The Future is Underfoot — Benefits of Using Tiles for Home Flooring

Whether you’ve snapped up a fixer-upper investment property or are building your very first home to live in, finding the right flooring matters. What you end up choosing plays a crucial role in defining the ambience, comfort and ease of maintenance within your living space. For those seeking to strike the right balance between all these metrics, tile flooring is the perfect choice. Favoured for their durability and style alike, opting for tile floors is a ticket to a lifetime of satisfaction (the same of which can’t be said for some other popular flooring materials). 

We’re here to do a deep dive into the benefits of tiles for home flooring, as well as offer up some of the best floor tile styles for all tastes and budgets. Get ready to learn all about the advantages of tile flooring — with a healthy dose of aesthetic inspiration on the side. 

The versatile option

One of the standout advantages of using tiles for home flooring is their remarkable versatility. Tiles come in basically every style, colour, shape and material you can imagine, which makes it easy to find the perfect fit for virtually any design style or personal preference. Whether you're aiming for a classic and timeless look with ceramic or porcelain tiles, a rustic ambience with stone-look tiles, or a sleek and modern appearance with concrete-look tiles  — the world (or floor, rather) is your oyster!

Annangrove French Pattern Grey External Travertine Look Tile

Tiles can be used to create intricate patterns and designs, or they can provide a clean and uniform surface, allowing homeowners to tailor their flooring to suit their unique aesthetic vision. This adaptability extends to various spaces within your home, from the kitchen and bathroom to the living room and even outdoor areas. Whether you want a traditional, contemporary or eclectic look, tile flooring offers a canvas of possibilities to transform your living space into a reflection of your style and personality.

A lifelong companion

Looking for flooring that will really last? Tiles are the way to go. Tiles are renowned for their durability, often outlasting many other flooring options. Thanks to their hardy base materials, properly installed and maintained tiles can withstand the test of time — even in high-traffic areas. While other flooring alternatives might need frequent replacement due to wear and tear, tile flooring is engineered to resist scratches, stains and the daily stresses of household life. Once you invest in quality tile flooring, you can enjoy a beautiful and resilient surface that can last a lifetime. Their resistance to moisture, humidity and temperature fluctuations is another big tick for their life expectancy, making them an ideal option for all the different rooms throughout your home.

Money matters

One of the most compelling reasons to consider tile flooring is its exceptional cost-effectiveness. While the initial investment may vary depending on the type and quality of the tiles you choose, tiles offer long-term value that is hard to match with other flooring options. The durability of tile flooring is a key factor in its cost-effectiveness — tiles can last for literal decades without showing significant signs of wear and tear. This longevity translates into substantial savings over time, as you won't need to replace or repair your flooring as frequently as you might with other materials.

So fresh and so clean

A big tick for the pro-tile movement is how easy they are to clean. Unlike some flooring materials that require elaborate (and sometimes expensive) care routines, tiles are refreshingly low-maintenance. With a quick sweep or vacuum to remove loose dirt and debris, followed by a mop with a mild detergent solution, you can effortlessly maintain the pristine appearance of your tile floor. Tiles, whether ceramic or porcelain, have a smooth and non-porous surface that is stain and moisture-resistant. This makes them especially well-suited for spill-prone areas like kitchens and bathrooms.

A paw-fect choice 

If you’ve got a four-legged member of the family (or are planning on adding one), choosing tile flooring is a no-brainer. The durability and resilience of tiles make them the ultimate pet-friendly flooring — they can easily withstand the rough-and-tumble vibes that pets can bring into a home. Whether it's the sharp claws of a dog or the occasional accident from a puppy, tiles are highly resistant to scratches, stains and moisture damage. The smooth and hard surface of tile floors is easy to clean — that means pet hair, shedding skin cells and unseemly smells can be swiftly wiped away, promoting a hygienic living environment that’s low maintenance.

See ya, sniffles

Anyone who struggles with allergies, asthma or sensitivities to dust will understand the struggle that certain flooring brings (ahem, carpet). Tile flooring is a fantastic hypoallergenic solution! Thanks to their smooth and impenetrable surface, tiles are inhospitable to common indoor allergens like dust, pollen and pet hair. Additionally, tiles are often resistant to mould and mildew growth, reducing the risk of nasty allergen-producing spores. Better air quality and a more comfortable living space? That’s a double-win.

What are the best tiles for floors?

Not all tiles are created equal — some are more suitable for different areas of the house and different surfaces. To help you cut through the noise, we’ve listed the best tiles for home flooring below. 

Ceramic tiles

Ceramic tiles are the MVP of the flooring world — they’re extremely durable, affordable, versatile and beautiful. Their wide range of designs, colours and patterns means you can easily achieve your desired aesthetic within your budget, whether it's a classic, modern or eclectic look. From universally adored subway tiles to more edgy fishscale or hexagonal tiles — if you can dream it, you can likely find ceramic tiles to suit.

Porcelain tiles

Porcelain tiles are another classic choice for home flooring — they’re basically like an even stronger version of ceramic tiles. Being fired at a higher temperature makes porcelain tiles extremely tough, so you’ll find they are well-suited to areas that see a lot of action — think kitchens and bathrooms. If there’s an expensive material you like the look of, you can usually find a porcelain tile version that looks the same but is much more affordable — like travertine, for example.

Stone tiles

Going for natural and timeless elegance? A stone tile or stone-look tile is your best bet. Their innate beauty, stemming from stone's unique patterns and textures, can easily transform any space into a luxurious and inviting haven. Beyond aesthetics, stone tiles and their stone-look counterparts are remarkably durable and can withstand heavy foot traffic and everyday wear — so they’ll be looking good for decades to come. Both traditional stone and stone-look tiles are made to last and offer a beautiful finish, so the only real difference is the price point.

Northbridge Peach Terracotta Look Subway Tile

Terrazzo tiles

Boasting both durability and aesthetic versatility, terrazzo tiles or terrazzo-look tiles could be just the thing to take your home flooring to the next level. Whether made through traditional or modern methods, terrazzo and terrazzo-look tiles are exceptionally sturdy and resistant to wear and tear. Let’s not neglect the fact that they’re so visually striking — their unique speckled patterns and a wide array of colour options mean you can easily find something to suit your existing decor.

Marble tiles

Timeless elegance, exceptional durability and an immediate luxe connotation — marble and its cousin travertine-look tiles are a flooring dream come true. Made from natural stones formed deep within the Earth's crust, genuine marble is understandably a rarer commodity than other tile materials. It’s no coincidence that grand old estates tend to boast marble flooring — with proper maintenance, marble tiles can last for generations, making them a sound long-term investment. That being said, you can get marble-look tiles for a fraction of the cost — and because these tiles are made from durable porcelain, they will also look fantastic for decades to come.  

Finding the right tiles for your home

Now that you’re undoubtedly convinced that tiles are the right choice for your low-maintenance lifestyle, it’s time to find the flooring of your dreams — but where to start? TileCloud is your one-stop shop for all things quality tiling, boasting a curated selection of tiles and fixtures handpicked by actual designers. With easy-to-shop tile samples, you can even try your favourite styles in situ to see if they’re the right fit.

Minimalist Light Style Sample Pack