No matter how much apartment or office space you have, you’ll always want it to look its best. You will leave no stone unturned to find the right elements to dress up its interiors. Each wall is like a vast canvas for your room. Wall tiles are likely to play an important role in improving the look and feel of a room.
However, choosing the perfect wall tile isn’t easy. There are many aspects to consider; your taste and vision being the obvious ones. Given below are the seven most useful tips to choose the perfect wall tile for your space.
Know your wall tiles
With so many materials and designs available, it’s crucial to research your wall tiles. Each type brings along with it a fixed set of advantages and disadvantages.
- Glass mosaic tiles are great for any room type. They are popular for their visual appeal, design flexibility, unmatched variety, and eco-friendliness.
- Ceramic tiles are best for private spaces like a bathroom. A popular choice among homeowners, ceramic tiles are known for their dirt, stain, and skid resistance, and colour permanence features.
- Stone tiles with a natural finish and organic patterns can be a wall tile option for those who look to stand out.
- Porcelain tiles are harder and denser than their ceramic counterparts. Design options available in porcelain wall tiles are also endless. Any natural surface can be recreated on them.
- Quartz and resin tiles exude glitz and glamour. They are perfect if you want to create a statement wall with a high-gloss finish.
In addition to these styles, you can also find pebble tiles, wood finish tiles, linoleum tiles, terracotta tiles, vinyl tiles, cement bodied tiles, and digital tiles to beautify the walls of your home or office. Choose your wall tiles carefully so it may last for an extended period with minimum maintenance and care.
Let the room type be your guide to choosing the perfect wall tile
It’s the location or room type which determines the type, colour, style and design of wall tiles above all other factors. Outdoor use requires durable tiles. For internal use, you may choose delicate wall tiles. For an office space or a façade on a commercial building, your choice should always be heavy duty tiles. Heavy duty tiles can withstand weather and impacts, which makes them suitable for high-traffic areas.
Decide on a colour scheme
While deciding what colour schemes your walls will use, you have to keep three things in mind.
- The size of the room.
- The overall theme of the room.
- The furniture styling.
If you have a small room, consider installing light coloured wall tiles to make the space look bigger. If the unit is big, then you can opt for darker shades. Tiles on all four walls only look good in bathrooms in which tiles serve a function rather than being purely decorative; that is, in bathrooms, wall tiles are installed to prevent water from causing damp. In other rooms, wall tiles are mostly used to make a visual statement. Nevertheless, the rule remains the same for both the space types – lighter wall tiles for smaller units and darker wall tiles for bigger units.
Popular wall tile colours
In bathrooms, popular wall tile colours are white, beige and cream in monochrome and navy/aqua blue and white, lime green and white, orange and cream in combination.
In kitchens, various shades of green and pink look great.
For other rooms, tile colours should be as bold and dramatic as possible. Natural wood finishes, a stone finish, gold effects, shimmery midnight blue, black, and even fuchsia and coral look great on living room and bedroom walls.
Consider the tile size
Tiles come in all shapes, sizes, and styles. The latest trend of large wall tiles creates a sophisticated look. By making a space look bigger, tiles can enhance its appeal.
You can install rectified tiles to get a uniform effect on the walls. Rectified tiles are tiles with mechanically finished edges – usually cut and ground – to achieve the highest level of precision. By choosing large format tiles with narrower grout joints for your walls you can significantly cut down on cleaning and maintenance as they resist dirt and grime.
Waterproof tiles win hands down
Problems with damp is so common in most homes, chances are you won’t see it until your wall paint has started peeling off or wall tiles have started swelling. It may arise due to faulty plumbing, inadequate sealant, or a leak anywhere in the water pipeline. Especially, in bathrooms and kitchens, where the exposure to water is at a maximum it is very important to use waterproof tiles.
Similarly, in places where you may have to drill the wall to repair a fault in concealed wiring, wall tiles have must be chosen and installed accordingly. The crux of the matter is, choose your wall tiles keeping aesthetics in mind but do not leave out its practical application completely.
Consider easy-to-clean tiles
Let’s face it: regular cleaning is something that most of us hate doing. Especially if it means cleaning something as elaborate as wall tiles. The best way to avoid it is using wall tiles that are less porous in nature. Non-porous tiles attract less dirt and oil. Porcelain tiles are a type of ceramic tile fired at a high temperature. This heating process makes them denser and less porous. By choosing porcelain tiles, not only for the kitchen walls but for all others, you can cut down on your regular cleaning. Installation of dust and oil resistant tiles will also help you ensure better hygiene for your home.
Design wisely
Monochrome works perfectly for wall tiles. However, if you want to experiment you may choose two or three different coloured tiles at a time and set them in a simple pattern. You may also use two differently textured tiles to create a unique wall pattern. Whatever style you choose, just remember to keep the entire presentation neat and subtle. Walking a tightrope between impact and sophistication is not everyone’s cup of tea. So, it’s advisable to avoid the former unless you’re sure about it.
The sky is the limit as far as choices in wall tiles are concerned. But a little carelessness may ruin the look of an entire space. Tiles are not something which you can change frequently. So, get your vision clear before choosing the perfect wall tiles for your home.