Diarama tile wall by Mutina with painterly effect

Diarama by Mutina — the outdoor accent wall, painted in porcelain

Mutina

Hella Jongerius

Blush Dark
Blush Dark Available now
$ 1,373

What did you have in mind?

Trade terms for professionals and design studios

American exteriors have a blind spot: the accent wall. Indoors it is a solved problem; outside, paint peels, stucco stains and wood weathers. Diarama closes the gap in fired porcelain: declared for wall covering indoor and outdoor, frost-proof, thermal-shock tested, absorption under 0.5% — a patio backdrop, entry wall or courtyard elevation that keeps its color through winters and sprinkler seasons, stain class 5 against the barbecue.

And the color is worth keeping: Hella Jongerius «used the tiles as canvas», firing the same glaze over different colored clay bodies so the surface comes out «mixed, as if it were an oil painting» — declared V4 strong variation, glazes «naturally non-homogeneous». A high-thickness silkscreened glaze stripe crosses each unglazed tile: gloss on raw body, catching low sun. Range: Chalk and Iron plus Ash, Maize and Blush Dark; format 9.4×18.7 cm with six official laying schemes. Registered design; 24% pre-consumer recycled declared for LEED 4.1.

Where it performs

Walls only, in and out: reception fronts, boardroom features, washrooms — and patios, entries, roof-terrace walls. Datasheet and certificates on this page.

Technical information based on data declared by the manufacturer.

Collection: Diarama
Manufacturer: Mutina
Design: Hella Jongerius, 2018 — registered design no. 006336608-0001/0037 (2019)
Material: glazed full-body porcelain stoneware, 0.35 in, UNI EN 14411 App. G (BIa) GL
Format: 9.4×18.7 cm (3.7×7.4 in) — high-thickness silkscreened glaze stripe on unglazed surface
Range: Chalk and Iron + Ash, Maize, Blush families (Dark) on matt bases — V4 strong variation declared
Laying schemes: Random, Alternating and Running bond — horizontal and vertical
Use: wall covering — indoor and outdoor
Declared values: absorption compliant (<0.5%) — frost-proof (thermal shock to ASTM C484) — chemical attack resistant — stain class 5
Sustainability: 24% pre-consumer recycled (LEED 4.1 declaration); EPD, HPD on request
Installation: deliberately shade-varied — draw from several boxes and mix; porcelain adhesive, 0.08 in joint, fine-grain or epoxy grout — Packing: colors 45 pcs/box (0.79 sqm), Chalk/Iron 42 pcs (0.74 sqm)

La Mercanti USA Llc — your partner for Italian design and contract supply.
Los Angeles, CA, USA · +1 855 335 8079 · info@lamercanti.us
Supply, quotes, specifications and project support across the United States and North America.

Documents and Catalogs

Mutina Catalogue Diarama Catalogue Diarama VOC Certifications Diarama LEED® Credit Contribution Sheet Diarama Technical Guide, Laying & Maintenance

Let us know which finishes you'd like to explore

$ 180

Credited in full toward your purchase

FAQ

What makes Diarama viable outdoors when most designer tile is not?
The declarations: use is stated as wall covering indoor AND outdoor, frost resistance is tested (no visible alteration), thermal shock is certified to both ISO and ASTM C484, and the full-body porcelain base absorbs under 0.5% - so freeze-thaw cycles find almost no water to work with. Color is fired glaze, immune to UV fading and sprinkler minerals, with stain class 5 for grill smoke and leaf tannins. The honest boundary: walls only - no slip values are declared because floors are not its job.
How does the oil-painting effect actually happen?
In the kiln, not in Photoshop: Jongerius fired one glaze over different colored clay bodies and let the chemistry react - «I didn't want the surface to simply appear colored, but mixed, as if it were an oil painting». The datasheet formalizes the result: V4 strong variation, glazes naturally non-homogeneous. Each tile is an original, and a wall of them reads like brushwork. The silkscreened high-thickness stripe adds a ridge of gloss over the raw body - plan a grazing light, indoors or a west sun outdoors, and the wall performs twice a day.
Which laying scheme suits an exterior accent wall?
The six official schemes split by energy: running bond horizontal reads architectural and calm - closest to brick coursing, good for entries; vertical schemes stretch low patio walls upward; random scatters the stripes like rain on the surface, the most painterly choice for courtyard backdrops. Because variation is V4, the blending rule matters outside too: draw from several boxes so the tonal range spreads evenly across the elevation. Mock up a square meter dry before committing.
How does it compare cost-of-ownership against painted or rendered accent walls?
Paint repaints every few years; render stains and cracks; fired porcelain does neither: color is in the glaze, stains sit on top (class 5) and wash off with neutral detergent, frost cannot spall a sub-0.5% body. One installation, decades of service - which is also the sustainability story: 24% pre-consumer recycled content declared for LEED 4.1, EPD and HPD available for credit documentation through La Mercanti. The accent wall becomes capital expense, not a maintenance line.
What should the installer know?
Four sheet rules: porcelain adhesive; 2 mm joints with spacer wedges; fine-grain cement or epoxy grout; and - the V4 discipline - tiles drawn from several boxes and blended attentively so shading lands as brushwork. For exteriors, standard exterior-rated adhesive practice applies per the adhesive maker. Boxes run 45 pieces (0.79 sqm) in the colors, 42 in Chalk/Iron. Samples through La Mercanti; the cost is fully credited at order confirmation.

The accent wall that survives winter: Diarama in five steps

Five moves for US architects and homeowners' teams: Jongerius's painted porcelain from lobby feature to patio backdrop.

Take the accent wall outside
Declared for outdoor walls, frost-proof, UV-immune fired color: patio backdrops, entry walls, courtyard elevations - no repaint cycle.
Choose the palette
Chalk and Iron for monochrome; Ash, Maize, Blush Dark for earth tones that sit well with landscape. Sample several tiles - V4 is the point.
Script the stripes
Running bond for calm, vertical for height, random for painterly rain: six official schemes, one silkscreened gloss stripe doing the drawing.
Spec the blending
Multiple boxes, attentive mixing, 2 mm joints, fine-grain grout: four lines that turn V4 into brushwork instead of patchwork.
Order by the box
45 pcs/box in colors (0.79 sqm), 42 in Chalk/Iron: La Mercanti converts the elevation into boxes with wastage and coordinates freight.

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