7 Questions That Matter Before Buying Tiles

If you are planning on a DIY home renovation or just thinking of picking from different tile options, you might need some help. Unlike a general upgrade such as throw pillows, paint colors, finalizing a new tile for complete remodel is a more involved and complex project. There are numerous factors to consider when choosing tiles, such as locations, designs, materials, and installation. You will have to be smart and clear about this investment in your floorings. But no worries, this blog will help you prepare yourself, as our design professional has answered the most important tile selection questions in this blog. 

We will explain the various types of tile materials, area of use, safe or high-quality tiles, finishes, colors, and many more things!  

1. What tile material is suitable for my project?

The material’s type depends on where you want to install it. For each and every location, there is a specific tile: shower, vanity backsplash, kitchen, etc. Here are some common materials for each site and how to choose the right one. 

Ceramic Tile

Ceramic tile gives a classic look. Being a budget-friendly tile makes it an exceptional choice for most people. In addition, ceramic tile is a versatile choice that offers an exquisite appearance at an affordable price and low maintenance. 

Ceramic Tile is made of kiln-fired and glazed clay for shine and color. It comes with a gorgeous glossy shine in a wide range of colors. There are numerous ways to make ceramic tile appealing, from a zellige handcrafted look to a crackle finish. It is the best choice for bathroom and kitchen walls with a classic ceramic tile look. 

Porcelain Tile

Porcelain Tile offers a modern look to the area with a metallic rinse finish, natural stone design, wood look, and many other finishes. You can get the perfect porcelain tile finish as per your need.

It is the most practical and reliable choice, porcelain is a classic and rigid material —- it makes safe and high-quality design tiles. It is made from refined clay, which is fired at a high temperature, making it durable, non-porous, and complex.

Porcelain is the best option for areas that face plenty of liquid, such as kitchen backsplash, shower, or the bathroom floor. This won’t absorb bacteria or water, making it easier cleaning and less work for you. However, porcelain tile is suitable for everywhere, so you can use it anywhere, including the entrance, accent walls, and the living room floor. 

The specialty of porcelain is that it also comes with a combination of natural textures. So, porcelain can fulfill your various design needs, whether you want a gritty surface like a rock, a wood grain pattern, or any other illusion with superb materials. Impressive right?

Glass Tile

Colorful, glossy, light, or matte- numerous gorgeous glass tiles are available for both kitchen and bathroom. 

Give an attractive and premium designer look to your space with Glass Tile. It comes in substantial decorative varieties from timeless subway tiles, large field tiles, and mosaic patterns. Since glass is non-porous, it will resist liquid and the formation of bacteria in the cracks. Polished or matte, it is easy to clean glass shower walls or backsplash tiles. 

In terms of look, glass has a precious reflective surface that reflects light to all the room. This appealing premium quality is infamous among people who want a glamourous look. Another primary specialty about the shades of glass is that they last longer. 

This is a sustainable material that can be recycled endlessly. 

Marble Look Tile

Let’s dive into luxurious home decor! The Marble Look Tile is a classic and durable beauty that makes it an attractive and lifetime investment for your place.  

Marble can be used almost anywhere to enhance the appearance of your room. Just remind that beauty needs proper maintenance. It’s pretty absorbent and needs good sealing to prevent germs, dirt, and liquids from affecting the marble finish.

It would be best to regularly clean marble because it adapts more contaminants than ceramic or porcelain. 

It can be installed anywhere from a luxury walk-in shower, wall covering for business, high foot traffic areas, subway kitchen backsplash, or beautiful traditional home floor design.  

2. Which designs will look better with my interior furnishing?

Whether you choose a decorative or simple tile, the design should match the surrounding room decor. 

The tile is more appealing and can easily adjust with your nearby furnishing, making the tile a focal point. Or, if you want, then you can also get a simple plain tile that will easily merge with your nearby elements to enhance their elegance, such as funky wallpaper or statement rug.  

A wide range of designs and finishes significantly impact the wall application. The design looks appealing, while the delicate white and gray colors can work with any shade. The varieties of colors and shades enhance the beauty of your furnishing.

You can use a neutral tile that will easily blend with your kitchen or other spaces. The ceramic glazed white tiles add a luxury texture and gloss, yet they emerge with other eye-catching decors like bright florals, wood textures, and crystal pendant lights. 

Tiles come in various decorative shades and designs that make it a focus-pulling creation.

3. In what places should I use tiles?

Tiles are the most flexible options for wall or floor layering in your place. Unlike wall paints, you don’t need to worry about damaging your kitchen walls with cooking splatters, and unlike wood floors, you don’t need to worry about scratches, refinishing, or water damage. 

The most typical areas to add tiles in your home:

Backsplash wall tile - Tiles are an appealing and natural wall cover whether used in the bathroom or kitchen. Their unique non-porous shell can be easily cleaned, preventing concerns about damaging wallpaper or staining paint. In addition, this can defend against water splashes, cooking splatters and enhance the tile's gorgeous look. You remodel your bathroom designs with this tile from shiplap to flower patterns because it is water-resistant and lasts longer. 

Showers are another places that continuously face water loads and need a non-absorbing material that makes tiles the best option. 

Flooring designs - Shower and bathroom floors are the most common area that is expected to get slippery and wet. Thanks to various types of slip and water-resistant flooring, specially designed for this type of space. They can also perfectly fit kitchen floors as you only need a damp cloth to care for and easily clean all the spills. In addition, the decorative and durable wood look porcelain and mosaic tile designs offer low maintenance and attractive flooring option for the entire home. 

Laundry room walls - Everyone loves the recent trend of shifting utility spaces, mudrooms, and laundry rooms into welcoming areas. Adding an effective functional tile wall to a messy-prone and mud area is the perfect solution to make it look beautiful. 

Fireplace surrounds - Tiles are the perfect choice for homes with a fireplace facing in the living room as it comes with a heat-resistant nature, which protects the tiles from heat. They are perfect and can easily blend with your decor, you can choose bright finishes, creative mosaic patterns, or vibrant colors. 

4. How to select the perfect size for my rooms?

Choosing the correct tile size is essential for two main reasons: safety and aesthetics.

First, understand aesthetics: The size of the tile is essential as it influences the overall ambiance and style of the room. 

Let's understand the size matter with an example of how small tiles offer depth to a vanity area. 

Various small glass tile pieces produce extra complexity and texture. This feature makes it feel more decorative. 

They are perfect for adding charm and character to your kitchen wall, over the cabinets, or anywhere you want to put some decorative pieces.    

If you see it practically, mosaic patterns and smaller tiles have a solid slip-resistant home safety feature. In addition, it comes with more grout lines which offer more grip, which is why small tiles are considered the perfect option for floors like laundry rooms, entryways, and specifically shower floors.

The bigger slabs and tile patterns offer a more appealing look with large porcelain floor tiles. They have more crip and classic appeal. These tiles are used in bigger spaces that compliment the walls. 

Large, more functional tiles can create the view of more spaces in your place. So if you are looking for tiles for a bathroom and small kitchen, you should not consider tiles with complicated patterns with fewer grout lines.  

5. What type of color palette should I opt for tile?

There are three main categories of tiles colors: colors, monochrome, and neutrals. The right color should give a warm and good feeling within the space. 

Let's understand the concept of lights and dark or monochrome designs. Light-colored tiles provide a brightening and expanding effect to small rooms, while dark-colored tiles bring ambiance to large areas. So whether you need ambient and dark flooring to have a moody feel or enjoy the bright and light walls, both work well and can be paired with different colors. 

We have also got neutral: these are tones and shades such as grey, ivory, black, or taupe. They are flexible and can match almost every design. If you are looking for an extensive stretch or area of the wall, you should consider this. 

Neutrals can never be a wrong choice, it is the flexible and best options for everywhere, such as warm tones of marble subway tiles. 

You might also like a tile with blue shades like purple, indigo, and teal. These colors easily match with other shades, neutrals, and color tones. Stille blue is the popular choice for interior decor colors- it looks soothing and welcoming, making it a classic for tiles, and paint colors. 

Try to use matching colors and shade tiles in the kitchen cabinet for better decoration and look.    

You can also go for warm colors, they are more saturated and intense than cool shades such as orange, red, and yellow. It can match with neutral colors. 

6. What type of tile finish should I use? 

Like women's lipstick shade, every tile provides a different shaded level and shine. Whether you like gloss, semi-gloss or matte will depend on the vibe of the area you want to achieve.

A matte ceramic tile offers a simple and more calm feel than gloss tile, which provides a shiny and appealing finish.  

Finishes are not always about the looks; it has functional purposes! For example, one benefit of matte tiles is that they are better at hiding watermarks and smudges than glossy tiles. However, glossy tiles have their own advantages as they reflect light around the room to create the illusion of a brighter space. 

Matte marble adds an extra finishing touch and gives a gorgeous look to interior looks. It is also a great and safe choice as it comes with a slip-resistant feature, offers good grip than other tiles. 

6. In which I should invest budget-friendly or expensive tile.?

Both have their advantages and are suitable for all areas. However, the choice between budget-friendly or premium tile should depend on your design goal and lifestyle. For example, Some of your areas might require a premium upgrade for better appearance, while others will be sufficient with a budget-friendly option.

For example, if you are passionate about cooking food and see the kitchen as a dream and inspiring place, it’s worth every penny of the investment to have a stunning premium marble. 

If you have a favorite room where you spend most of your time, you should invest in a higher-quality tile for your space. Yet, be ensured that luxury is not always about having a top-end Italian marble. Using a porcelain tile can give you that experience at a compelling price. It combines exquisite and durable tile, which makes it the perfect choice. 

7. Is it safe to buy tiles online? Should I?

Finally, the last but the most important question! Of course, there are numerous benefits of shopping for tiles online, but we understand that many people are confused and worry about online tile shopping. So, although we have tried to answer all the possible questions in a little more depth, let's dive into more prominent points. 

Online shopping of tiles offers better pricing and discounts than stores. So, you get little savings with online shopping. 

In online tile shopping, you can see the availability of stocks then order your tile collection choice as per your requirement. You can also get samples to test and see the quality of tiles in advance. With sample shipping directly to your home, you don’t need to worry about the quality as you can feel it in samples. You also don’t need to rely on showrooms; you can choose any kind of tiles on your screen while sitting on your couch. 

Most of the online tile companies offer free shipping in all of the Lower 48 United States! You heard right; you are not bound to go or worry about local availability! You need to qualify for the minimum order quantity to get free shipping. 

BuildMyPlace is a renowned name in the tiles industry as we offer a wide range of luxurious tiles, including Porcelain Tile, Ceramic Tile, Glass Tile, Natural Stone Tile, and many more. We promise to provide you with the best possible price on our beautiful tiles. Our inventory stock is large enough to fulfill all your needs. 

Moreover, you can also order sample tiles to feel the quality and durability of the materials. 

Check out the latest available stocks and prices.