How to Choose the Optimum Tiles for Your Home

Updated on February 4, 2021
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If you are currently in the process of building your home or decorating it, tiling the floor must be one of the most crucial parts of the process. And for the perfect makeover of your home, you need to be careful in choosing the tiles. Otherwise your home may fail to look as perfect as you dreamed of before building it. Moreover, tiling your rooms is a big commitment as you’ll have to live with the choices you make for a long time.

And picking the perfect tiles for your floors and walls isn’t an easy task. You’ll have to take many things into consideration to choose the right ones as tiles are a key element of home decor. If you can choose the perfect tiles they will set the optimum tone, color and style for your rooms, exactly as you wanted in the first place.

So to choose the optimum tiles you need to go through proper research and planning, but that is difficult as there are so many tiles of different patterns and designs available in the market. But there are some steps you can easily follow to choose the perfect tiles for your home. So if you want to make no mistakes in choosing tiles for your home, you can follow the step by step process given below.

1. Knowing where to lay your tiles     

Before you start the tiling job of your home, you need to know where you are going to use the tiles and what kind of effect you want to create with them. There are different kinds of tiles for different purposes. There are tiles for floors, tiles for walls and some can go with both. There are tiles for both indoors and outdoors. So, first  you need to set the place where you are going to use the tiles.

Furthermore, you need to know what kind of effect you are expecting from your home decor. For a harmonious look, you might want to go for the same tiles for both the floor and the wall. Or if you want a more complex look, you can go for different colors for floors and walls.

But whatever you think fit for your home, you should call in the tile samples first and then leave them in your space for quite some time. As tile looks can get different in both color and texture in your room than on your phone’s screen. The lighting of your home can also have a huge effect.

2. Selecting the right colored tiles

As for the next step, you need to choose the right color of the tiles as the color of the tiles will have a huge impact on your room. Though it will mostly depend on you and your wish for any color, you need to follow some rules like making sure that the colors of floor tiles and room tiles go together. But if you feel indecisive about your choices, then you can follow some simple tips-

  • If you want a light and bright look, you can go for white tiles but remember that they are hard to keep clean. They can also make the rooms look bigger.
  • Cream, beige and natural stone tiles can give a calm look and relaxed and natural feeling.. Warmer tones, like terracotta, can give a Mediterranean look to your rooms.
  • A metallic tile can add glamor to your room
  • If you want to add some contrast with pops of color, then gray tiles can help you regarding that
  • If you use colored tiles on your wall, they can set the tone of your room. Brighter colors can help a space to appear more open, whereas richer colors can add a more dramatic effect.     

You should also look out for the right color for your tile grout too, as they have some effect on the look. Matching grout with large tiles can create a seamless effect in your room. Or if you want your tiles to stand out, you can go for colored or dark grouts.

3. Determining the right size and scale

You need to think about the scale before choosing the tiles. The size of the tiles and the proportion of the size of floor tiles and wall tiles can have a huge impact on the room. You can follow the basic rule of putting larger tiles on the floor and smaller tiles on the wall. Or you can just use the same size tiles in both places. However never use the larger ones on the walls as it will make your room look out of proportion.

Generally, larger tiles can help your room look bigger, while rectangular tiles can help a narrow room look wider. Mosaic styles can be helpful in tiling a not so straight surface. These info can help you to be decisive about the size and scale of your tiles.  

4. Going for plain or patterned tiles

This is one of the most essential parts of the whole process. If you want a minimal look you can go for plain tiles. Not that plain tiles are dull, you can use a rich texture or high gloss finish to have an impressive look. 

On the other hand, you can go with patterned tiles for a bold look. If you want to add some character in a design feature, patterned tiles are perfect for you. You can also create a designated zone in an open space with them. Especially in empty areas, patterned tiles create the biggest impact. So, in the end it is up to you which kind you will choose. 

5. Choosing Ceramic or Porcelain Tiles

It is hard to tell the difference between these two kinds of tiles, but they have different properties. Even though they have similar manufacturing processes. The main differences are in materials and firing process as the Ceramic tiles are made of generic clay and the porcelain ones are made of fine white clay. Also the porcelain tiles are fired at a higher temperature that makes them denser, harder and less fragile. 

The ceramic tiles are a more affordable option. You can use them mainly on walls of less humid areas like living room and others. Whereas you can use the porcelain ones in washrooms or kitchens, places that are prone to moisture. However, if you are looking for budget options, you can go for ceramic tiles, otherwise you can go for porcelain tiles easily.

So, by following these 5 easy steps you can choose the optimum tiles for your home and build a home of your desires. 

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