Part one of Fabulous Flooring – Versatile Tiles: Types of Tiles, gave an insight into the types of tiles available on the market. Part two of Fabulous Flooring- Versatile Tiles will delve into the different ways you can style your tiles to suit you home decor in a practical and chic way.

In the Kitchen

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The kitchen is the one room in your home that will be most susceptible to spills and stains on the floor. For this reason, it’s important to choose a tile that’s impervious to staining. Granite, slate and ceramic, including most porcelain are fantastic options for the kitchen area.

Spills can also turn a polished tile into a slip hazard, so it’s best to opt for a matt or satin finish rather than a shiny surface to keep your feet firmly on the ground.

In the Living Room

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Your living room will generally see a lot of foot traffic, so your tile needs to be strong and hard wearing.

The trend for living areas is the large format tiles (at least 600mm x 600mm) made from natural stone or ceramic that mimics the look of stone or polished concrete.

Gloss tiles create a more formal atmosphere and are ideal if you are looking to ‘dress up’ your living room, whereas natural or matt surfaces are more relaxed.

In the Bathroom

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Keep your floor tile size to 300 x 300 mm as the closer grout lines help create a more non slip surface.

Opt for a matt finish on the floor tile for even more non slip safety.

Wall tiles are often 300 x 600 mm as they can be laid in the classic vertical pattern (which in my opinion works best for stone or imitation stone), or horizontally which is popular at the moment. Horizontally can go straight on top of each other or in a brick pattern.

You can experiment with a spectacular coloured or patterned tile arrangement on the floor and walls in your bathroom.

Mosaic Tiles
Although small mosaic tiles look spectacular as a feature wall, if you don’t want to be constantly cleaning all those grout joints I recommend using them on any wall that doesn’t have the shower recess. Keep in mind that textured tiles in the bathroom collect dust and human dander, which will be set in place by the humidity.

My Top Tile Tips

  • Use matt tiles on the floor in wet areas. Gloss tiles are more slippery than matt or satin under foot and when combined with water, they become extremely slippery.
  • Tiles are generally not ideal for those with bad backs, as standing on a hard tiled surface for long periods may lead to back pain and aching legs.

 

Additional images supplied by Beaumont Tiles.