Ascale Boreal Sand

The odd one out here: this is not stone imitated but timber. The graphic reproduces the grain, knots and texture of sand-toned oak accurately enough that you have to step close to tell — the inspiration is the boreal forest, from Alaska and Canada through Scandinavia and Russia.

Ascale is large-format sintered porcelain from the Spanish maker TAU Cerámica: a blend of minerals fired under high pressure and heat into a dense, non-porous slab. It absorbs nothing and never needs sealing, and resists scratching, staining, heat and UV, so it works on a worktop, on a floor and on an exterior façade alike. Which is the whole point of a slab like this: the warmth of wood without what happens to wood on a wet floor or a stair tread walked on daily. Supplied in the Feel finish — matte with a texture that returns the feel of timber to the fingertip — in 2, 1.2 and 0.6 cm. Formats are 162 × 324 and 160 × 320 cm from the maker, and 360 × 120 cm from the Israeli importer.