Also, don’t forget the tiles that you choose for your home can increase the price of your home's resale value. There are countless options to choose from and that just makes the job a little harder. Looking at all the tile options that you have can be intimidating.
In this article, we want to give you some guidelines on how to choose the best tiles for kitchen floors. We will give you some expert tips on how to choose the best tiles from different materials.
Table of Content
Types of Tiles
First, let’s have a look at all the different types of tiles that you can choose for your kitchen and the characteristics of each of them.
Porcelain Tiles
By far the most popular type of tiles for kitchen flooring. Porcelain tiles are easy and relatively cheaper to maintain. You don’t need to worry about using abrasive materials to clean porcelain tiles as they can withstand acidic substances such as bleach.
Most importantly, porcelain tiles now come in a variety of looks and designs. So you can have porcelain tiles that look like marble or timber without the need to take care of marble or timber, and with a much smaller budget.
As you can see, there is no coincidence that porcelain tiles are the most popular option for kitchen flooring. They provide all the benefits that a homeowner is looking for. We often recommend choosing porcelain tiles of your choice for your kitchen flooring.
But they are not the only option you have.
Marble Tiles
On the other hand, marble tiles are absolutely gorgeous and they have a natural texture that processed materials can never achieve. And if you are considering increasing your home resale value, having marble tiles is a great investment. It can give your home an elegant and luxurious look.
If maintained well, marble tiles can last for ages without getting spots and cracks.
Terrazzo Tiles
Terrazzo Tiles are made up of tiny pieces of marble, glass, granite and quartz (and many other building materials) put together with precast or cement. After it is cured and turned into concrete material, the tiles are then polished for final use.
The result is astonishing Terrazzo Tiles. They vary widely in looks and colour depending on the materials used. You can apply them directly to the floor or walls, or you can buy ready-made tiles and install them.
There are many benefits to using terrazzo. They are highly durable and resistant which makes them a great choice for kitchen flooring and bathroom.
The range of designs and looks available for terrazzo tiles is very wide, so you won’t have a lack of options.
High-quality natural terrazzo tiles are not cheap, but they are a premium choice and can really enhance the look and feel of your home, resulting in a higher resale price.
You can also purchase terrazzo-look porcelain tiles. These are basically porcelain tiles that look just like terrazzo tiles but they don’t have the same quality and texture.
Factors to Consider When Buying Kitchen Floor Tiles
Budget
The first thing you need to consider is of course your budget. Tiling your kitchen floor has a lot of benefits such as being waterproof and having a variety of designs, but it can be costly. There is also the cost of installation and maintenance. You need to consider whether you can manage tiling your kitchen floor.
The last thing you want is to spend too much on your kitchen floor and not have enough budget for other parts of your house.
If you have decided to go for tiles, you need to look at your options and choose the one that fits within your budget. Again don’t forget to factor in the cost of installation and maintenance.
Functionality
It’s important to take into account how you are going to use the kitchen. If you have small children or pets, think about tiles that are not so slippery and have better resistance toward scratches.
Also, think about how often are you going to clean your tiles. If you think your kitchen requires a lot of cleaning, better choose options such as terrazzo and porcelain tiles that are easier to clean and can withstand abrasive cleaning materials.
Patterns and Designs for Kitchen Flooring
One of the major benefits of choosing stone and tiles flooring is that there are abundant of designs to choose from. You can really go big with stone and tile as part of your kitchen design, whether having it on the floor or kitchen splashback or countertop.
When choosing the right tiles for your kitchen think about your home design, and try to stay consistent with the overall design of your home.
Choosing neutral colours such as grey, white and black is an easy way to make sure your floor tiles are compatible with the rest of the design. It’s best to keep your floor tiles somewhat neutral and try to make a statement with your kitchen splashback and countertop.
Another thing to keep in mind is to make sure the colour and design of your tile complement the kitchen features such as cabinets and tapware.
Bring Grout into the Design
Don’t underestimate the grout colour and texture when choosing your kitchen tiles. Grouts can make a big difference.
You can choose a contrasting colour that will make the tiles really pop, or you can choose neutral colours such as white that are more subtle and that is more common.
Installation and Maintenance of Kitchen Floor Tiles
Just like any other part of the renovation, planning and managing your installation is crucial. These are some things to note when installing your kitchen floor tiles:
Consult a Professional
Kitchen tiles are one of the toughest tiles to install. This is because of all the cutting required with cabinetry and other features in a kitchen.
There will be a lot of cutting involved that requires special tools and expertise. You can go DIY on this, however, we highly recommend that you consult a professional on the costs and the procedure before you start anything.
Calculation
Make sure you are on point with your calculations. Consider corners and always add a 15% wastage to whatever tiles you need. By doing this you avoid re-ordering and you can get your tiles installed in time.
This will save you so much time, money and energy. You don’t want to get the tradesperson in for installation and not have enough tiles to finish the job.
It might take a while for the supplier to be able to supply the material for you, so your project will be on hold until the rest of the stock arrives. And there is a chance you might not get the same batch of products. Depending on the materials you are using, this could mean a slightly different look and feel of the tiles.
Seal Your Tiles
Sealing is an important part of maintaining your tiles. Porcelain and ceramic tiles often have a layer of sealing, but we still recommend adding another layer of coating to make sure they are well-maintained for a kitchen.
With natural stone tiles such as marble, it is highly recommended to have them sealed. In fact, the best practice for keeping natural stone tiles in the kitchen is to re-apply protective sealing every year.