember: they translate to all parts of the home – imagine Nonna’s Classica around the fire, a shower enclosure tiled in Sorrento or Nuvola or a bathroom wall in pretty Cornelia. SOLD.”

Discover our full Nonna's Kitchen tile collection HERE