These Italian tiles are so glossy they might just make your bathroom look like a Renaissance painting

If you've ever looked at a plain tiled wall and thought 'this could really use more soul', congratulations - you are the target audience for Marazzi's Lume collection. And now, the Italian tile manufacturer has made it even harder to resist by adding a new square format to the lineup.

Small tile, big personality

The new addition measures just 10 by 10 centimetres - which sounds tiny, but that's kind of the whole point. According to Dezeen Showroom, this wider square shape is specifically designed to draw your eye toward the variation in glazing across each individual tile. Think zellige-style randomness (you know, those gorgeous Moroccan tiles that interior designers won't stop posting about) but filtered through a very Italian, majolica-inspired lens.

The result is a surface that looks alive. Each tile catches light differently, which means your wall or floor essentially puts on a little show depending on where you're standing. That's not nothing. That's actually kind of a lot.

Why the square format matters

It might seem like a minor design tweak - 'we made the tile square, everybody!' - but format genuinely changes how a material reads in a space. A square tile at this scale creates a more grid-like rhythm that slows your eye down, giving you more time to appreciate the depth and glossiness that the Lume collection is built around. Rectangular formats tend to push the eye along; squares make it linger.

And with glazing this rich, lingering is the whole point.

The majolica connection

Majolica is the centuries-old Italian technique of applying an opaque tin glaze to ceramics, creating that characteristic luminous, slightly imperfect finish. Marazzi has taken that aesthetic and translated it into porcelain stoneware - meaning you get the visual warmth of a handmade tradition with the durability of modern manufacturing. Your kitchen splashback can look like it belongs in a Florentine palazzo without actually requiring a Florentine palazzo budget.

It's the kind of detail that makes a space feel considered rather than just decorated - and right now, in a world drowning in beige linen and matte everything, a tile that genuinely glows feels almost radical.

The new Lume square format is featured on Dezeen Showroom.