Floor-Tile-Design-Ideas

Floor-Tile-Design-Ideas have really come a long way in the last few years... Or have they?

Actually tile, which is basically a manufactured piece of durable... hard-wearing material, has been used since the 4th millennium BC as a roofing material (known as terracotta tile). The most common types of tiles today are made from ceramic, natural stone like... limestone, marble, slate, travertine, and metals and glass giving us a plethora of versatile ideas and floor tile layout pattern options. Not to mention you can also put it on walls, countertops, fireplaces, patios or make decorative items like mirrors or trivets.

If you're thinking about floor-tile-design-ideas you must consider that designing with tile, is an art. This is the fun part, don't you remember art class? Anyhoo...

Artisans around the world and throughout the ages have used floor-tile-design-ideas to creating stunning expressions of creativity and beauty. The tiles themselves can stand alone as beautiful works of art. One design method is to use beautiful handcrafted tiles as an accent to an otherwise plain field on a wall or floor. There are so many different types, styles, colors, textures and shapes it is truly overwhelming! You have to have a good eye for design... or at least have good resources to design ideas if you want to explore all the possibilities. Well, that's what this page is all about... exploring the possibilities through good resources. Even if you plan to hire a designer, having a good idea of what you like will help you make some key decisions. Let's move on to the meat and potatoes...

Floor-tile-design-ideas implement Tile Size often. Sizes are standard today except for maybe handcrafted tiles or imported tiles but for the most part they come in standard sizes.

The Tile Council of America lists the standard American tile in inches of course while imported tiles are measured in centimeters. Here's the caveat, even with that said... tiles are not exact like other materials and an 8 inch tile can measure 7 1/2 to 8 1/2 inches so keep that in mind when planning your design.

Planning for Installation for your floor-tile-design-ideas keep the previously mentioned factors in mind. Since the size may from tile to tile, measure the tile you plan to use to determine a rough estimate of the number of tiles you'll need. When determining the final design... Lay a row of 10 tiles with spacers (if using spacers) to get the average dimension of the tile and use that to determine the number of tiles you'll need for the installation.

General floor-tile-design-ideas guidelines to follow are to match the tile to the room. In other words the tile should be proportional to the space. A large tile for a large room, small tile for a small room. Grout can plan a factor as well... You may not want a contrasting color grout on a small tile which would create an effect that's too busy. It's very smart to do a large layout to get an idea of how a pattern will work in your space.

Texture, Shape & Color are important design elements for sure. Natural stone can feel warm, rustic or rugged while a glossy glazed tile invokes a cold, bright, clean feeling much like what you may want in a hot tropical location such as South Florida. Glossy tiles are most often used on back-splashes in kitchens or in bathrooms because they can be cleaned easily. Texture adds a completely different dynamic to a pattern specially if they are hand crafted tiles with preserved finger or paw prints or decoratively painted scene spaced throughout a tile border. Rough tiles might be good for a patio where they will provide traction when wet. That brings in a whole other factor to take into consideration... A tiles water absorption & it's coefficient (it's resistance to slippage). A tile installed outside on a patio that's subject freeze/thaw zones needs to be rated for that application. Check with the manufacturer or a tile dealer to learn which tiles are most suitable to your application.

Floor-tile-design-ideas for tile-layout-patterns are created when you use one or more of the variables listed above. Shape, size, color or textures mixed together to create a mosaic, diamond, brick, basket-weave, or alternating border just to name a few. Modular tiles of different sizes may be placed in dozens of repetitive patterns to create the effect you're looking for.

Joint Alignment is used to create linear patterns with rectangular tiles set end to end. Running the the tiles this way creates depth to a room where running the lines crosswise makes a room seem shorter and wider... (does that make sense?). Anyhoo... Mix in some colors and enhance the effect even more. Contain the chaos by containing this pattern with a border

Floor-tile-layout-patterns to make a Border. Borders can be used to frame a mirror on a bathroom wall or a field of tiles making it more interesting. As with any of the other patterns discussed, borders can be made with any combination of contrasting shapes, size, color or texture. You can use a border to frame a mosaic pattern on a back-splash behind a nice big stove top.

Mosaics usually come in a 12 inch by 12 inch sheet making installation easier. Decorative tiles already arranged in ready-made mosaic or medallions adding a creative and personal touch to walls, floors and countertops. If you're really feeling creative you can create your own medallion or mosaic from stock tile.

Determine the percentage of the area covered by each type of tile (this is important), and multiply that by the area of the room. What you're figuring is how much of each type of tile you need to complete the whole room installation. Lets say you have 2 types of tiles alternating every other one... I know this is an easy one but... the percentage would be 50% one tile and 50% of the other tile. If you're using a pattern that is 2 to 1 the percentage would be something like 33% to 67%... (I may be getting myself into trouble with the math thing). I could go on and on but there's a point where I have to send you out on your own to do great things! This is just the start.

Another great resource of information are the tile manufacturer's websites. Checkout Daltile's website. They have loads of great information on floor-tile-design-ideas and other tools... not to mention great looking tile.