How to choose tiles for your new home

How to choose tiles for your new home

With March kicking off with New Homes Week, we thought we’d share some top tips on how to pick the perfect tiles for your new house. Whether you’re renovating, have a self-build project or a new-build property, it can sometimes seem overwhelming when it comes to selecting tiling for all the rooms you need.

In this blog we’ll subsequently go through the key things to consider when choosing tiles for your home, as well as sharing some tile inspiration from our extensive product range. Make sure you read to the end of the blog to find out more …

Always choose tiles which fit the room’s function and suit your personal style.

Define your individual style and start small

A top tip shared by many of our customers when choosing their interior décor is to start off with a single room to avoid overwhelm. So, rather than trying to choose all your tiles at once, pick a room and decide what you want for that specific space. Working through your house methodically like this will help you to focus better on each separate interior and prevent distraction, ensuring that you choose the tiles which really work for a particular room.

It’s good to have an idea of the style you want to use in your home overall – knowing your personal taste and sticking to that rather than following trends which don’t actually match what you like. You can then adapt this according to the various rooms you need to tile. If you’re unsure of what you really like, or just need some inspiration, then do your research online and in-person to see what styles and colours you really like. Get ideas and see what other people are doing. You don’t need to hop onto trends you don’t like, but it can be useful to see what others have done and to decide what you like from that.

Consider room functionality

Another key thing to consider when tiling your new home is what function each room is going to have – who will be using it, how often, when and what for? Is your bathroom a family one used by adults and children, or for adults only? Does it need to be accessible or is it a downstairs toilet room which will only be used now and again by guests?

Do you plan to have a wet room, as the function of this room dictates that you’ll need non-slip floors, for example. High-traffic areas will also require more robust tiling, while bathrooms with high humidity will benefit from non-porous tiling where a hallway won’t require the same.

The Iron Blue Matt Rectified Porcelain Tile.

The Iron Blue Matt Rectified Porcelain Tile is a large-format floor tile with a modern matt finish which is ideal for bathrooms and wet rooms, as it has a non-slip surface.

These tiles are also made from porcelain so are non-porous and are very robust and hard-wearing. Therefore, if you’re tiling a space where these qualities would be beneficial, then they’re an ideal choice.

Pick tiles to suit room size

With downstairs toilet rooms, cloakrooms and guest bathrooms, these are often smaller spaces and ones where it can be really fun to get creative and use tiles you might not consider elsewhere in the house. Think bright and bold colours, patterned tiles or more artistic styles. You can also play around with textures as well as mixing and matching different designs and colours.

Smaller spaces can also benefit from larger tiles, as these help to create a sense of spaciousness. Bigger rooms can also benefit from large-format tiles, of course, with rectified edges providing a more precise and seamless aesthetic. If you want to maximise space even further, choosing a gloss finish is also useful as the shiny surface reflects light where a matt finish wouldn’t, enhancing any natural and artificial lighting.

An eye-catching large-format gloss finish tile which will enhance any space is the Onyx Turquoise Polished Rectified Tile.

With a stunning turquoise marble-effect design which incorporates white and bronze tones, it will add character and depth to your interior while also creating that sense of space. The rectified edges further create a seamless aesthetic while the gloss finish will make the most of lighting in the room and the lighter tones will make it feel airier.

The Onyx Turquoise Polished Rectified Tile.

Go for grouting which best fits the look

Depending on what look you’re aiming for, the grouting you choose for your tiles is another key factor to consider – and something which can often get overlooked in the busyness of selecting the tiles. If you want to create an eye-catching, contrasting effect then using differently coloured grouting – for example white grouting with black tiles or vice versa – will create a striking contrast.

On the other hand, if you want to achieve a more cohesive, seamless look, then choosing a grouting which blends in with the tile tone is better.

The Metro Verde Bottle-green Biselado Brillo Tile paired with a contrasting white grouting.

The Patmos Pulido Porcelain Floor and Wall Tile with a matching grouting for a more seamless aesthetic.

Keep colour and texture in mind

The colour is an obvious thing to consider when selecting your tiles but, as well as thinking about what colours you like, it’s important to think about what mood you want to achieve in the room. Bathrooms, for instance, tend to be places where we go to relax, so many people like to create a calming space which exudes tranquillity.

A cloakroom, on the other hand, might be a space where you want to create a more vibrant look, while a living room or kitchen might be a room where you want to cultivate a cosy ambience, with warmer tones.

Whatever the room and whatever the ambience you’re seeking, the mood of any interior will be set by the décor, so the colour of your tiling is another key factor – as is texture. Successful interior design incorporates a variety of textures, tones and styles within a space to create the overall aesthetic, so the texture of your tiles is something definitely worth considering.

Do you want a smooth, gloss look or something more matt and less polished? Texture in tiles can be achieve through the material and finish of the tiles as well as their design. Patterning can add depth and texture, for example, so there are multiple ways to introduce different textures through your tiles.+

The Delta Gold Mosaic Sheet combines different textures, with gloss and metallic finishes.

It’s also worth noting that, on a practical level, if easy cleaning is high on your list of priorities for tiles, then those with glossy finishes will be more convenient. Matt finishes, howver, will collect dirt more quickly and take longer to clean.

Maximise natural light

If you want to make the most of light in your room, then choosing tiles which will help with this is also useful. Gloss tiles with shiny, polished finishes are better at reflecting light than matt surfaces, so going for gloss is always best if you’re considering lighting.

Meanwhile, combing gloss finishes with lighter colours will also help to create an airier space.

The Calacatta White Rectified Polished Porcelain Tile is a large-format marble-effect tile with a white background and light grey veining which is suitable for both walls and floors. It also has that gloss finish, so is perfect for combining a light tone, reflective surface and large size to maximise light and space.

The Calacatta White Rectified Polished Rectified Porcelain Tile.

No matter what type of tiling you’re looking for, we have a wide selection available at Tileshack, with colours, finishes and styles to suit all tastes. Just chat to our team if you need any assistance and we’ll always be happy to help.

If you’d like some advice on choosing tiles for your new home, just drop into one of our showrooms and chat to our team. Alternatively, email us at info@bathshack.com, call (028) 9077 0188 or use our online chat.