9 Best Kitchen Floor Tile Ideas and Tips
“The kitchen is the heart of every home, for the most part. It evokes memories of your family history.” – Debi Mazar
You’re tired of the flooring in your kitchen and are ready to give it an upgrade. If you’re already planning a kitchen remodel, then it’s the perfect time to upgrade your kitchen’s flooring.
Tile is perfect for your kitchen flooring because it’s attractive and durable. This makes it the perfect choice for improving the look of your kitchen while also giving it longevity.
There are two options when considering kitchen floor tile ideas. Ceramic tile is beautiful but can be susceptible to cracking or chipping.
Porcelain tile is the better option because it is more durable, making it a smart choice for a high-traffic area like the kitchen. Consider these ideas when choosing new tile flooring for your kitchen.
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1. Finding the Center and Creating Guidelines
If you have never laid tile before, this is not the project to learn with. Your kitchen is a high-traffic area, and your new tile flooring will get a lot of use. It’s also a central location in your home, so any mistakes or screw-ups will be readily seen by anyone that comes into your home.
Some homeowners still want to attempt their own tile anyway. If you do, start by preparing your flooring so that you have a clean and smooth surface.
Find the kitchen’s center and snap chalk guidelines to help you stay straight with your tile lines. Next, apply the mortar and work in small sections.
2. Light Gray for a Soft and Bright Look
One of the most popular colors in interior design is gray. It’s a popular neutral because it can look beautiful with many other colors. Gray works well as your kitchen floor tile because it can set the mood for the room.
A light gray tile will look softer than pure white but will still look light and bright.
Dark charcoal gray will give your kitchen a modern and sophisticated feel. The dark charcoal will ground your kitchen. You can then pair it with lighter-colored cabinets and walls. The dark color on the floor will help your kitchen to look bigger.
3. Blending Your Kitchen Tile with the Rest of Your Home
If your kitchen is large and the center of your home, then you should choose a tile that will fit the stately stature of your kitchen. A subtle textured tile will be perfect for your entire kitchen.
Choose a large tile that will fit the scale of the kitchen. This will help retain the room’s large feeling where a smaller tile would close the space in or become overwhelming.
You should also consider transitioning your tile from the other areas of your home. This will help blend your kitchen into the rest of your home. That way, it looks cohesive, and your home flows from one room to the next.
4. The Appeal of Marble Tiles
Give your kitchen a modern feel by choosing a tile that’s considered modern. You could choose marble tile for an elegant feel. Be aware that marble takes a lot of maintenance and care. Granite tile is another option for an upscale look to your kitchen.
Some modern kitchens take the exact opposite route and look minimalist or slightly industrial. You can create this look in your kitchen with cement tile.
This traditionally commercial building material will give your kitchen a cool edge. However, if you don’t want to stray too far from traditional tile, then stick with plain porcelain in a hexagon tile shape.
5. Achieving Visual Interest with Subway Tiles
Do yourself a favor, and don’t put a mosaic tile on your kitchen floor. These intricately patterned kitchen tiles are meant for your backsplash. Mosaic tiles on the floor will look busy and overwhelming. This limits what you do with the rest of the kitchen.
If you want to create a pattern on the floor, try a subway tile. These simple rectangular tiles don’t have patterns on them, but you can create a pattern with the tile by laying them in a chevron or herringbone pattern.
6. Natural Tones for Depth and Texture
The smartest choice you can make for your kitchen is to stick with a neutral tile. Travertine tile is a perfect example of this type of tile. It comes in a wide variety of neutral shades, from darker brown to light beige.
When choosing a neutral-colored tile, look for one that embraces natural tones. This will create variety, texture, and visual interest. Do not choose a plain beige tile. This will look dirty and dated.
You could also choose a gray tile with varying shades of gray that range from dark charcoal to almost white.
7. Transforming Your Kitchen with Rustic Tiles
Give your kitchen a rustic appeal with rustic tile. This is perfect for a farmhouse-inspired kitchen where you don’t want to have wood floors. The rustic tiles will not be perfectly square. Some could have dents or chips. The edges will be uneven, and the tiles could be different sizes.
You could use natural stone tile, terracotta tile, or stone tile. You can buy these tiles in handmade designs. This will give them a varied and rustic appeal.
Just be careful when laying these tiles. You want them to be varied, but not too uneven. The floor shouldn’t be so uneven that it can be dangerous to walk on.
8. Vinyl Tiles for Quick Upgrades
If you can’t do a complete remodel on your kitchen, then consider using vinyl tiles. These are peel and stick tiles that you will adhere to your existing flooring. For some people, this means putting them over your existing tile floor. Or you could put them on your roll-out vinyl flooring.
Be careful when choosing your vinyl tiles. You don’t want to try and use wall tiles on the floor. They aren’t durable enough and will begin to peel up. Be sure to thoroughly clean and prep your flooring before applying the tiles. This will ensure they securely stick.
9. The Investment Value of Wood-Look Tiles
A modern trend in tile is to make it look and feel like a hardwood floor. This gives you the look of a wood floor without the maintenance and vulnerability of real wood.
When choosing wood look tile, consider the size, color, and texture. Some wood tiles have a slight texture, while others are heavily textured. The tile also comes in a wide range of wood types, from dark to light. There are also some that have a more rustic look for an aged appeal.
This type of tile can be expensive. However, it’s well worth the investment for beautiful neutral flooring that will stand the test of time.
Be sure to work with someone who has experience laying this type of flooring. They need to randomize the tiles to ensure your floor looks like a real wood floor and not a patterned tile.
Kitchen Floor Tile FAQs
The best tile for your kitchen is porcelain. It’s strong, durable, and looks great. These tiles are made by mixing clay and sand together and then treating them with heat and pressure. The result is a dense and less porous tile.
Tile is a great idea for your kitchen because it’s durable and practical. It’s impervious to water, making it easy to clean. Tile comes in a variety of shapes, colors, and sizes so that you can give your kitchen a custom look.
The easiest tile to keep clean is polished porcelain tile. You can use almost any type of soap and water on it. However, you want to be careful not to choose a smooth polished tile. It can get dangerously slippery when wet. White will show all of the dirt right away.
A natural stone with a variety of brown, beige, and tan will hide the most dirt, oil, and grime. However, you want your kitchen to be clean, so a tile that can hide the dirt will be harder to ensure your kitchen is sanitary.