Archidust Journal

When it comes to planning, designing and choosing products for rooms in a house, perhaps the kitchen and the bathroom take up more careful planning than the others. After all, they are the most used rooms and more importantly the wet rooms of the house.

Even the slightest of slip ups in planning for these rooms could result in undoable damage to the building’s structure, its walls, the woodwork inside and all nearby furniture and accessories. These and the danger of seepage and fungus on walls that make your house ugly and weak, force one to carefully choose the construction products used.

While planning for the wet rooms like the kitchen, bathroom, laundry and other wet areas like swimming pools and ponds, it is prudent to ensure that these rooms and areas have the best of tiles, grouting, faucets and other plumbing.

While choosing any tiles, whether they be Bathroom Floor Tiles or Kitchen Floor Tiles, what most designers or homebuyers first look for is their look. The tiles definitely have to reflect the person’s taste and style. They become your statement in life. The right kind of tiles set the mood for you and your family. They give off the right energy that you require through the day.

The next and the more important thing one needs to look out for while selecting tiles is their functionality. The tiles chosen have to be able to withstand conditions of heat and dampness, depending on the room they are placed in, the climate of the place where the building is, and so on.

Ease of cleaning and firm grip are two other major factors you need to keep in mind while selecting floor tiles for bathrooms and kitchens. Firm grip or rather anti-skid tiles are essential for kitchen and bathroom floors. But what does one check for while buying kitchen wall tiles or bathroom wall tiles?

It is not grip that comes into consideration here but rather, ease of cleaning is of importance. Kitchen walls tend to catch a lot of grime. Therefore, constant cleaning is necessary to keep the kitchen hygienic. Once again, wall tiles, when placed in kitchens or bathrooms, have to be able to withstanding the heat and dampness that they will be subjected to.

Another factor you may want to take into consideration while choosing kitchen and bathroom wall and floor tiles is their colour. The right colour sets the tone for the room. If the rooms receive little natural light, a lighter shade of tiles will help make the room brighter. Conversely, if there is lots of harsh natural light falling into the room, the right choice of tile colour will help to make the room appear cool and will help reduce the glare.

Let us now look at some kinds of tiles you have available in the market as choice for tiles.

Travertine tiles for Bathrooms and Kitchens: They generally come in colours ranging from creams to browns, all natural colours.They look great both indoors as well as outdoors.

They also feel cool on a hot day and can also withstand cold without cracking.

Slate tiles for Bathrooms and Kitchens: These are usually available in grey, but sometimes in orange and black too. The grey tiles remain an extremely popular choice for wet areas because of their natural texture and water resistance capacity.

Sandstone tiles for Bathrooms and Kitchens: They have been a popular choice since as wall tiles ancient times. These tiles, with their natural hues, do not mind being exposed to heat for fear of colour loss or developing cracks. However, being highly porous, they are not water resistant and will need proper sealing.

Granite tiles for Bathrooms and Kitchens: They are extremely durable but are also quite expensive.

Limestone tiles for Bathrooms and Kitchens: These tiles are very tough and they usually come in light colours. They reflect light and are therefore cool even on hot days.

Soapstone tiles for Bathrooms and Kitchens: Water, acids or chemicals will not usually damage soapstone. These tiles are highly heat resistant and are a great choice for wet outdoors as well as wet indoors.

Apart from natural stone, you can also choose porcelain or ceramic tiles.

Porcelain tiles for Bathrooms and Kitchens: They are less expensive than natural stone tiles. They are also more water resistant and have an ability to withstand very cold temperatures.

However, dyes are used in making porcelain tiles, hence choosing a lighter shade tile would be best to ensure long lasting colour.

Ceramic tiles for Bathrooms and Kitchens: They are better suited for walls than floors because they are not as strong as other materials available for floors.

With so much to choose from, be thorough in your research and identify the best tiles for your kitchen and bathrooms.