Love the look of wood flooring, but prefer the easy maintenance of tile? Excellent news! Wood-look tile has improved by leaps and bounds in recent years. No matter what look you want to achieve you can find a tile that compliments your décor and fits into your lifestyle.
Choosing the Best Material for Your Home
Why choose a wood-look tile over natural hardwood? For many homes tile is more practical for a few reasons. The installation process is simpler. Quality wood-look tile is more budget friendly than natural hardwood. Making your money go a little further is always a good thing! The standard upkeep and maintenance is easier as well. Simply sweeping and mopping will keep your tile floors looking great for many years.
As far as tile materials are concerned, wood-look tiles are made with both ceramic and porcelain. Porcelain is the best option. It is a harder, and more durable material. Ceramic is more likely to get chipped due to normal use. Real life means things will get dropped on your floors. Porcelain tile, especially a full-bodied type, can withstand real life including pets, kids, and accidents.
So Many Choices!
Improvements in the ability to design tiles in a wide range of styles mean you can create a look that fits your desired aesthetic! The wood grain patterns are imprinted directly onto the surface of the porcelain. Choosing a style with more varied patterns will allow them to be installed in a way that gives the overall look of natural wood. It is important to work with an experienced installation team – it’s more of an art than a specific science.
Natural wood is undoubtedly beautiful, but its colors are limited to, well, natural colors. Wood-look tile on the other hand has many more varied color options. If you love the look of wood but want a white color palette you can have it! An entire floor with the look of reclaimed wood with a variety of colors is also available and it looks really cool if we’re honest. Of course, if your dream floor is mahogany but the price tag is in your way you can use tile designed to look just like mahogany.
Pro-tip: the thinner the grout lines in wood tile floors the more like natural hardwood the result will look. If you need more tips, or are ready to schedule a free consultation we’re here to help.
