Explore Different Tile Types

For Any Space in Your Home

Whether it's your kitchen, bathroom, indoor, or outdoor, find the right type of tile for your project at HomeDecorAZ.

Not all tiles are designed for wet and high traffic areas like the bathroom and kitchen. Porcelain and ceramic tiles are best for any room where the tiles are exposed to water. Shower wall tiles have even higher expectations to withstand direct contact with large volumes of water over a period of time. So what makes some tiles suitable for wet areas? Vitreosity. It’s the ability of a tile to hold up to water exposure. Porous tiles absorb water and should only be used as accent tiles. Nonporous porcelain and ceramic tiles are the top two tile types for the kitchen and bathroom or any area in the home that may be prone to water. While you may prefer one finish (or unfinished) look over the other, keep in mind that a glazed tile will be able to endure water exposure better than unglazed tiles.

Important things to know when selecting tiles are material, color, shape, and price. While glass tiles are more suitable for bathroom walls, shower tiles, accent tiles, or kitchen backsplashes, glass tiles may not always be the best choice for floor tiles since the material can become very slippery in high traffic areas such as the kitchen and bathroom. Stone tiles, on the other hand, are beautiful and popular as floor tiles including large format tiles and wall tiles. Even in high traffic areas such as the kitchen and bathroom spaces, stone is versatile and can be installed on walls and floors. However, one of the challenges of stone tiles is that the material requires high maintenance which may start to become costly and time-consuming since stone tiles will need to be professionally sealed throughout its use on a regular basis (approximately every six months).

While ceramic, porcelain, glass, and natural stone tiles are widely known and many consumers know all of the major or important things there is to know about these tiles and materials, you’ll need to take a closer look at some tile materials that can be found in mosaic tiles, outdoor tiles, backsplash tiles, shower tiles, and accent tiles.