Terrazzo flooring adds character to the home and can be used everywhere from living rooms to bathrooms. For our latest lookbook, we've collected 10 interiors that make effective use of the sturdy material.
Durable and easy to clean, terrazzo has been used to make floors for centuries since the composite material first originated in Venice.
Traditionally, it has consisted of chunks of marble or granite set in cement with a ground and polished surface, but modern resin-based versions have allowed for a huge variety of shapes, colours and formations.
This lookbook features terrazzo floors in living rooms, kitchens, bathrooms, hallways and staircases, in a number of different shades and styles.
It is the latest roundup in our Dezeen Lookbooks series providing visual inspiration for the home. Previous lookbooks feature interiors with conversation pits, glass block walls and wood panelling.
House in Achladies, Greece, by Lydia Xynogala
This house, perched on a hillside overlooking the ocean on the Greek island of Skiathos, has striking aquamarine terrazzo flooring throughout.
Architect Lydia Xynogala hoped to draw upon the region's history by using the material alongside marble and plaster render.
Find out more about House in Achladies ›
RaeRae House, Australia, by Austin Maynard Architects
Terrazzo flooring was used in the common areas of this large family home in Melbourne, designed by Austin Maynard Architects.
It was combined with wooden panelling and white walls and ceilings to create spaces that feel bright and open.
Find out more about RaeRae House ›
House C-DF, Belgium, by Graux & Baeyens Architecten
Belgian studio Graux & Baeyens Architecten used terrazzo flooring throughout its extension to this canalside townhouse in Ghent, contrasting with the wooden floorboards of the old structure.
In the bathroom, the fresh white terrazzo extends up the walls and also forms the bathtub and double sink.
Find out more about House C-DF ›
White Rabbit House, England, by Gundry & Ducker
Diagonal chequerboard terrazzo flooring and a staircase greet visitors to this house in north London renovated by Gundry & Ducker.
The terrazzo has been paired with green walls and railings as part of the studio's attempt to create a "modern interpretation of a Georgian house".
Terrazzo was also used to clad an extension at the rear.
Find out more about White Rabbit House ›
Brown Box, Vietnam, Limdim House Studio
In this apartment in Vietnam, terrazzo flooring and surfaces were used alongside curving walls and arched niches to produce a space described by the design team as "calm" and "gentle".
"We use terrazzo all the way from the kitchen island, like a stream going down the floor and spreading everywhere," said Lindim House Studio founder Tran Ngo Chi Mai.
"Physically, terrazzo has good hardness, just enough gloss, and more heat dissipation than wooden floors, so it creates a cool feeling, especially in tropical areas," she added.
Find out more about Brown Box ›
Victoria Road, Northern Ireland, by Hall McKnight
Terrazzo tiles made with black marble chippings provide flooring through the living areas of this house in Holywood, Northern Ireland, designed by Hall McKnight.
Their charcoal colour offers a bold contrast to the white-painted walls and ceilings.
Find out more about Victoria Road ›
House P, China, by MDDM Studio
MDDM Studio interspersed colourful terrazzo flooring made with green, orange and beige stones throughout this bright Beijing apartment, including for the base of a staircase and in the bathroom.
Together with bright yellow-painted walls, the material produces a vibrant colour palette designed to suit the young family that lives in the home, tempered with cement flooring and white fixtures.
"We wanted to use a material that could bring together the cement finishing of the floor and ceiling with the yellow walls," MDDM co-founder Momo Andrea Destro told Dezeen.
Find out more about House P ›
House BL, Belgium, by Graux & Baeyens Architecten
Belgian practice Graux & Baeyens Architecten renovated and extended a 1960s chalet as a family home for one of the studio's co-founders.
Terrazzo covers the floor of the interior, including in the sunken living space, contributing to the soothing natural colour scheme and creating a beautiful backdrop for the art pieces and sculptural furniture on show in the home.
Find out more about House BL ›
MÃ i Apartment, Vietnam, by Whale Design Lab
This unusual terrazzo, made with large white marble chunks, was chosen by Whale Design Lab to help give this Ho Chi Minh City duplex a modernist feel.
The material became trendy in the Vietnamese city during the 1950s and 1960s, when modernist architecture was introduced into the south of Vietnam, the studio told Dezeen.
Terrazzo with finer flecks of aggregate was also used for floors and even walls in the rest of the house.
Find out more about Mà i Apartment ›
Scullion Architects contrasted white terrazzo flooring with stained oak panelling for this conservatory-like extension to a 1930s semi in the Dublin suburbs.
The studio sought to take materials typically found in homes built during the period and adapt their application in unconventional ways.
Find out more about Churchtown ›
This is the latest roundup in our series of lookbooks providing visual inspiration for the home. See previous lookbooks featuring interiors with conversation pits, glass block walls and wood panelling.
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