Best Home Tiles to Buy For a New Bathroom

Carpet isn’t much good in bathrooms as it’s hard to keep dry and clean, and lino on the floor reminds you of shared student houses and other rentals – what you need for a stylish and practical bathroom is tiles. Now there are lots of different kinds of tiles, so you do need to do some homework to be sure you make the best possible choice between those ceramic, vinyl, porcelain, wood, stone, cork and even glass tiles you could be tempted by!

How to decide?
Your choice will be based on a mixture of budget, practicality, the look you are after, which part of the bathroom they are for, and of course, personal taste. Let’s take a brief look at the choices on offer so you can read, learn and make a good decision.

Tiles for bathroom flooring
Vinyl tiles are cheap, practical, comfortable underfoot and long-lasting. They are easy to install yourself if you choose, and come in lots of colors and patterns. Ceramic tiles look great and are pretty easy to maintain, but less comfortable to walk on than vinyl, even if you have under-floor heating. They are not as easy to install either, and cost a little more but will wear well if treated with a glaze for protection.

Plastic laminate tiles are hard wearing and easy to clean but don’t do well if they get wet a lot, so are better for guest bathrooms. Wood has similar problems and again is best used in a bathroom with little traffic; while stone is an attractive option, so long as you are prepared for the upkeep they need.

Tiles for bathroom walls
It’s best to choose glazed tiles for all of the walls, even if there will be no obviously direct contact between them and water. Generally, either glazed ceramic or porcelain are good choices, and as they come in various colors and designs you can create nice patterns on the walls if you choose to.

If it suits your design choice you could add in some glass tiles to create a mosaic effect. Resist the temptation to use huge wall tiles unless the bathroom is big enough to take them.

Tiles for shower enclosures
If you plan to have tiles on the floor of the shower go for a type of porcelain or stone - though it’s always good to ask an expert for advice here and avoid glazed ceramic tiles as they are too slippery.

You can go for any type of tile which resists water well on the shower walls, and again glazed ceramic or porcelain are popular choices. If you want to go up and tile the ceiling too it’s fine to stick with the same tiles or go for something in a contrasting color for added eye appeal.

Final Words

Considering the huge range of styles the most popular tiles are available in there’s plenty of opportunities to pick those which suit your space, budget, and sense of style perfectly.

And if you know what you want far in advance, then you could save few bucks if you buy tiles in bulk. Considering how expensive a job like this can be, making savings anywhere can be well worth it.