The story behind COLB
It started with a
boring chest of drawers.
One idea, one experiment — and a love of craft that hasn’t stopped growing since.
Laura Korthaus
Founder & Designer, Berlin
COLB is my family name — originally spelled Kolb, adapted to a C for the brand. But the sound stayed the same. These are my roots.
I’m a designer and maker from Berlin. What I do, I didn’t learn at school — I started it one Friday afternoon with a chest of drawers that wasn’t good enough for me.
How a chest of drawers
became a brand
It started with a chest of drawers in my flat. It was boring. Not broken, not ugly — just not good enough. And then the idea came: what if I tiled it?
The result surprised me. Not because it was perfect, but because it was so much more than I’d expected. The surface, the texture, the interplay between tile and grout — something was triggered in me. I kept experimenting. Different tiles, different sizes, different combinations.
At some point it was clear: I’m not going to stop. And if I love it this much — other people will probably find it beautiful too. That’s exactly how COLB came about. When the idea of covering Cubes with wood tiles came later, that felt immediately right too — warmer than ceramic, different, and just as craftsmanlike.
“As soon as I finish one Cube, I’m already thinking about the next — because the work itself inspires me.”
Laura Korthaus, founder COLB
What makes COLB
Three things behind every piece — whether Cube, custom furniture or room concept.
Precision
What fascinates me about tiling is how accurate everything has to be — and how satisfying it is when you apply the grout, wipe it away and see: exact. That’s not coincidence. That’s craft.
Infinite combination
Wood tiles or ceramic, many colours, six grout colours, four sizes — the number of possible combinations is practically unlimited. That’s the heart of COLB: no two pieces alike.
Materiality
Ceramic and wood are not compromises. Ceramic ages with dignity, is scratch- and heat-resistant. Wood tiles bring warmth and a distinctive texture. Whoever buys a COLB piece buys not a temporary piece of furniture — but an object that lasts.
Berlin as inspiration
A city that loves tiles
Berlin has probably influenced me more than I consciously noticed. The underground stations of this city are cathedrals of ceramics — each with its own colour world, its own rhythm, its own geometric logic. The satisfying, repeating pattern. The calm that a regular grid radiates.
Berlin is also a little brutalist. Raw, direct, with an aesthetic that sometimes deliberately swims against the current. A tile Cube in a living room — whether in ceramic or wood — is for many a small style break — but sometimes that’s exactly the moment when a room comes alive.
COLB is for everyone who wants to feel materiality — who doesn’t just see a surface but touches it. People who express a stance through interior design, not just fill a room.
possibilities
Wood & Ceramic
every piece
are identical
Design your Cube now
Choose your tile colour, grout colour and size. Every Cube is unique — and yours hasn’t been built yet.