10 Types Of Tiles You Should Know About Before Renovating Your Home

If you've visited a newly constructed home recently, chances are you've stepped onto vitrified tiles instead of marble flooring. They have extremely low porosity, meaning they don't absorb water and are perfect for flooring your living spaces, and your bathroom walls. They come in glazed variants and are ideal if you want to maintain the same colour scheme on your walls and flooring. Typically, commercial establishments that witness footfall everyday use double charge vitrified tiles, which fuses two layers to make them more durable. 

One of the most common, and most popular types of tiles available, ceramic tiles are made from talc, clay and sand. They come in glazed and unglazed formats, and are excellent for kitchen backsplashes and walls. Choose glazed tiles for backsplashes specifically, since they're easy to clean with just a soft cloth. An unglazed tile doesn't have the sheen, and is great if you're going for a gritty, bohemian vibe. Either way, they come in stunning colours and patterns, like the Moroccan Tiles.

Onyx tiles look exactly like marble, except without the installation and maintenance hassle. If you like the luxe look of a marble flooring or wall cladding, opt for onyx tiles around your vanity. They're not totally scratch or stain resistant, so it's best to keep them off of working surfaces. While they're stronger than marble, don't use DIY cleaners using baking soda or lemon and opt for mild detergents while cleaning them for long lasting tiles. 

Made with the same material as ceramic tiles, porcelain ones are more durable since they're fired at higher temperatures. This makes porcelain tiles the ideal choice for different types of flooring, wall cladding and also as wall decor. They're non-porous and scratch-proof, making them easy to maintain and clean. Porcelain tiles mimic the look of a wooden or natural stone finish, minus the tedious maintenance, which makes them the preferred tiles for several spots in a home. 

While wooden flooring can seem like a super stylish, old school option, it's not ideal for the hot Indian climate. If you'd like to replicate the look with a different material that's more suitable to our humidity and heat, pick vinyl tiles. They're perfect for a quick renovation since they can be installed on existing flooring. They're seamless, scratch resistant and just need regular mopping to keep their shine going. Opt for vinyl tiles in indoor spaces since direct sunlight can make them fade colour over time.

Slightly less durable than ceramic tiles, glass tiles are excellent if you'd like to create a cool, chic space. You may have spotted them in and around swimming pools. Since they're easily scratchable, they're not ideal for working surfaces. However, they look stunning and can be used on table tops that aren't used as vigorously as a kitchen countertop. We recommend using them on your bar counter's backsplash to create your own little lounge scene at home. Maintaining them is easy too, just go in with a soft cloth and mild surface cleaner to get the dust off. 

Easily mistaken for glass tiles, ceramic mosaic tiles come in a splash of colours and are ideal for when you want to create an artsy corner at home. They're tiny square shaped pieces that can be fit together to create various shapes and art, with grout in the middle. We recommend using them in the foyer or a balcony wall to create mosaics that are stunning and durable. Just make sure the grout gets deep cleaned every year since it can lose its white sheen easily. 

If you're a 90s kid, chances are Terrazzo tiles are all you saw as flooring, growing up. Terrazzo tiles are possibly one of the most sustainable options, since the pattern on them comes from a mix of leftover glass, marble and granite. The seamless surface makes it ideal for various surfaces including flooring, unlike mosaic tiles. If you want to do away with the entire floor as Terrazzo, we recommend using them as countertops. They're super hardy and easy to maintain. 

Typically spotted in office spaces, carpet tiles are made by cutting huge fabrics of carpet, and piecing various patterns together to create a 'tiled' effect. They're great for soundproofing a particularly noisy room or a music studio. They're also anti-slip and are perfect for children and the elderly to walk on. They come in hand-tufted and handwoven variants in several materials like wool, polyester or nylon. While installing them is easy, they need to be vacuumed regularly. 

Unlike porcelain or ceramic tiles, cement tiles are hard to install, but once done, they last for decades. They're incredibly cooling and gritty to the touch. We've spotted several interior designers doing away with fancy tiles and opting for simple looking cement ones to keep cool. They're also a locally available, affordable option and easy to maintain. We'd recommend them if you're looking to create a vintage vibe complete with old vintage wooden and wicker furniture. They're great for the outdoors too.