Decorative Tile

The modern interior of the bathroom, kitchen, corridor or any other room is impossible to imagine without tiles. It can be plaster, ceramic, made of natural stone, have different sizes and shapes, be monochrome or with a pattern. Still, it remains one of the popular and most frequently used finishing options. Because it is beautiful, practical and convenient.

Decorative tiles allow you to give a non-trivial and fresh look to even the most laconic and modest interior. With its help, you can realize the most daring design fantasies. It helps to show your individuality and express it in the form of an unusual and original interior design.

Decorative tiles are used as a decoration or addition to the main interior. Depending on various factors, it can be used for exterior or interior decoration of walls, for the design of the main canvas or as a corner finish, to decorate the walls or floor, etc.

In terms of appearance, decorative tiles are divided into several groups:

1. Classic decor. Ordinary tiles with a pattern or print applied to it. Used as an independent element for surface design.
2. Border (frieze). Narrow tile with a rectangular shape. It is used to decorate the borders between the wall and the ceiling or floor. Two differently colored or textured surfaces. Most often included as part of the main tile collection.
3. Pencil edging. Rectangular tile with a convex shape. Used as a single element or combined with another edging.
4. Tile-Panel. Such a tile contains a part of a drawing. Assembled, like a puzzle.
5. Panna-Free-Size. Such tile contains a pattern, collected in a whole panel, not united by the integrity of the composition. Such a panel can have an arbitrary form and shape.

Tile inserts for the floor, as a rule, are part of the collection, but they can be purchased separately. Such inserts help to visually enliven even the simplest floor composition by contrasting colors, patterns or even a bas-relief. The latter option is acceptable for wall coverings.

Mosaic tiles are a great way to give your interior an unusual, stylish and modern look. There can be many options for decorating the walls or floor with mosaic tiles. For example, a panel decorating one of the walls in the bathroom. Usually seascapes or other paintings on this subject are used for this purpose.

Another option is to place accents with the help of mosaics. The area around the mirror, bathtub, wall cabinet, fixture etc. can be decorated with mosaic canvas. The mosaic can be matched to the tone of the main coating or be contrasting. The mosaic can be regular square shape of different sizes or take a form of more complex geometric shapes (oval, circle, drop, etc.).

To create decorative tiles, as a rule, the following materials are used:

A very soft and pliable material that is ideal for creating decorations of complex shapes and unusual designs. Gypsum tiles are used to decorate the walls and ceiling of the bathroom, corridor and other rooms. Gypsum tiles can be made in rectangular, square, round form. It can be used to make rosettes and stucco elements. Gypsum tiles are ideal for tiling arches and cornices. Complex geometric structures, etc.

The advantages of gypsum tiles are:

• low weight. Such tiles can be used even for cladding fragile structures.
• Plasticity of the material. Gypsum is excellent for creating tiles that imitate brick or natural stone.
• simplicity and ease of installation.
• eco-friendliness and safety for people around.
• a wide assortment, a rich range of colors.
• low cost.

The basis of this tile is a concrete mixture with various additives. With the help of vibrocasting you can get a tile, the texture is very reminiscent of natural stone. Naturalness will give the use of mineral dyes. Tiles made of decorative stone can be used in combination with other tiles or as accents.

The advantages of such tiles are:

• lighter weight than natural stone;
• high strength;
• fire safety;
• excellent water-repellent properties;
• environmental safety.

This material is rather unpretentious in care and its cost is much lower than that of natural stone.

Plastic tile - a budget alternative to ceramic cladding. Plastic looks great as wall and ceiling decorative elements.

Its advantages:

• moisture resistance;
• low weight;
• the possibility of laying on a wooden, plasterboard or metal surface;
• durability;
• high sound and thermal insulation;
• ease of installation, etc.

Plastic decorative tile allows you to visually correct the unevenness of the walls or ceiling and hide small cracks, chips and other problem areas.

The plasticity of PVC allows you to use this tile for surfaces with complex geometry. PVC tiles with pictures, applied by thermal transfer or printing, look especially interesting.

Most often, polystyrene foam tiles are used for the decorative design of the ceiling covering.

Advantages:

• water resistance;
• easy care;
• a wide choice;
• excellent noise insulation, etc.

Ceramic tiles are the most common option for decorative cladding. Especially for wet rooms. This is due to the huge choice of tiles, the ease of laying, unpretentious care. Strength, durability, absolute water resistance, etc.

The disadvantages of such tiles can include brittleness (the tile cracks from a strong blow) and inelasticity of the material (it is not suitable for the design of round or complex geometric structures).

One of the most beautiful and sought-after materials for decorative design. And that's not surprising. Glass itself is a very beautiful material, and in combination with an unusual shape, color, texture or print, such a tile becomes the perfect decoration for any interior. Glass tiles have high strength, durability, are not afraid of water, easy to care for and install. In addition, it blends perfectly with other finishing materials.

Imitation natural materials have always been especially popular. After all, it is not always possible to use real wood in the interior. The way out of this situation will be tiles "like wood". It is perfect for walls and floors. Different types of wood look very harmonious in different interior styles.

Such tiles are not afraid of water, it has sufficient strength, durability and aesthetic appeal.

Often one canvas is decorated with decorative tiles of different materials. Interior and exterior corners come in metal, aluminum, stone, etc.

The range of colors of decorative tiles has thousands of different options. Depending on the type of tile, its texture, stylistic solution of the interior and other reasons, the tile can have different shade options.

For example, tiles imitating natural materials (stone, wood, sand, etc.), as a rule, are made in dim, natural shades (brown, gray, beige, black, etc.).

If the interior is made in marine themes (the most common variant for the bathroom) especially popular tiles in white, blue, azure, blue, green colors, their hues and combinations.

If the interior is made in an unusual, avant-garde version, a game of contrasts is in order. Very effective looks a combination of black and white tiles, black and red and other sharply contrasting colors.

Lovers of gentle pastel colors suit dim colors (light gray, sand, peach, soft green, blue, pink, terra cotta, etc.).

For bright, extravagant interiors, the decor can be made in gold, silver.

Wall and floor tiles differ in tile size and material of manufacture. The floor withstands considerable mechanical stress, so the tiles must be made of durable materials. For example, stone or porcelain tiles. The thickness of the tiles should not be less than 0.5 cm. For decoration of flooring tiles of bigger size than wall tiles are usually chosen. This way the interior looks more harmonious.

Tiles for rooms with high humidity should have minimal porosity (ceramic, porcelain stoneware, stone, etc.).

When choosing a suitable decorative element, it is necessary to be guided by the goal to be achieved. If you plan to highlight several zones in the interior, it is best to choose a border or pencil border. If it is necessary to arrange several accents, then panneau or freesize tiles will come to the rescue.

When choosing a tile, do not forget that the decor is not the main part of the interior. An abundance of decorative elements looks heavy and unnatural. And properly selected decorative elements will help to significantly transform even the most modest interior.

The method of laying a decorative element depends on the material of its manufacture.

For example, a decorative element "under the stone". The principle of laying is not much different from the laying of ceramic tiles. The adhesive is applied to the wall with a toothed trowel. You can apply glue to the tile itself, but very carefully, so that the glue does not get on the front side. Then, the tile is carefully and firmly pressed against the wall. The installation is done from the bottom up, in rows, tile by tile.

If you mean seamless tiling, then the tiles are simply laid as close to each other as possible. If the distance between the tiles remains quite wide, it is necessary to formalize the seams. To do this, a special grout is used. To facilitate the process, the grout can be placed in a polyethylene bag and, having cut it on the corner, carefully fill the seams with the mixture.

Installation of border tiles can be carried out in different ways.

• horizontal. In this method, the upper layer of tiles (light) and the lower (dark) is laid, and the curb runs between them.
• vertical. This method is used to decorate part or all of the wall height. Usually in this way the zoning of the interior is performed. For this purpose, single-colored decor or tiles without a clearly pronounced horizontal ornament are suitable.
• combined variant.
• facing in a scattered manner. In this method, the border is laid in a staggered or chaotic manner.
• laying a double border. This design option looks very unusual. You can use a border of different shape, size, color. Thus, the allocation of accent zones is performed.

The bathroom is executed in warm orange and milky colors. Tiles with a plant print and a border are used as a decor.

Variety the restrained black and white interior is helped by a huge panel of tiles. An excellent option for unusual decoration.

Oriental style: decorative tiles with different prints set bright accents in the interior, made in white and brown tones.