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Welcome to Tile Design Ideas. This web site will be heavy on the pictures, and low on words because of the nature of tile design. I will add more pictures to this site as tile jobs are found that suit my fancy. My back ground is in Kitchen and bath remodeling for the past 25 years. I am still working so have a steady influx of tile related photos. Hopefully this site helps you in laying out a good tile design. For a general Bathroom design guide visit http://bathroomsdesignideas.com/.
This tile design web site is organized into locations as in, Floor Tile Ideas, Shower Tile Ideas, Back Splash Tile Ideas, Decorative Tile Trim Ideas, and I'll throw in a How to install Tile Guide by my favorite tile guy.
On this front page we'll go through the different material types of tile. The two main types of tile are natural stone and man made.
Natural Stone includes granite, marble, travertine, slate, and limestone. The natural stone tiles being a natural material are a little more water absorbent so usually need a sealer of some sort. To me natural stone has a beauty that man made tile just can't match. Given the choice on any project of my own I'd use natural stone even with the maintenance issues.
Granite is the hardest and least absorbent of the natural stone tiles. Granite should be sealed every few years, but beyond that granite is low maintenance, scratch and heat resistant, and generally tough as nails. Granite comes in many different colors and patterns to suit many design situations. There is a reason granite is one of the most used type of tile. Granite tile prices range from $5.00 a sqft to 30 a sqft for the exotic stones.
Marble is a relatively soft and absorbent stone. marble stone tiles should be sealed and care taken not to scratch or stain. Aside from the maintenance issues marble is one of the most beautiful stones out there with many textures and colors. marble is priced similar to granite. Marble stone is lime stone that has gotten hot enough to go metamorphic allowing crystalline rocks to mix in a little giving the vein appearance.
Travertine is relatively soft and absorbent like marble. Travertine is basically mud turned stone so often has brownish earthy tones. Travertine stone tiles should be sealed and care taken not to scratch or stain. Travertine is priced similarly to granite, or a little cheaper.
Slate should also be sealed like every other natural stone, but seems more durable than travertine. Slate is metamorphosed and composed of micaceous minerals. The most common slate is black/grey, but can come in many earthy vibrant colors. Slate is usually more affordable than the other natural stone tiles.
The man made tiles are ceramic, porcelain, and glass. Ceramic and porcelain tiles are similar only porcelain is more mineral pure and fired at hotter temperatures making it harder than ceramic tile. Porcelain can some times be the same color through out allowing it to be finished on the edge like a natural stone tile can be. Ceramic tile is clay fired with a finish, the better tiles having a tougher long lasting finish. The differences in designs of ceramic, and porcelain tile are vast and best researched in a good tile showroom.
Glass tiles are popular now especially as small tiles used in a decorative manner or back splash. Sometimes the small glass tile are used in expansive situations, but this can get labor intensive.
For general remodeling design and installation guides visit the Kitchen ideas Guide Book, and the Bathrooms Design Ideas web sites.
Thank You!
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