Choosing tile for a home remodel is an important decision. Unlike paint colors or plumbing fixtures that are easily replaceable, tile is a more permanent selection. A well-installed tile floor can last for decades, or centuries, so taking a comprehensive and long-view approach to tile selection means a finish you’ll love for a lifetime.
3 Things to Keep in Mind When Selecting Tile
As you visit showrooms, scour design websites, and work with your design-build team, these three considerations will help you make the best choices:
1. Purpose
Kitchen and bathroom tiles serve a wide range of purposes. Style is undoubtedly one of them, but so are safety (especially for wet floors), durability, and long-term maintenance considerations.
Consider the purpose for each tile location to help direct which types of tiles are best suited for the task. For example:
- Kitchen and bathroom floors need tiles that are non-slip and can handle the wear-and-tear of foot traffic, high-heeled shoes, dropped glasses, mugs, pans, and other hard objects.
- Shower tiles should be non-slip and quick-drying, preferably resistant to mold and mildew growth.
- Kitchen counters are best served by stone tiles resistant to chipping or cracking.
- Non-porous tiles are always best if you’re concerned about staining or glass rings – a reason why granite and quartz are so prevalent in both kitchens and bathrooms.
Matching the right tile material with the location and purpose is key to regret-free selections.
2. Material pros and cons
Each tile group has its own set of pros and cons. Research all the options thoroughly before viewing samples to keep decisions focused. This protects you from sample overwhelm or making looks-based selections that aren’t practical for the location (or your budget).
For example, everyone loves the luxurious look of marble, but marble is very porous. Those absorptive pores mean marble stains easily in contact with wine, juice, food dyes, tea, coffee, etc. So, if you’re a busy family with young children, quartz or granite is a much wiser kitchen countertop option, while marble may be more ideal tile for shower walls or master bath countertops.
Maintenance is also an important consideration as you weigh tile material pros and cons. If annual home maintenance isn’t your forte, skip tile options requiring routine sealing or special cleaners.
Here is a quick rundown of the most common tile materials used in home remodels:
- Ceramic – Affordability, durability, and color variability are three reasons ceramic tile is so popular. Glazed ceramic is easy to maintain, but unglazed tile and grout require regular sealing to prevent staining/mold/mildew.
- Porcelain – Similar to ceramic tile but better at mimicking natural stone, wood, or brick options. It is more brittle than ceramic tile, making it slightly more prone to cracking or chipping.
- Glass – Beautiful, elegant, and great for visual accents, glass tiles are commonly used on kitchen backsplashes and shower walls. Unfortunately, edges are prone to chipping, making it less practical for countertops and floors.
- Marble – Marble is elegant, adding texture and depth via natural mineral patterns. Colors tend toward the timeless neutral palette. Unfortunately, it’s porous, which makes marble prone to staining. It should be cleaned frequently and sealed annually. Keep marble to areas with less hard use and traffic. It’s also at the top of the tile price point.
- Granite – Like marble, granite is a hard, natural stone. However, it comes in a broader range of colors and contrasting vein patterns than marble. Granite is also porous, requiring regular sealing, but it’s more durable than marble. Pricing ranges from affordable to high-end depending on availability.
- Limestone or travertine – Both add a rustic, historic, aesthetic using light-to-medium earth tones. They’re great non-slip options for floors and hold indoor/outdoor appeal. However, they have large pores and are prone to catching dirt, mud, stains, etc. Failure to seal limestone or travertine makes them prone to etching, cracking, and staining.
- Decorative – Decorative tiles are made from various materials, including metal, reflective materials, resin, recycled materials, mosaic-style sheets, etc. These are typically used for backsplash decor or to accent flooring or bathroom wall/shower tiles.
3. Texture and color
Finally, tiles offer a way to bring texture and color into your home remodel. For example, fun accent tiles, patterns, and mosaics are at the heart of the contemporary Spanish revival trend. We love the way artistic and colorful designs are finding their way back into backsplashes, stair risers, or accent pieces on a wall.
There are many options to choose from, allowing homeowners to design bold and stunning tile focal points or to use subtle changes in tile shade or texture to create outlines, “picture frames” on shower walls, or basic geometric patterns. Another way to make a subtle statement is to use monochromatic (all one color) tiles installed in subway, herringbone, chevron, or other geometric patterns.
Let Fogle Constructors Facilitate Your Home Remodel Decisions
Would you like to work with a DeLand custom home remodeling team that makes sure you take every tile option into consideration? Schedule a consultation with Fogle Constructors! We pride ourselves on detail-oriented home designs personalized to our clients’ budgets, lifestyles, and preferences.
