When it comes to construction or renovation, choosing the right tiles for your home is extremely important. As with any type of renovation, the first step is to get inspiration because style is an important aspect in deciding the best tiles. Hence, you should have a clear idea of the color, design, and finish of tiles for home. You may want to select a rustic, natural stone tile, or may want to go for a more modern, ultra-sleek type of tile.
You also need to consider the size of the space or room the tiles are meant for. The size of the room basically determines the quantity of tiles you will need and affects your overall renovation or building budget. Besides this, the décor of the rooms, their purpose, and your construction/renovation budget are also considered. Additionally, the color and shade of the tile, their durability and maintenance, along with textures and patterns also need to be included in determining the best-suited tiles.
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In this blog, we will find the best way to choose tiles for your home, including essential FAQs regarding tile selection.
Steps To Select Right Tiles For Your Home
As mentioned above, there are several things you need to consider when choosing the best tiles for your home. There are different factors that need to be included to ensure that the choice of tiles complements the overall décor of your home. To help you make the right decision before buying, we have provided a step-by-step guide to select the best tiles for your home.
Below are the essential steps to select the best tiles for homes –
1 – Analyzing Décor of the Space
Analyzing the décor of the space is the first step in choosing the right type of tile to install at your home. The overall theme of interior design of a room helps to determine the best type of tile. Your choice of tiles should complement the choice of paint and coordinate with the furniture and other décor elements. This is a basic step but immensely important and helps to enhance the overall aesthetic appeal of your house.
2 – Determining the Purpose of the Room
To consider the purpose for which the room will be used is the next step in choosing the right type of tiles. The kitchen or living room both need different types of tiles, as they are used for different purposes. You need to select tiles which offer functionality. For instance, tiles in the living area need to be tough as the room sees the most foot-traffic. In contrast, tiles for bathrooms and kitchens, which are usually wet areas, should be non-porous and water-resistant. Similarly, tiles in outdoor areas, such as patios or porches should be heavy-duty to avoid wear and tear from the weather.
3 – Researching About the Options
Next, you should do in-depth research on the types of tiles currently available in the market. You can choose to do a quick Google search online or visit a few local stores nearby. The purpose of the research is to find the different types of materials that tiles are available in and their individual properties. For instance, their water-resistance, porosity, anti-slip properties, etc. If you want to buy the best-suited tiles for homes, it is essential to conduct extensive research before making the purchase.
4 – Budgeting or Estimating Cost
Budget is another important aspect when choosing the best tiles. Keeping in mind its limits, you should make sure to buy the best-quality tile within your proposed construction budget. Experts recommend buying a few extra tiles to replace any broken or damaged tiles during installation. Essentially, you need to make sure that your budget allows you to buy reliable and durable tiles that are appealing in appearance and serve their purpose.
5 – Scaling the Space
Scaling the room helps you see how the room will look with a particular type of tile. The size of the room is an important factor in determining the quantity of tiles required. You can simply click a picture of the rooms, and request samples to try before deciding the best-suited choice.
6 – Sizing up the Tile According to the Space
After scaling the room, you should decide the dimensions of tiles you need. Smaller tiles are recommended for kitchens and bathrooms, while large tiles are suitable for living rooms and bedrooms.
7 – Finding the Right Shade of Tiles
After determining the size of tiles, you will need to decide the color which will suit the space. Interior experts recommend light-colored tiles for smaller spaces, to amplify the actual area. Dark-colored tiles are highly suitable for areas that receive ample light.
8 – Deciding the Texture and Patterns of Tiles
Next, you can choose the type of texture or pattern of tiles. Polished smooth tiles are easy to clean and have low maintenance. Natural stone tiles usually require sealants to prevent stains. The pattern of the tile should essentially complement the décor of the room.
9 – Ascertaining the Durability of Tiles
The durability of tiles is another important factor to consider when buying the best tiles for homes. This can be determined by the area the tiles will be installed in, and their purpose. Areas with high traffic, such as kitchen and living room will require heavy-duty tiles. Areas with water, such as bathrooms will require water-resistant tiles to ensure optimal durability of tiles after installation.
10 – Heeding to Tiles Porosity
Porosity is another factor to consider when buying tiles for your home. The level of porosity required will depend on the area of installation. Backsplash walls or kitchen floors need porous tiles, but these tiles are not suitable for outdoor areas.
11 – Sampling of Tiles
Next, you should ensure that the choice of tiles complement the light and décor of the room they are being used for.
12 – Choosing the Tile Grouting
Lastly, you will need to choose the color and material of tile grout. This needs to be done when sampling tiles to get the best idea of how a room will appear with different types of tiles.
Expert Advice To Choose Best Tiles For Home
Interior designers and décor experts do not recommend buying tiles in a rush as this inevitably leads to regrets later. Make sure to sample and buy tiles beforehand. This allows you to return or exchange the tile if the product is defective or unsuitable without affecting the pace of construction or renovation.
In addition, you need to ensure that the tiles in different rooms also complement the overall décor of the house, and match with tiles in other rooms. So, if you follow the simple steps given above, you will be able to buy the best tiles for your home.
Final Words
Tiles are among the most important and expensive components of building homes or renovation projects. The choice of tile determines the level of cleanliness and ease of maintenance in the following years. Hence, you need to take your time in choosing the right tiles for your home.
Make sure to buy tiles from renowned brands, but never compromise on quality. You should have a considerable amount set aside to buy tiles, when building a new house, or renovating an existing one. There are large varieties of tiles available in the market, and this can sometimes overwhelm new buyers. You can make this task easier by doing in-depth research and analyzing the latest offerings from top tile manufacturers.
Tiles are incredibly important for homes as they not only enhance the overall aesthetic appeal, but also showcase your personality and taste as the homeowner.
FAQs
1 – Which color tile is best for home?
Though tiles come in many colors, white colored tiles remain the most popular choice of tiles for homes. Essentially, light-colored tiles, such as light blue, grey, beige and cream are among the top choice of colors for tiles worldwide.
2 – Which tile quality is best?
The purpose of tiles, and the area of installation determines the best quality tiles. For instance, ceramic tiles are commonly considered to be extensively durable and affordable as they can be used in almost every room. On the other hand, vitrified tiles are ideal for use in heavy traffic areas. Similarly, porcelain or ceramic tiles are recommended for use on walls as they prevent stains and are non-porous.
3 – Where to buy the best tiles for home?
You should always buy the best tiles for homes from renowned and reputed tile manufacturers. You can choose to buy tiles over the internet. However, expert interior designers highly recommend buying tiles from the local store as this allows you to easily sample and select the best tiles according to your need. By browsing and sampling tiles from different brands, it becomes easier to figure out the most appealing and affordable choice of tiles in the market.
4 – Which size floor tile is best?
Ideally, the ideal size of tile depends on the room or area, as every room has a different purpose. For instance, interior designers recommend using tiles measuring 8-inch to 12-inch in kitchens, around 2-inch to 8-inch tiles for bathrooms. You can choose larger-sized, 12-inch to 18-inch tiles, for the living room and bedroom. Hence, the purpose of the area or room will determine the ideal size of tile you should buy.
5 – Which floor tile is most durable?
Granite, or stone tiles are said to be the most durable types of tiles for homes. Additionally, porcelain or ceramic flooring tiles are also ideal as they are not only strong but also require lower maintenance as compared to others. These tiles are also affordable, which adds to their popularity and reliability.
