floor tiles family bathroom — *Harley Street Porcelain Tiles from* *Walls and Floors.*

I’ve definitely learnt the hard way when it comes to floor tile suitability for our home and lifestyle. We inherited a tiled slate bathroom floor when we moved into our current house (our first together with a young child) and just last week I breathed a sigh of relief when they all got ripped out! The trouble was that slate is a natural material that requires a lot of maintenance; combine that with a child who loves to splash in the bath and busy parents and we quickly saw the floor deteriorate as we could not keep up with all the colour restoration and sealing the tiles required to keep them looking at their best.

floor tiles for a family bathroom — *Solar Porcelain Planet Blue tiles available via* *Hyperion Tiles*

For the past few months, I’ve been looking into alternative floor tile materials and decided to explore the latest flooring products that would suit our heavily used family bathroom. I’ve discovered that floor tiles generally fall into two categories: natural stone and man-made.

Natural Floor Tile Materials such as Marble, Limestone, Travertine, Slate and Stone:

Floor tiles made from natural materials have an organic, tactile beauty full of character. More expensive than man-made tiles, natural tiles offer a high-end luxurious look, but they are also porous, prone to staining and scratching and can only be cleaned with lukewarm water (anything else damages the surface). The biggest downfall with natural tiles is the required repeated sealing and if you want to install them, you need to be aware of this high-level maintenance requirement. Sealing should first occur immediately after being laid; then the tiles need to be regularly sealed going forward so they do not dull or stain.

Man-Made Floor Tile Materials such as Porcelain, ceramic, encaustic, terracotta, quarry, cement and mosaic

Man-made tiles (often constructed from clay) offer a wide variety of colours and patterns and tend to be at a lower price point than natural tiles, but some also require maintenance. Encaustic tiles require sealing ( they can also trap dirt easily, making them look dirty even when clean), but they do offer a matt, non-slip finish. Quarry, terracotta and cement tiles also require sealing to minimise their risk of cracking. It is generally accepted that porcelain and ceramic are the most durable floor tiles as they do not require sealing and you can use diluted bleach or steam to clean them without damage.

Coming back to my experience of using natural stone, I just could not keep on top of the slate floor in our family bathroom. The space was in constant use and I could never find a good time to seal it (banning everyone from the bathroom for 24 hours and not allowing them a midnight wee while the sealant cured was near impossible). The tiles lost their rich black lustre and white water stains started to appear around the base of the sink and the bath. On one occasion, I tried to bring them back to life using Lithofin Colour intensifier and sealer which did make them look a lot better, but my efforts didn’t last long. I also looked into having them professionally restored, but no-one would take on such a small residential job.

In the end, I admitted defeat and had them taken up and replaced with glazed porcelain. Porcelain is slightly more durable than ceramic and the glaze makes them non-porous. I was concerned that the tiles would feel quite cold underfoot, so we had underfloor heating laid underneath. While the old slate was textured and provided a non-slip surface, it was a nightmare to clean and tore mops apart! I’ve now opted for a smooth chequerboard pattern in mid-size monochrome tiles, so there is a decent amount of grout-to-tile ratio to prevent an overly slippery surface. What I’m really looking forward to is the ability to give it a quick and easy go-over with an anti-bacterial Flash Mop! Before, I could only use tepid water with a brush and a bucket.

Family Bathroom Checklist:

If you are planning a family bathroom with tiles on the floor you may want to consider the following:

Maintenance

Do you have children that love to splash about in the bath? Is the bathroom used all the time by all of the family? Is this the only bathroom in the house for everyone to use? If you have one bathroom that gets used constantly, I would suggest that you steer clear of tiles with a high level of maintenance (like me, you’ll never find the opportunity to seal the tiles).

Budget

Is this bathroom splurge or save? If you can afford higher-priced natural tiles, have a spare bathroom to use and can hire professionals to do the maintenance when required, you might want to go for the luxurious look of natural stone.

Anti-Slip

Avoid any slippery wet floor accidents by choosing anti-slip floor tiles, tiles with textures that have more grip, or small-scale tiles such as hex or mosaic which provide a high grout-to-tile ratio. Blue mosaic tiles look especially nice on the bathroom floor. You could also opt for encaustic tiles that offer a flat, non-slip finish.

How easy the tiles are to clean

If you have young children or a disabled or vulnerable family member (or if your bathroom floor often has damp swimming costumes or muddy sports clothes dumped on it) keeping it clean and bacteria-free is a priority. Choose porcelain or ceramic tiles that won’t stain and can take regular intensive cleaning with mild detergents.