A better finish for the kitchen floor than tiles has not yet been invented. Laminate is short-lived, wood floors are very expensive, and linoleum has a service life of 10 years. But high-quality tiles, ceramic or vinyl tiles for the kitchen floor are durable, convenient and practical!
Stylish decor in beige tones, fashion trend 2020
Elegant design in white and smoky tones
When coming to a hardware store, especially a hypermarket, it is very difficult to make the right choice with such an abundance of offers. How to choose high-quality, beautiful and reliable material at a normal, affordable price?
There are several important criteria for choosing any tile flooring that are important to know when you go shopping.
Criteria and rules for choosing kitchen floor tiles
Black, unworn seams don't always look good
Probably, like many, when choosing a building material, I am guided primarily by price and color. This choice often leads to very unpleasant consequences. The tiles crack, quickly lose their brightness and slip.
Therefore, it is important to focus primarily on the technical characteristics of the material, be it tile, porcelain stoneware or polymer.
Important technical characteristics of kitchen floor tiles
Interpretation of pictures on tile packaging
What do we want from the tiles on the kitchen floor? Beautiful design is understandable, but this factor must also meet certain criteria. We also want the floor to be easy to clean, durable and, most importantly, durable.
Therefore, we carefully read all the positions of the characteristics of the material, which are listed in the instructions and accompanying documents for a particular tile:
The quality of the tiles matters
- PEI – designation of the degree of wear (class from 1 to 5).
- Resistance to moisture in percent.
Learn the conventions
- Resistant to aggressive chemicals. The maximum value is AA, and there is no point in overpaying for such stability; it is enough to limit yourself to the average stability class B or C.
Elegant classic
- Marking A - extruded materials, B - pressed.
- The strength of the material is determined according to the Mohs scale; for tiles in the kitchen, 5-6 points are quite enough.
- The type of tile is indicated by color coding. The highest grade is red, medium is blue, low is green.
Porcelain tiles with spectacular carved inserts
- Wear resistance (the main indicator that you need to pay attention to). This figure should be from 3 to 4. Higher values are not needed in the kitchen, and tiles with a lower resistance class will quickly lose strength.
- Friction coefficient - whether the tile will slide depends on this value. For the kitchen, the optimal coefficient is 0.75, for both glossy and matte tiles.
Kitchen floor tiles should be beautiful, but not at the expense of convenience and durability. Some options are worth paying a little more for!
Methods for laying floor tiles
You have decided which tiles to choose for your kitchen. And you can post it in different ways. There are many options, and in addition to the basic one, there are many unusual ones, where you can use your imagination, a combination of two or more colors and textures.
- Base. This is the simplest and most popular installation method. The tiles are placed one above the other, and the resulting pattern resembles a sheet from a notebook. This method is good for rectangular and square shapes. It leaves very little waste behind.
- The “staggered” method is reminiscent of bricklaying, in which each subsequent row is shifted by half a tile in relation to the previous one. Options with single-color rectangular swatches look very nice.
- The diagonal laying method is considered quite labor-intensive. This option helps to optically expand a small room, as well as remove some uneven surfaces of the walls. But the prerequisite here is the same tile size.
- The checkerboard pattern uses two shades of ceramic material. It is advisable that they be in contrasting colors. Some kitchen designs use options with black and white patterns.
- With the modular method, tiles of three sizes are used, which allows you to get rid of monotony. This is an unusual masonry in which various decorative elements are used with care.
- The linear laying method produces simple stripe patterns. They can be long from one wall to another, short, wide, narrow, touching or running parallel.
There are many styling options. Guests will be amazed by such methods as “kaleidoscope”, “labyrinth”, “carpet” and others. Don't forget about the size of the tiles.
Making your kitchen stylish and cozy is easy. In addition to beautiful, functional furniture and appliances, wall decoration, you also need to choose the right design of floor tiles for the kitchen, as shown in the photos presented.
What else do you need to know when buying floor tiles?
Options for laying tiles on the floor
When purchasing tiles or any other floor tiles, craftsmen advise adhering to certain rules:
- Having calculated the required footage, add 10-15 percent to it. This is the amount that will be spent on trimming and unforeseen troubles (the tile cracked during cutting).
- If you choose an unusual design with laying tiles in a herringbone or checkerboard pattern, then the consumption sometimes increases up to 20 percent of the area.
Consumption of adhesive mixture for different types of tiles
- Don't skimp on adhesives. Even inexpensive tiles are best installed on a good adhesive base.
- Start laying tiles from the threshold, moving towards the walls that will be covered with furniture. It is easier to hide the imperfections of a row under the wall than at the threshold and near the windows.
- For the kitchen, choose tiles with a non-slip surface.
Original styling of parquet flooring
- A floor that is too colorful can cause dizziness and fainting. Therefore, calm, seasoned colors are preferable.
- The concept of expensive does not mean good, especially if certificates of conformity of the material are not provided indicating the batch and manufacturer.
- Light coverings visually make the room larger, while dark coverings make the room appear lower.
Pre-marking scheme
A pre-designed pattern laying scheme will help you correctly calculate the required number of tiles.
Benefits of tiles
The advantages of tiles as kitchen flooring are as follows:
- Strength. High-quality materials plus professional installation will result in a surface that can withstand significant loads. An accidentally dropped object, even a heavy frying pan, is unlikely to damage it.
- Durability. Enviable wear resistance allows you to maintain the ideal appearance of the coating for more than 15 years.
- Resistance to aggressive environments. When caring for tiles, you can use any cleaning agents without fear that the aesthetic integrity of the coating will be compromised.
- Heat resistance. The tiles are not afraid of high temperatures. A dropped burning match or cigarette will not spoil the appearance. It will be possible to place hot dishes on the floor without stands.
- "Antistatic" coating. The tiled floor does not attract dust, keeping it clean for a long time.
- Aesthetics, variety of designs, patterns. The modern consumer can choose the ideal solution for himself among a huge number of shapes, textures, and color solutions.
- Availability. The price range of tiles from various manufacturers is extremely wide, which allows any buyer to find products that he likes and can afford.
Due to all the above qualities, tiles are also popular when decorating kitchen backsplashes, countertops and exterior decoration.
Against the background of all these advantages of tiles, there are also disadvantages. By choosing glazed tiles with a glassy coating, you will get a slippery floor covering.
Many consumers know that tiles are cold. Although, in the same summer, in hot weather, this turns into an advantage.
Well, in winter, installing a heated floor system in the kitchen will effectively solve this problem and make the temperature in the room more comfortable.
Summary
The decor of flooring materials is now presented for every taste and budget!
The video presented in this article describes in detail the sequence of laying tiles. And I invite you to discuss the topic in the comments and share your opinions about the best domestic tile manufacturers.
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Secrets of kitchen design by style
All kinds of styles are now used in design. The main thing to remember is that it is advisable to decorate a house or apartment in the same style.
- Classic style in the kitchen requires the use of timeless colors: white, black, gold, silver. The pattern on the tiles can be discreet, under natural stone, or even absent. This style is characterized by relief decors.
- High-tech is a modern style; tiles with a minimalistic design in dark colors are used: black, gray, metallic.
- Provence is a combination of delicate pastel shades: pink, beige, green. Design of a work apron with an unobtrusive pattern of flowers and leaves.
- Art Deco is an expensive design style. The tiles used are black, white, brown, gold, silver, expensive mosaic.
- Country - old style country kitchen, but with modern materials. For this style, 10x10 stone-look tiles are suitable. The decor depicts flowers, patterns, food, wheat sprouts, sunflowers, and animals.
Stone-effect tiles and relief decor on the backsplash.
Metal-look tiles for a high-tech kitchen.
Provence tiles from Peronda (Spain).
Mosaic in Art Deco style
Small 10x10 tiles and country style backsplash panels.
