The Benefits of Choosing New Kitchen Floor Tiles
Installing new kitchen floor tiles can give an instant facelift to your entire kitchen! Of the many types of floor coverings available, tiles offer the most versatility in material, color, size, and texture. There’s a type of tile for every budget and every type of kitchen.
Kitchen floor tiles made from ceramic are extremely durable, even if there’s a lot of foot traffic going in and out of your kitchen. Ceramic is a hard material with great tensile strength; however, it does not withstand sharp impacts well. Ceramic tiles are often chipped or cracked when heavy pots or pans are accidentally dropped on them; these damaged areas are readily visible because the color of a ceramic tile is found only on the surface.
Kitchen floor tiles made from porcelain share many of ceramic’s aforementioned qualities; however, the color in a porcelain tile permeates the entire tile, so damage caused by dropped equipment is not as easily noticed. For this reason, porcelain tiles almost always cost more than ceramic tiles.
Granite is another popular choice for kitchen floor tiles. The rough surface of this stone provides excellent traction under the foot; granite is also not easily damaged by spills of vinegar or coffee. However, granite kitchen floor tiles require daily sweeping or vacuuming to remove microscopic bits of quartz tracked into the kitchen by people’s shoes. If not removed promptly, these pieces of quartz can severely scratch up the granite and sully its appearance.
Kitchen floor tiles made from slate are durable and non-slippery, making them an excellent option. However, the colour palate is limited with slate tiles; the most popular colours are slate, rust, and antique green. For a very modern look, use tiles that are exactly the same color; if you desire more variation and contrast, mix things up with multiple colors of tile.
Another popular choice for new kitchen floor tiles is travertine. Travertine is a form of limestone that comes in shades of brown, gold, and cream. It must be sealed after installation in order to prevent spilled liquids from being absorbed into the tiles. Travertine also becomes slippery when wet, so it is not a wise tiling choice for those prone to falls.
The options available to those in the market for new kitchen floor tiles are almost limitless! Before undertaking this or any other home-renovation project, give yourself plenty of time to research all of your available options and try not to rush into any expensive decisions- you could easily wind up with an expensive mistake! Above all, remember to have fun and that your imagination is truly the only limit.
