Runner border of Tex in Olive framing a corridor

Tex by Mutina — the tumbling-blocks quilt, fired in porcelain

Mutina

Raw Edges

Olive
Olive Available now
$ 1,157

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Trade terms for professionals and design studios

America wrote the pattern into its quilts: tumbling blocks, the diamond arrangement that turns flat patchwork into stacked cubes before your eyes. Tex builds the same illusion out of porcelain. Its 4x8 inch rhombus, designed by Raw Edges for Mutina in 2012, assembles into three principal geometries - cubes, stars, flat diamond fields - each with a completely different presence in a room.

The textile ancestry is declared, not implied: the tile is «a simplified enlargement of the basic knitted stitch», and each of the eight matt colors ships in three shades and five relief textures «re-creating the feel of the different tones of the yarn», randomly packed like a scrap basket. Prefer control? Ten Runner patterns arrive pre-set on mesh, eight modules to 1.12 square meters, ready to frame a lobby or band a corridor.

The spec column reads commercial-grade: 0.04% absorption, stain class 5, Mohs 6, frost-proof, DCOF 0.58 with barefoot class C for wet areas, and a Robinson rating of extra-heavy, high-impact use. Add 24% recycled content under LEED v4.1 and a VOC class A+ report, and the quilt metaphor ends exactly where facilities management begins.

Technical information based on data declared by the manufacturer.

Collection: Tex
Manufacturer: Mutina
Design: Raw Edges (Yael Mer, Shay Alkalay), 2012 — registered design no. 002193797-0001/0014 (28/02/2013)
Awards: Interior Innovation Award 2014
Material: glazed porcelain stoneware (UNI EN 14411 App. G, group BIa GL), matt surface, 0.39 in thick
Format: rhombus 4x8 in (4.5x7.9 in) — mesh-mounted Runner 13.8x15.9 in (8 modules = 1.12 sqm, 10 versions) — skirting 4.1x7.9 in
Colors: 8 (Cream, Brown, White, Grey, Black, Blue, Olive, Yellow), each in 3 shades and 5 textile textures, randomly mixed in the box — V3 variation
Use: floor and wall, indoor and outdoor (frost-proof, ISO 10545-12)
Technical data: water absorption 0.04% (ASTM C373) — Mohs hardness 6 (EN 101) — stain resistance class 5 (ISO 10545-14) — DCOF 0.58 — R10 (DIN 51130) — DIN 51097 class C — BCRA dry 0.53 / wet 0.49 — unaffected by thermal shock (ASTM C484) and chemicals (ASTM C650) — Robinson test: extra heavy and high-impact use
Installation: 0.08 in joints, 0.04 in caliber tolerance, mix tiles from several boxes
Sustainability: 24% recycled content (LEED v4.1) — VOC emissions class A+

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Documents and Catalogs

Mutina Catalogue Tex Catalogue Tex LEED® Credit Contribution Sheet Tex Technical Guide, Laying & Maintenance

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$ 180

Credited in full toward your purchase

FAQ

What makes Tex different from ordinary diamond-shaped tile?
Provenance and system: Raw Edges designed the rhombus as «a simplified enlargement of the basic knitted stitch», each color ships in three shades and five knit textures, and ten mesh-mounted Runner patterns come pre-designed. It is a textile system in porcelain, registered as a design in 2013.
How slip-resistant is Tex underfoot?
The sheet declares DCOF 0.58 - above the 0.42 threshold referenced for level interior floors - plus BCRA 0.53 dry / 0.49 wet, R10 and barefoot class C under DIN 51097 for wet areas.
Can Tex handle heavy commercial traffic?
Yes - the Robinson test rates it for extra-heavy and high-impact use, the top of the scale, with Mohs 6 surface hardness and class 5 stain resistance. Lobbies, corridors and food-service areas are inside its declared envelope.
Does Tex contribute to LEED projects?
Mutina declares 24% recycled content under LEED v4.1 - among the highest figures in its catalog - plus a VOC emissions class A+ report. Both documents download from the article page for your submittal package.
How are the Tex Runner panels specified?
By colorway and placement: ten versions exist, each twelve rhombi pre-set on a 35x40.4 cm mesh, eight modules covering 1.12 square meters. Use them as a room frame, a centerpiece or a linear band, on walls or floors.

Piecing a porcelain quilt: rolling Tex out across a workplace

A step-by-step path for design teams bringing Tex into offices and hospitality - choosing between the shuffled field and designed Runners, proving the cube illusion, and protecting the matt surface through turnover.

Sign off on the shuffle
Approve a multi-tile panel showing all three shades and five textures per color (sample cost is fully credited at order confirmation) - the variation is the design, so the approval must cover the mix, not one tile.
Map chance against control
Assign shuffled open fields to large floors and walls, and reserve the ten Runner colorways for entries, elevator banks and wayfinding bands - the contrast gives the scheme its rhythm.
Prove the illusion at full scale
Dry-lay a square meter in each candidate orientation - cube, star, flat field - under the actual lighting; the tumbling-block effect changes dramatically with fixture placement.
Detail the joints like seams
Hold 2 mm joints with wedge spacers against the 1 mm caliber tolerance and match the grout to the tile tone, so the field reads as quilted fabric rather than gridded tile.
Close out with the documents
Attach the technical sheet, LEED 24% declaration and VOC class A+ report from the article page to the closeout package, and write neutral-detergent-only care into the janitorial contract.

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