Rather than committing to product launches every year, as seems to be the general status quo for interiors-related manufacturers, Polyrey instead releases an entire collection on a four-year cycle, allowing the supplier to concentrate heavily on trend research and product development over the course of years rather than just months. The result is an entire collection with a single goal in mind, to provide designers with styles that will remain as relevant in 2017 as they were upon their release.

Offering nearly 500 style combinations the collection is as immersive as it is expansive, allowing designers to explore it in what it describes as ‘universes’ that have been developed by Polyrey’s internal design teams in consultation with renowned interior designers and stylists.

A fact, marketing manager, Luciana Kola is keen to point out:

“While providing designers and end-users with a future-proof range, refreshing the entire collection every four years does set certain challenges and one of the most significant is that we predict where interiors are heading for the next few years. With this at the forefront, we work with a wide pool of interior designers and trend analysts to develop the collection, looking at interior design across a variety of applications – commercial office, education and healthcare for example – to find trends in  colour, materials, textures, gloss etc. We look at more than just emerging trends in surfaces, concentrating on other areas such as soft furnishings, furniture and more.”

There are four universes to explore in Colours, Woods, Patterns and Digital; each of which consists of various takes on a theme. Whether that’s the acid brights to be found in Color Papago or the authentic wood grains of Origine Premier, these universes offer a huge amount of scope.

The Polrey universes

  • Colour: This universe features the families Color Papago and Color Premier
  • Woods: This universe features the families Origine and Origine Premier
  • Patterns: This universe includes Mineral, Metallic, Pur Metal and Expressions families
  • Digital: This includes Empreinte and Signature

For example, the Colours universe features 120 decors alone, with a complete spectrum of tones beginning at Arctic white through neutrals, pastels, acids and greys to slates and black. Woods, too, is much the same with rich tropical species through to Nordic style ash and whitewash effects.

In fact, there seems to be something of a four theme running here, as most, if not all, of these decors are available across four product types in HPL, melamine, laminate and compact. Naturally, the most expansive of these is the standard laminate with a total of 334 decors, 50% of which are brand new editions to the 2017 Collection. Melamine gives the least variety with a still impressive 156 different decors to choose from. Such scope means that designers are sure to find the look they want in the material they need, without having to compromise.

Finishes too are well considered with 11 available ranging from deep matt through to high-gloss – and again the four theme strikes again with four brand new finishes released for this collection. The finish available not only depends on the product chosen, but the decor too, with Polyrey considering the overall impact of the decorative surface:

The new Polrey finishes

  • Alliage: A brushed metal effect which brings a luminous sheen to decors under changing light
  • Roche: A brand new slate effect with a matt finish
  • Granite: A satin granite textured surface with an iridescent grain effect and Protect+ for three-times the abrasion resistance
  • Legno:  A brand new embossed linear effect that combines matt and gloss in a woodgrain look

“Making sure the surface is true to itself helps to advance realism or promote impact,” explains Luciana. “By making sure that finishes and decors work in harmony, we are ensuring that designers can select them with complete confidence, matching to other elements of the scheme with tried and tested combinations. Of course, orientation has to be considered too and that is why some of our finishes can only be used in the vertical plane, trying to use that particular finish upon a work or counter top would just not look right. To us it is about making sure that the Collection 2017 delivers the perfect solution from stock.”

The striking new Legno is a standout finish for Polyrey, offering a look that is particularly resplendent on the Monochrom laminate that places a matching core beneath the decor to minimise the appearance of scratches. Available in striking black and white, as its name would suggest, Monochrom is also available in five other finishes on 1.2mm HPL, three in Compact and one on postformable 0.6mm HPL.
With approaching 500 different options available from 334 styles and the one-week turnaround bespoke 720dpi Signature service, Polyrey has certainly stepped up to the mark when delivering diversity and depth of offering, yet not at the expense of product innovation.

The manufacturer has introduced the anti-bacterial Sanitized® technology for all its laminate and Compact styles. Tested on seven different bacteria, the silver-ion treatment helps towards healthier environments, making Polyrey laminates and Compact a great choice for sensitive locations such as food preparation, laboratories and hospital areas. The laminates are also rated ‘A’ for VOC emissions and E1 Class for formaldehyde emissions. On this subject too, panels are PEFC and FSC certified, and all Polyrey products are made to the very best quality.

The company’s objective is to provide designers with an eco-friendly, reliable and hygienic collection, all of which it achieves admirably, but Luciana believes that it also goes far beyond this: “It really offers designers one of the best and most diverse collections of decorative laminates in existence today. For designers wanting to pick laminate surfaces from the most varied and future-proof collection available today then there are few better options, and with the manufacturer’s reputation for product quality and innovation, it makes a reliable and secure choice.

“The Collection 2017 represents years of work from one of the most experienced and reliable manufacturers within the decorative laminates sector. Whether washroom, partition, reception feature, work surface or wall cladding, Polyrey can deliver a solution that will not only look stunning, but also that will continue to perform daily, helping designers to meet the expectations of clients. We truly believe that the Collection 2017 redefines decorative laminate surfaces.”