The 101 on wood-look tiles

Wooden floors have been around for centuries and are now more popular than ever. With advancements in digital inkjet technology in tile manufacturing, the ever-popular look of wooden flooring is being recreated using porcelain and ceramic tiles.

Following on from global trends, tile manufacturers have expanded on the wood-look tile trend over the years and now offer a wide variety of different wood looks, ranging from traditional oak planks to tiles inspired by aged barrel wood.

FAUX VS. REAL?

As much as wooden flooring brings elegance, warmth and a sense of nostalgia into the home, it does require intensive care and maintenance in the form of regular polishing and varnishing. In addition, wooden floors tend to have a shorter lifespan in comparison to wood-look ceramic and porcelain tiles - especially in areas that experience high foot traffic, which often results in scratches, buckling, fading, discolouration and cracks. These problems are time-consuming and costly to repair.

Whether you are looking for a dark finish, whitewash or limewash effect, large planks or smaller parquet blocks, you can find a wood-look ceramic or porcelain tile that will fit in with your style and your budget. For example, with reclaimed wood so 'on-trend' at the moment, buying the equivalent wood-look tile is a less time-consuming and cheaper alternative to searching for the perfect hundred-year-old barn wood to cover the space required

Ceramic and porcelain wood-look tiles are low on wear-and-tear and are also water resistant, which means that they can be installed in parts of the home, such as bathrooms and kitchens, and even outdoor patios and pool decks, where humidity and dampness would make wooden flooring impractical.

Combine the cost-effectiveness and accessibility of wood-look tiles, with their durability and easy maintenance, and you begin to understand why wood-look tiles have been one of the most popular tile trends to come out of the well-known Cersaie Fair in Italy and Coverings Show in the USA for the last three years.

Considering a wood-look tile installation? For tips on how to install wood look tiles, look out for Part 2 of this blog. Give us a call or send us an email and well give the right advice, no matter how big or small your tile installation: 0860000 TAL (825) or [email protected]. If this TAL Talk blog post interested you, you may want to take a look at this TAL Talk blog post: Why use a primer and additive in your tiling installation.