Choosing the Best Tiles for Your Space

Tiles are more than just a finishing touch — they play a crucial role in defining your space's style, function, and longevity. Whether giving a terrace a modern twist, updating a compact cloakroom, or transforming a garden patio, choosing the right tiles can elevate your home.
 

In this guide, we’ll cover how to select the best tiles for each area of your property and provide some expert advice to help you confidently plan your tiling project while avoiding unnecessary costs or delays.

Before you pick out tiles for your project, it’s essential to understand the different types available and which ones are best suited to each area of your home.

Porcelain tiles, for example, replicate the natural appearance of stone, travertine, and concrete, while offering a hard-wearing, water-resistant finish. Their subtle texture enhances anti-slip performance, making them ideal for expansive wall and floor spaces, particularly in high-traffic areas like bathrooms and kitchens.

Ceramic tiles offer a comparable aesthetic but are lighter and easier to install, making them perfect for walls and low-traffic floor areas. These tiles usually have a handmade look with a natural edge and are available in subway, square, and rectangular styles.  
 

Stone tiles offer timeless elegance, featuring distinctive textures and natural patterns that bring depth and character to any room. With unique colour and veining variations, marble tiles can enrich and provide rustic appeal to spaces and are perfect for high-traffic areas. Neutral-toned limestone tiles are superb for walls and floors in high-traffic areas, including exterior spaces. 

Glazed mosaic tiles add a touch of sparkle by reflecting light, making them perfect for brightening kitchen and bathroom splashbacks as decorative highlights. Due to their small surface area and numerous grout lines, they are often less durable under heavy foot traffic and more suitable for decorating walls rather than floors.

Choosing bathroom tiles can be overwhelming, with many styles and materials available for walls and floors. You’ll need to consider style, colour, and practicality, such as slip and moisture resistance and ease of cleaning. From feature walls in the shower or around the bath to flooring, tiles play a significant role in shaping the overall ambience of your bathroom.

The perfect bathroom floor tile offers the right mix of texture, durability, style, and practical everyday use. Large-format tiles, in particular, make cleaning easier by minimising grout lines where grime typically accumulates. 

With countless sizes, shapes, colours, and finishes, floor tiles offer endless design options, letting you personalise your bathroom without sacrificing practicality. Many small- and large-format floor tiles are suitable for indoor and outdoor use. They can feature uniquely textured, anti-slip surfaces that enhance safety without compromising style.

Porcelain and ceramic tiles are popular for surrounding showers and baths because they’re water-resistant, durable, and easy to maintain. However, you shouldn’t overlook mosaics, often a standout choice for adding personality and detail. Mosaics can be used to highlight focal points or as a striking splashback behind the vanity. Their intricate patterns and small scale allow for greater creative expression, turning everyday surfaces into visually captivating features. Whether you're creating a bold statement or a subtle accent, mosaics bring artisanal charm and textural interest to bathroom spaces, making them a practical and beautiful choice.

Choosing the right tiles for your kitchen is just as important, and often just as overwhelming, as selecting tiles for your bathroom. You must consider the flooring and tiles around your cabinetry and the importance of your kitchen splashback — protecting your walls from splashes, spills, and heat while adding texture, depth, and personality.

Subway tiles are prized for their clean lines and uniform shape, making them a timeless choice that works well in traditional and contemporary kitchens. Concrete tiles should also be considered for their bold and distinctive look. When properly sealed, they’re easy to maintain, resisting stains, moisture, and everyday wear while complementing wood, metal, and matte finishes. Natural stone tiles, such as marble tiles, stone tiles, and travertine tiles, offer unique veining and rich textures — making them a great choice for creating a grand, timeless impression.

When choosing kitchen floor tiles, it’s important to find options that combine durability with style, as the area faces heavy foot traffic, frequent cleaning, and spills. Textured, anti-slip surfaces are ideal for added safety. The best floor tiles combine practicality with visual depth, offering elegant finishes that pair beautifully with a variety of cabinetry and benchtop styles.

When tiling an outdoor space, it’s important to choose tiles that can withstand the elements and naturally cope with the demands of the British weather. The best outdoor tiles provide long-lasting protection against weather, stains, and surface damage. At the same time, they elevate the visual appeal of outdoor areas like patios, porches, and pools. To ensure safety, particularly in wet conditions, it’s important to choose slip-resistant tiles. With a wide selection of colours, textures, and patterns available, outdoor floor tiles can easily turn exterior spaces into welcoming extensions of your home.

A tile calculator is a useful tool for homeowners, builders, and tradespeople to quickly and accurately estimate the number of tiles needed for a project. It ensures that you purchase the right amount of tiles, reducing the risk of overbuying or running short. However, we recommend rounding up when ordering tiles and adding a 10-15% surplus of tiles to account for any cuts, breakages, mistakes, or future repairs.

Grout is an important consideration when choosing tiles, offering a variety of colours that can either blend seamlessly or create a striking contrast. Consider whether you want the grout to contrast with your tiles to create a defined, eye-catching pattern or blend in for a more seamless, understated look. Light-coloured grout can brighten a space and suit minimalist styles, while darker tones offer a bold finish and help conceal stains in high-traffic areas.

Keep in mind that lighting and room size can significantly influence the final appearance of your tiles after installation. Natural and artificial light can alter the tone and texture of tiles throughout the day, so it's worth purchasing tile samples to see how they look in your space before making a final decision. In smaller bathrooms or kitchens, lighter-toned tiles can help create the illusion of more space, while larger-format tiles can reduce visual clutter. Gloss finishes reflect light beautifully, adding brightness and a sense of openness, whereas matte tiles offer a more subtle, grounded look.

Picking the right tiles for your space doesn’t need to be overwhelming. Focus first on finding a tile type that matches your style and practical requirements. Measure your area precisely, use our tile calculator to avoid costly mistakes, and plan your layout carefully to bring your space to life.

For more inspiration, read our blogs: 

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Brass vs Stainless Steel Tapware: Which is the Best Choice for Your Home