How to choose ceramic tiles for the bathroom?

One of the oldest materials used in interior decoration is ceramic tile. Which one to choose so that it not only fits in with the decoration of the room, but also meets the operational requirements?

Several selection rules

Ceramic tile is a beautiful and modern material that fully meets the requirements of environmental norms and standards. It remains resistant to any external influences - it does not fade, does not emit toxins, does not conduct current, does not get wet. This is achieved by firing under the influence of high temperatures, due to which the tile has a glassy structure. Due to this, it remains resistant to deformation and bending. With all the simplicity of the material, it is important to know at least a little about how to choose a ceramic tile. You need to do this correctly, and the first rule is attention to packaging - it makes it possible to find out enough information about the material, for example:

• For floor or walls. Floor tiles are marked with the image of a foot on a black background, wall - brushes.
• Wear resistance. It is marked with numbers I to V on the PEI scale, but this parameter is important mainly for floor tiles.
• Water absorption. This factor is directly related to the porosity of the material. The lower the water absorption, the more resistant the tiles will be to such external influences as temperature changes, frosts.
• Resistance to chemical influences. It is marked with letters from A to D. The sign AA indicates that there will be no visible effects on the surface when exposed to aggressive substances. The D icon indicates that under the influence of the same factors, a complete loss of the primary surface can occur.

If the packaging is marked AIII or BIII, then the finishing material can only be used for interior work.

Which ceramic tile to choose?

Classification of types of tiles is carried out in accordance with several parameters:

1. Type of clay mixture. The material may be based on different types of clay - red, white. Depends on the composition, what will be the technical features of the final product in the form of porosity, consistency of geometric dimensions, color rendering of dyes.
2. Molding. Tiles are created either by extrusion or extrusion. The first is labeled B, the second is A.
3. The presence of glaze. The material may be glazed and unglazed.
4. The form. Modern tiles are available in square, rectangular, complex shapes, so deciding how to choose ceramic tiles is often very, very difficult.
5. Destination. Tiles can be used for finishing floors, walls, borders, facades, pools, and can be universal and suitable for any surface.

Given these factors, you can choose the finishing material for the specific parameters of the room.

Production technology

How to choose a ceramic tile? A variety of factors play a role in this issue, but we decided to talk separately about the main technologies by which this material is produced. They also affect the performance of the final product:

• Two-firing . It involves pressing the clay mixture, which is fired and processed with glaze, then fired again. As a result, the surface is porous, but with low strength indicators. Matte and glossy surfaces are suitable for wall decoration. This technology produces such types of tiles as majolica and cottoforte.
• Single burning . According to this technology, tiles with an enameled surface are produced by pressing. Both base and enamel are fired at the same time.
• Clinker . This type of tile is created with additives in the form of coloring oxides and annealed clay. The material is obtained with a dense structure, resistant to moisture, easy to maintain. Production is carried out by extrusion, so it is possible to create tiles of complex geometric shapes.
• Cotto . This tile is not enameled, so the porous structure can be both traditional and non-standard. Surfaces are resistant to external influences.
• Ceramic granite. This type of tile involves pressing the mixture under high pressure, drying it and firing under high temperature. The result is a vitrified monolith with a non-porous structure and pattern in full depth.

As you can see, there are a lot of varieties of material. How to choose a ceramic tile so that it meets all the requirements? We offer several rules for the selection of finishing material for the design of the kitchen and bathroom.

We select options for the kitchen

Ceramic tiles are most often used to decorate rooms such as the kitchen and bathroom. And an important parameter of choice is not so much aesthetics as the resistance of the coating to external influences. Before choosing ceramic tiles, we suggest that you familiarize yourself with the main points that you should pay attention to:

• the kitchen is a room with a high level of humidity, so the surface must be resistant to temperature extremes and high humidity, splashes of grease and aggressive chemicals;
• heat preservation - ceramic tiles do not retain heat well, so you need to think through a warm floor system;
• slippery degree - the tile has a smooth surface, so walking on it is the safest thing in slippers.

Given these parameters, you can choose a coating that will transform the kitchen space, create an interesting interior in it and prevent the possible negative consequences of the operation of the material.

Floor tiles in the kitchen: how to choose?

Before choosing a floor ceramic tile, you need to determine its size. Even with the same color and surface design, the material can be produced in different sizes. Of course, large tiles look presentable and stylish, but not always kitchens have optimal parameters for their installation. For a small space, it is advisable to choose a finishing material having a small size: 20 × 20 cm, 25 × 25 cm, 10 × 10 cm. When selecting, several important recommendations should be considered:

1. For a small floor area, it is better to choose small-format ceramics, otherwise you will need to trim the material during installation, which will lead to a large amount of waste.
2. Tiles that are small in size are easy to fit into the kitchen space of a small area.
3. Large ceramics visually increase the space of the kitchen.

How to choose ceramic tiles for the floor, if you want non-standard solutions? Pay attention to the rectangular ceramics - it looks expressive due to the imitation of brickwork or wooden parquet. Such materials are ideal for modeling space and giving proportionality to narrow or long kitchens. To give the rooms originality, you can choose a tile of an unusual shape - multifaceted, rounded, wavy, diamond-shaped.

The color scheme for the kitchen

Choosing ceramic tiles for the kitchen is quite simple, because modern manufacturers offer a huge variety of colors and textures. As for the selection of colors, you need to consider the gamut in which the entire interior is designed:

• Under the prevailing white color of the room, a tile of any color is suitable;
• against a background of a green interior, a tile of yellow, light brown, coffee color looks beautiful;
• Under blue color choose white ceramics with blue inserts, monophonic in any shades of blue or sand.

Quite often, the kitchen interior is aged in a popular eco style with an emphasis on wooden elements. In this case, when choosing a tile, you need to take into account the texture and color of the wood itself. But for wooden furniture, you should not choose tiles with imitation wood, as wood motifs will contradict each other.

Bathroom tile: about the nuances of choice

Rooms such as a bathroom and a bathroom are the most problematic in terms of design. There is not much space in them, so you have to go to different tricks to make the compact space convenient and rational. And the choice of finishing materials is an important stage, since they should visually improve the perception of this room. How to choose ceramic tiles for the bathroom? The main selection rules are:

• View - wall or floor. The first type is mainly used for room decor, the second is important as a functional part.
• Type of surface - modern tiles have a glossy or matte, smooth or embossed surface. When choosing, you need to consider that it is easier to slip on a smooth surface, and embossed ones are not always comfortable for legs. In any case, the floor tiles in the bathroom should be protected from slipping.

Before choosing ceramic tiles for the bathroom, you need to take into account the size of the room, its stylistic design, especially the sanitary equipment in it and the presence of additional accessories.

About shapes and colors

As we have already said, to create a harmonious interior, it is important to consider how large the ceramic tiles will be. It should correspond to the shape and dimensions of the room. In addition to traditional square and rectangular variations, mosaics and tiles are also popular, helping to create complex decorative compositions and patterns on the floor.

To choose ceramic tiles for the bath, you need to decide on the desired color effect. The limited space leads to the fact that you have to pay attention to light shades - sand, beige, pastel. As a rule, they are in harmony with the plumbing and furniture, which is often bright in the bathroom. But you can always bring novelty to the design of this room:

• bright colors of exotic fruits fill the room with unusual colors;
• You can support the marine theme using tiles under turquoise and azure:
• Shades of blue and lilac colors will help to convey an atmosphere of calm.

If the bathroom is large, you can make it luxurious and decorated in rich dark colors. For example, a black tile with a gold frame looks catchy and spectacular.

Best brands: what to choose for a bathroom?

How to choose ceramic floor tiles to make this room harmonious and stylish? For the right choice, we suggest that you familiarize yourself with the products of the most popular brands on the market, of which there are the most reviews. Our mini-review will include three popular brands:

1. Kerama Marazzi. This manufacturer from Russia offers as many as 12 collections of tiles in a very different style, and each collection is a reference to a specific country with its cultural characteristics and traditions. This is the only company in Russia producing ceramic granite with precise imitation of natural material. It is the products of this brand that gained the largest number of reviews. They note such advantages of the tile as the richness of the range, strength and beautiful appearance of the coating, the ability to find material even in a small city. Among the shortcomings, buyers note not the most successful harmony of floor and wall tiles, that is, there may be problems with the selection of material for both the floor and the wall in the same collection.
2. Fap Ceramiche. The ceramics of this brand is chosen by those who can afford elite class products. When discussing which ceramic tiles to choose for the bathroom, reviews often mention this particular brand. Its advantages are in the perfect imitation of natural materials (natural marble or precious woods), excellent design solutions and consistent quality. There are also disadvantages, but most buyers note the high cost of the products. In some reviews, there is information that the tiles do not always correspond to each other in size.
3. Keramin. The Belarusian brand offers up to 80 tile collections in a variety of price categories and colors. According to reviews, in the assortment it is easy to choose finishing material not only for the bathroom, but also for the corridor or kitchen. Among the advantages are a wide range and variety of colors, universal solutions, adequate price. But, as in many other brands, tile geometry is not always suitable.

These are only the most popular brands, the products of which are quite a lot of reviews. What do you choose? Only you decide!

Hallway Solutions

Tiles are most often used in the decoration of the kitchen and bathroom, but recently there has been a tendency to finish with ceramics and hallways or corridors. These premises are the business cards of an apartment or a country house, which is expressed in the selection of materials. What ceramic tiles to choose in the hallway? The selection criteria for this room are slightly different, which is associated with the intensity of the floor load:

• Wear resistance. Dirt, water draining from the umbrella, snow melting on shoes, a heavy bag on the floor - all this damages the floor. Therefore, to finish the entrance hall, tiles are required, the wear resistance class of which is from III and above.
• Resistance to chemical influences. For mopping we use the most different "chemistry" containing, among other things, caustic substances. They can harm the tile floor, so for corridors and halls, choose tiles with A and AA resistance.
• Resistance to moisture. A tile is suitable for the entrance hall, which has a low porosity and, accordingly, a low level of water absorption.

We described various types of tiles for the bathroom, kitchen and hallway, gave the most popular selection criteria so that you do not have problems finding an answer to the question of which tile is suitable for a particular room.