One of my pet peeves (and I admit I have many) is people who don’t listen. Now, these come in different varieties. There are those who don’t listen because they suffer from severe ADD; and those who don’t listen because they live in a separate world (peopled by fanciful creatures or dreadful conspirators, the latter being an unfortunate subset); and those who don’t listen because they fail to acknowledge the existence of others (my least favorite, otherwise known as the narcissists).

Futura. Designed by Fap Ceramiche.

So when I come across those rare few who do listen, I rejoice. Italian company Fap Ceramiche visually illustrates their capacity to listen with a lovely photograph of a nautilus (which, you’ll note, looks remarkably like an ear) on their website’s philosophy page. As if that weren’t enough, they also feature a large statement (both in font size and in content): “Listening is creating.” Fap Ceramiche then goes on to say that they never tire of listening to their customers—now that I question, but let’s go with it. One of their subsequent statements leads me to believe that they do indeed listen, because it shows a deep understanding of the designer’s whim: “Our creations are designed for people who have to dress up their bathroom right now, this very minute.”

Fap Ceramiche’s timely line of tile—boldly named Futura—answers the desires of many for a chic, innovative collection that both looks to the past and the future. These rectangular tiles, measuring approximately 6 x 22 inches, give a wink to subway tiles (which we all love, despite getting vertigo from them when riding the escalator or driving through the tunnel). Then they jump into their own galaxy, crossing heretofore unknown frontiers. First, their finish departs from standard tile: it’s a satiny matte that reminds me of face powder from a golden compact. This finish causes the colors to stand out as truly avant-garde: eggshell becomes talc, black becomes charcoal, and green becomes slate. All the hues get a little sprinkling of space dust. Second, decorative tiles take off in unexpected directions. Futura Sogno Inserto features a decorative outline of arabesques—a cross between art nouveau printer’s marks and delicate cake piping. Futura Listello is a sliver at less than 2 inches, and there is also a Futura mirrored tile, so you can add splashes of reflective scintillating radiance. Old movies and popular culture ascribe shiny to the future—think of silver lame jumpsuits in old Star Trek episodes—but Fap Ceramiche is turning that staid vision of tomorrow on its head with Futura. The true intergalactic tile of the world to come is decidedly cloudy, like the spiral bands of the Milky Way.