Tips for Choosing the Right Tiles for Each Area of Your Home

By Maria Rogerson

December 17, 2021Home & Decor

When it comes to choosing the right tiles for each area of your living space, most people tend to choose them based on aesthetic features such as colours, patterns, and textures. However, the problem arises when they get so impressed with the tiles’ aesthetics that they overlook their basic functionality. For instance, using glossy tiles in your bathroom is a short recipe for disaster as they’re very slippery.

What to Look for When Buying Tiles for Home?

There is a wide range of tile options available on the market today, which makes the process of selecting the right ones for your needs a bit overwhelming. Therefore, if you are looking to update the look of each area in your home, it’s wise to first familiarize yourself with some of the tiles’ features, and pick a suitable design that matches the particular place.

Pick the Right Material 

bathroom tiles
source: emctiles.co.uk

If you’ve been wondering how to choose the right tile material for your home, consider the most commonly used opinions, such as ceramic, cement, porcelain, glass, etc.

Ceramic tiles are made of clay, either red, white, or brown. They are easy to fit, easy to maintain, and you can find them available at reasonable prices. They’re primarily used in homes, in bathroom and kitchen applications for a number of reasons. Porcelain has similar features to ceramic. What makes them perfect is that they have a matte finish and non-slippery surface that resembles the look of natural stone. Therefore, many people opt for ceramic and porcelain home tiles as they are perfect for applying them on shower walls and bathroom floors. Glass tiles are mostly used for wall decorations, as they are slippery and can easily break and crack if used on floors.

Cement is another great material that can be used in a wide variety of places, including floors and kitchen walls, living rooms, foyer, dining room, bathroom, patios, and laundry rooms. One of the best things about concrete tiles is that you can find them available in a wide range of patterns and colours such as traditional or contemporary, so you can easily find a design that matches your unique style and room decor.

Choose the Right Size 

Another essential factor is picking the right size. For this, you need to have in mind the size of the room and choose an appropriate design. For instance, larger areas in your home such as living rooms, or kitchens demand a format or design that is larger. This feature will make the space feel more expanse as they have fewer grout lines. On the other hand, smaller places will benefit from smaller-sized tiles. The smallest type of tiles, also commonly known by the name subway tiles are 7cm in length and 14 cm in width. They are most often used on bathroom walls, kitchen or bathroom backsplashes, showers, and tubs but they are almost never used as floor tiles.

Pick the Right Design

home tiles
source: remodelingcalculator.com

When choosing a design, you should try to match the tile with the intended area to create a seamless look. For instance, elegant ceramic flooring will look great in living room areas, or you can choose to add porcelain tiles that are more durable and water-resistant. For a child’s bedroom, it’s vital to consider the durability feature and maintenance factor. For instance, you can pick floor tiles in bright colour tiles that are non-slippery. 

Adult’s bedroom on the other hand may benefit from a wide range of textures and styles. For instance, you can decide to highlight the wall behind your bed and choose colours and shades that are soothing and relaxing to achieve your desired ambience. Most people pick bright colours of tiles for bathroom areas, including, white, yellow, and blue that instantly makes the space look airier, bringing a feeling of lightness and cleanliness. Since these areas are also frequently in contact with water, it is essential to choose tiles that are safe to use.

Decide on the Number of Tiles You Need

Now that you’ve picked the right design, you should decide on the number of tiles you’ll need for each room in your home so you can precisely estimate the exact cost. You should also take into account the additional tiles you order so you will always have spare ones to replace them in case of damage.

Consider Your Budget

Finally, considering your budget is another essential factor. c. If you prefer to pay for professional installation you need to calculate the additional expenses in the price as well.

For instance, ceramic tiles tend to be a little bit more affordable than porcelain, and their price range from $0.50 to $35 per square foot. Porcelain tiles are much more durable and denser than ceramic, and therefore more expensive as well. Their price range from $2 to $30 per square foot for the material, with most people spending between $9 and $40 with the installation included.