Have you ever been told to go to "your happy place"? Maybe it was at the end of a yoga class, or in those countdown seconds before a surgery?
Well this is image you see above is mine and you are welcome to use it anytime.
I look at images of tile all day long, sometimes at night too, come to think of it. I don't think there's ever been a tile picture that's made more of an impression on me than this one.
Well maybe this...
But they're kinda cheating by bringing this precious spotted baby, don't you think? That's another blog, for another day.
But I've digressed, this blog is about porcelain tile that looks like wood. xxxxx
When wood-look tile first started to appear in my showroom, I wasn't sure what to think. I was aware of some shiny parquet-look 12 x 12's that were, let's just say, lacking in authenticity. I was afraid this was going to go that route.
Ten years later, I'm happy to say that my fears were un-realized. The quality of image on wood-look porcelain tile has continued to impress, and the variety abounds.
Why "wood" I tile, when I can wood? That's the question.
The biggest reason is maintenance. If you tile the first floor of your house, you will never have to do anything to it again. You will not have to re-finish, or re-stain, there will be no messy sanding, and no banging down of wild nails. The desire of home-owners to have one continuous floor, flowing from entry to kitchen, to powder-room, laundry, mud-room ,office, family room has become a #1 request.
Integrated wood and tile/stone floors have always presented installers and homeowners alike with issues. For example, different thicknesses, underlayment and setting requirements, bonding agents, not to mention the unique care and maintenance of each finish. Using a wood-look tile instead of actual wood can alleviate all of these concerns.
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Porcelain tiles that look like wood can accomplish this, standing up to water, (& salt, & dirt & traffic & pets) without showing one little bit of wear. This fact alone has to make it the most cost-efficient choice for flooring over time. You can even put them outside...
Let's see you do that Brazilian Cherry!
Ok, I know this next thing is going to be a little hard to swallow for some. If you are reading this blog, it is likely that you have experienced "paneling". As a child of the 70's myself, I can say that I grew up with it. My childhood family room was covered with wood paneling, every wall, floor to ceiling. I know it's not always a bad thing, but I've been hesitant to putting wood-look tile on walls because of that. Its taken a few years, and a lot of innovation from the tile manufacture's but I'm ready!
For bathroom walls...
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For bedroom walls
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For fireplace surrounds
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For mudroom walls or fun bar back splash
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I think we can agree that the wood-look porcelain tiles are here to stay, but are you ready for wood on the walls?
Before you decide, visit our Pinterest page, "Wood You Tile?"