The concept of interior decoration has been there for centuries but in the last two decades, it has certainly gained a lot of attraction. People are now willing to pay extra money for a professional’s expertise to design their dream home and naturally, flooring plays a big role in that.
Apart from the natural tiling options, the emergence of porcelain and ceramic-based tiling options has certainly increased the options for you as the consumer. Tile shops in Sydney have a wide range of tiles starting from the conventional marble tiles to modern ceramic tiles for you to choose from.
Know Your Options
- Marble: Certainly the most gorgeous of them all. Marble is a natural tile with aesthetic appeal that can’t be matched by the even modern tiles. The colour options, variations of shades and natural patterns make marble an obvious choice for many.
Pros: Aesthetic appeal, gorgeous, different colour and design options.
Cons: Expensive, hard to maintain, can’t match one tile with another.
- Ceramic: Ceramic tiles are made with clay and other synthetic materials hardened in oven and then finished off with glaze coating. Ceramic tiles have a reputation for being very durable and easy to clean. A plus point of ceramic tiles is that they don’t harbour any bacteria or germs.
Pros: Easy to maintain and clean, durable, variety of colours and design.
Cons: Doesn’t hold heat very well, some of them is really heavy.
- Porcelain: Even though porcelain tile comes under the classification of ceramic tiles, it is very different from ceramic tiles. Porcelain tiles are dried and hardened under higher temperature than ceramic, so to some extent, it assures better performance.
Pros: More durable than ceramic, plenty of colour and design, high water resistance capacity.
Cons: Expensive.
- Granite: Another natural tiling option, because it is igneous rock, granite has a very distinctive look. Granite tiles come with a wide range of colours and shades. Granite is not prone to scratches and it is resistance to stains and moisture, that’s why it is a great choice for showers, kitchen tops, and flooring too. Like ceramic tile granite also has anti-bacterial quality.
Pros: Appeal, easy to maintain, very strong.
Cons: Expensive, hard to replace, has a distinctive look that not everybody likes.
- Limestone: Limestone, a type of sedimentary rock, comes in a range of light and dark shades. Limestone is prone to scratches and stains, so they are better suited for decoration purpose.
Pros: Natural look, good for decoration.
Cons: Porous, soft, prone to scratch and stains, hard to maintain.
- Slate: A completely different option compared to the other ones. Derived from metamorphic rock slate is a very hard material. Its inbuilt rigidity makes it not susceptible to cracks, scratches but it needs to be sealed to avoid stains.
Pros: Durable, can be replaced easily, appeal.
Cons: Expensive, cold, not many colour and design options.
Hopefully, this article will give you an idea of the materials primarily used by the homeowners and the contractors. But apart from these options, there are other tiling options available also. Make Sure to visit the best tile shops in Sydney to get personal hands-on experience of the materials and their prices and other related matters.
