Tile Styles

The ceramic tile you select will impact your home’s interior beauty, design, comfort, livability and upkeep. It’s a fact; floor coverings can make or break a home.

Due to the number of tile choices, patterns, colors, textures and price points shopping for tile can intimidate even the most experienced shopper.

3 types of ceramic tile

Click on a swatch below for more information

Glazed

Unglazed

Porcelain

Glazed

• Coated with glass-forming minerals and ceramic stains
• Typically have a matte, semi-gloss or high-gloss finish
• Offer better stain and moisture resistance than unglazed
• High gloss finishes- more slippery and show scratches
• Matte or textured finishes- help with traction and scratches, dirt is less visible

Unglazed

• Hard and dense
• Various surface treatments and textures
• Typically installed outside
• Good slip resistance
• Do require sealing to help prevent staining

Porcelain

• Falls in the ceramic tile category
• Hardest and densest tiles available
• Color goes all the way through
• Non-porous
• Resist scratching
• Can withstand temperature extremes

Size

• Manufactured in sizes ranging from 1” to 24” square
• Normally boxed and priced by the square foot
• Tile size is relative
• Referred to by nominal size, not its actual size
• During firing, ceramic tile will shrink by about 10% in size
• Most popular are larger sized tiles (13” by 13”, 16” by 16” and 18” by 18”)
• Determining tile size starts with the size of the room
• Small rooms don’t necessarily call for small tile
• Incorporating a larger size tile in a smaller room will visually increase the size of the space
• Fewer grout lines will help create a cleaner surface appearance
• Using a tile size that’s too small creates more grout joints that may make the floor look too busy

Cost-effective alternative

• Consumers prefer ceramic tile over stone due to price and maintenance
• Tile can also be made to feature heavy textures, chiseled and hammered edges, and resemble tumbled stone
• Tile texture is related to its style
• Feel of a tumbled stone or slate looking ceramic tile will be irregular and somewhat rough
• Tile simulating marble or granite will have a very smooth, polished feel
• Textures also vary in degree of shine, ranging from dull to semi-gloss to glass-like

Exterior

• Tile is a versatile product
• Outdoor tile features non-skid finishes designed for safety
• Outdoor tile is resistant to frost
• Tile manufactured for outdoor use has very low water absorption, minimizing the cracking, chipping and other effects of expansion when the temperature falls below freezing

Customization

• Manufacturers also offer decorative inserts, medallions, and mosaics
• Tile size 2”x2” and smaller are usually referred to as mosaics
• Often used with different colors to create a pattern or decorative inset
• Smaller tiles also come in different shapes, such as a hexagon
• Patterned borders can be made up of different size tiles
• Variations in color, shape or size can be patterned within a room, or across adjoining rooms
• “Field tile” -the more prominent tile that is throughout the largest areas
• Floor and wall tiles may be designed to look similar
• Floor tiles are generally thicker and are textured to be safer to walk on

Grout

• Impacts the overall look
• Type of cement that is used to fill the space and provide support in tile joints
• Two types of grout; Portland cement based, and epoxy based
• Both may have sand added for additional strength
• Sanded grout is for tile joints 1/8th of an inch and larger
• Unsanded grout is an option used in joints that are smaller than 1/8th of an inch
• Can be pigmented to many colors, shades, and hues
• Pigment is added to the cement at the job site when the grout is mixed
• Color and thickness will change the appearance of the floor
• White or a light-colored grout highlights the color in tile
• Dark grout with a light tile, or light grout with a dark tile, will emphasize the geometric pattern of your layout