MIDDLE Eastern consumers are a lot more daring and bold when it comes to décor and colour choices and hence are showing a preference for metallic tones that enhance architectural features and create an inspirational look and feel, according to Caparol, a market leader for building paints.

“As a result, our sales of metallic paints and paint effects are much higher in the region than elsewhere in the world,” says Amna Mirza of Caparol’s Colour Design Studio in Dubai, UAE.

Caparol develops, produces and markets high-quality paints, enamels, glazes, structural coatings, materials for facade and insulation technology.

What is particularly appealing about the company’s paints is that despite being metallic they are environment friendly, thanks to the technology on which they are based.

“What differentiates our product from other brands is that our metallic finishes are based on ELF technology that emits very low VOC (volatile organic compounds). They are, therefore, environment-friendly and not hazardous to human health,” she points out.

She continues: “Our Metallocryl range is environment friendly, water based, tintable, and washable and has low odour and low VOC. It also offers excellent colour retention and can be applied easily over plain surfaces, textured finishes as well as the Caparol wall coverings range,” she adds.

Mirza says Caparol’s Metallocryl range is being extensively used in residential buildings, especially in living rooms, dining rooms and bedrooms. It is also used a lot in commercial spaces such as shopping malls, showrooms, boutiques, restaurants, clubs and office spaces. “In commercial spaces, we find clients like to use Metallocryl on architectural features such as columns, arches, niches, wood carvings, cornices and accent walls. This really creates a dramatic and upmarket effect,” she adds.

Caparol is a privately-owned German company with a 116-year history of success which has come about due to its commitment to the sector’s enrichment through innovation of quality products that are environment friendly and harmless to health, she says.

Caparol recently became a member of the Emirates Green Building Council (EmiratesGBC), which is working towards making the UAE a global leader in reducing the ecological footprint of the built environment by 2015.

“In short, the Metallocryl range is the most economical way of ‘glamorising’ a wall. If you consider a wall as an outfit, metallics can be used as an accessory to enhance the entire look but adding elegance and sparkle,” Mirza says.

Among the striking global projects where Metallocryl was used are the Allianz Arena and the BMW Museum in Munich, Germany and the Caixa Forum in Madrid, Spain.

Meanwhile, Caparol Dubai – a joint venture between Emaar Industries and Investments and Caparol – has completed a contract on Abu Dhabi’s Khalidiya Mall using its CapaStone range for the project, which gives the mall a natural stone finish.

The range includes five main products – Ceratone, EuroStone, CeraTile, DecoCoat and Granito – all providing different types of textures and finishes to large-scale projects.

“Granito was used for Khalidiya Mall due to its rugged feature and was applied in a three-tone effect, achieving a more realistic granite finish,” says Gary Seabrook, general manager.