Get your flooring right

Ceramic is the season trend for floor cover. Scoring over materials like timber, marble and other cumbersome options, tiling has made floor overhauling a fairly quick job. With expenses overshooting budgets and with festivities to take care of, one mostly ponders over cash flow needed for home makeovers.

Reasonably priced with an assortment of options, easy laying and even easier maintenance have made ceramic tiles the most opted for flooring idea. Tiles today simulate the look and texture of other materials as well, like leather, carpeting, linen, marble, slate, bamboo and hardwood.

When compared to timber, flooring tiles offer great durability and trouble-free maintenance. Often considered as elegant as stone, tiled floors are easier to lay, look more fashionable and are longer lasting. Laminate flooring is very susceptible to moisture damage and are therefore not appropriate for tropical climates like ours. A bit of thought into the following aspects and you can never go wrong with tiled floors:

Purpose – The purpose and usage of the space is a vital criterion in opting for the right tiles. Interior, exterior, bathroom, kitchens, porticos.different tiles are available for different areas.
Of late, tiles have moved out of their conventional usage in kitchens and bath areas.

Homeowners are increasingly experimenting and using ceramic tiles in focal areas like living rooms and porticos and even for outdoor landscaping. Responding to demand, ceramic tiles offer special features which make them relevant to use in that particular space.

Usage & traffic – The use of the space and how much it is frequented has to be taken into consideration for hassle-free maintenance of your tiled floor. For the kitchen, anti-bacterial tiles are a practical and safe flooring solution.

From heavy usage areas such as living rooms, lobbies and porches, the use of VC Shield Tiles which have a high abrasion resistant glaze keeps the finish fresher for longer. Using anti-skid tiles, which is the non glossy variety in bathroom, is more desirable than smooth glossy ones.

Overall area to be covered – Area size is a vital factor in deciding the tile size one should opt for. For instance, small-sized tiles work best for shower areas as they provide efficient drainage for a bathroom floor. Large tiles are good to create the illusion of bigger spaces. For the kitchen, large floor tiles are preferred as they result in lesser number of joints.

Medium-sized tiles are easier to install and are apt to cover large areas like terraces.

Driveways require friction on the floor and therefore small tiles to ensure more joints, works best.

Design & trend - Subjective to the space in consideration, tiles are available in unlimited designs that one can consider. Tiles with the natural finish of marble and wood are most sought after.

Metallic finishes embossed in gold, silver, bronze, copper or steel are hot in high-end luxury homes that prefer an opulent look. Textured tiles are the next big thing taking over flat surface tiles. Digital tiles bring out unlimited designs possibilities with sharper finishes and high-resolution printing.

Created based on principles and procedures similar to those used in graphic art work, digitally printed tiles offer photo-like high resolution impressions on ceramic tiles.

Shapes beyond the regular squares such as hexagons and rectangles are gaining popularity. A word of caution, unusual shapes must be used with careful planning as they give a rather bold look.

Flooring renovation can breathe new life into spaces without spending a fortune this festival season. The only important factor is to understand the space which is to be tiled. Flooring of a space needs to serve the twin purpose of being functional and tasteful at the same time.

The right tile is the ultimate solution to all floor renovation questions as it offers strength, design versatility, easy maintenance and affordability.