Which is the Best Tile Flooring Material for your Home?

Updated September 2024

It’s not every day you come across a flooring option that’s as gorgeous, low maintenance, and can take a beating quite like floor tiles. So when it comes time to redo your floors, why not opt for the stylish long-lasting flooring option that will hold its own against pets, kids, dirt, water, and really, anything else life throws its way?

A fresh new floor can not only transform your home, but can is also a major contributor to your home value! If you're looking to make home improvements that increase your potential resale price, a gorgeous high-quality tile floor can have a huge impact. Today, we’ll dive into the benefits of different floor tiles and what floor tile materials work best for the different environments in your home.

1. Kid & Pet Friendly

Tile floors are considered one of the best flooring options for pets and kids, and for good reason. Floor materials like porcelain tile are resistant to scratches, stains, cracks, and chips. So whether your pet is still potty training or has or has the sudden urge to sprint around the house, you won’t wince in anticipation waiting to see what damage has been done to your perfect floors. And since tile stays cool to the touch, it’ll be your pet’s favorite place to snooze on a hot summer day. Tile floors are also a great option for households with young kids - whether they decide to ride their scooter down the hall or the kitchen floor is their marker canvas of choice, you won’t have to stress about potential wear and tear on hardwood floors - while still enjoying the beauty of wood look tile!

This gorgeous Weaving Flower Carrara & Thassos Marble Mosaic Tile is here to prove that gorgeous flooring and your cuddly canine can live in harmony.

2. Most Durable Flooring Option

Floor tiles are extremely resilient, and the best choice for busy households. Unlike traditional wood floors, tile flooring is resistant to water penetration and scratches. While not all families will require the most durable flooring available, many homeowners will find tile’s ability to withstand years of work, play, and general living a breath of fresh air. Whether the dishwasher springs a leak or the bathtub overflows, you won’t have to worry about water damage in mudrooms, bathrooms, or even indoor saunas.

Marble is a great option for durable flooring, and patterned marble like this Grey Sparkle Waterjet Marble Mosaic Tile can make a busy space truly shine, even if you haven’t had time to clean it.

While floor tile is extremely resilient, a strong enough force can crack your tile. Luckily, replacing a cracked tile is simple - just be sure to keep a few extra pieces after installation so you have a matching backup if a floor tile does crack.

3. No Need to Refinish Floor Tiles!

If you’re thinking of replacing your wood floors with tile flooring (or vice versa) consider this: over time, wood floors will need to be refinished to restore them to their former glory. That means sanding, staining, and applying a protective coating...there’s a laundry list of steps involved in refinishing your wood floors.Tile, on the other hand, needs no refinishing! We’ve got a great selection of wooden floor tiles in classic shapes and geometric patterns to complement any interior design style.

When you’re busy, the last thing you need is a high-maintenance floor. That’s why we recommend a cozy hardwood floor alternative, like this Kasai Carta Rectified Porcelain Tile

4. Low Maintenance Flooring

If we could give an award for the “most chill” flooring option, floor tile would take first place. Unlike many other flooring materials, floor tiles are low-key in terms of upkeep, and won’t take on that “well-loved” look like other flooring options. We recommend regularly sealing tile and grout, especially in high traffic areas subject to more wear and tear. Luckily this is a quick process that will keep your beautiful floors in pristine shape for years to come!

This Kasai Carta Sakura Porcelain Floor Tile radiates all the warm cozy feelings of home without the long-term wear and tear or high-maintenance needs of traditional wood flooring.

Tile floors are a must-have in areas that are prone to damp and moisture, like bathrooms and entryways. They’re a popular pick for kitchen as well, since you can easily wipe up sauce splashes, cooking messes, or spilled milk. Their non-porous surface makes it easy to mop up  puddles without worrying about damage to your floor, carpet, or the subflooring. The wide range of beautiful designs make them an easy choice for other rooms as well - think wood-look plank flooring to complement an open-plan living area, a gorgeous marble mosaic to give your entryway some style, or even a weather-resistant patio flooring that you can enjoy in an indoor-outdoor living space!

Good to know: How to Protect and Maintain Floor Tiles

                          Your Grout & Sealer Questions Answered

                          The Easiest Way to Clean Grout in 6 Simple Steps

5. Better Home Resale Value

When selling your home, some experts believe flooring is the single biggest factor when it comes to your return on investment (ROI). With tile floors, you can expect an impressive ROI average of about 70% (even more if you install it yourself since tile installation is usually what drives up the project cost). Plus, when you take into consideration all of the benefits floor tiles offer (and the incredible selection to choose from), it emerges as the strongest choice for a new floor!

The right tile floor can bring a room together, not to mention increase your return on investment! Pictured above is Tile Club’s Calacatta Gold Octagon Tile.

Whether you’re prepping a house to list for sale, turning an investment property into a long-term rental, or just want to make smart long-term investments in your own home, it always pays to consider how your building materials will appreciate.

See more - Flipping a House? How to Save Money and Still Sell

With so many different floor tile materials to choose from, it’s important to know what type of tile works best in certain spaces. For instance, what works as kitchen floor tiles may not be suitable as shower floor tiles or even as bathroom floor tiles. Let’s dive into the different floor tile materials to get a better understanding of exactly what kind of tile you should be looking at for your next renovation project.

Marble tile is a timeless, high-impact tile residential and commercial floor option that looks great just about anywhere. While there is some regular cleaning and care involved with marble (like using a tile sealer regularly), marble tile is an excellent choice for nearly every room in your home.

When you’ve just got to have a marble shower floor, opt for darker tones, like this Fan Wooden Beige Marble Mosaic Tile, a wood-like, slip-free mosaic tile ideal for hot, steamy showers.

Good to know: If you plan to install marble tile on moisture-prone floors, honed marble is the best choice. Polished marble tends to be more slippery when wet, while honed marble’s matte finish offers a better grip.

Since white marble often has iron deposits that can naturally appear after contact with standing water, we do not recommend Carrara, Thassos, or Calacatta white marble as shower floor tile.

Thanks to its matte texture, honed marble tiles are a great option for bathroom and shower floors. This Hexagon Honed Marble Tile is a gorgeous white floor with a strong finish.

Thanks to the high volume of grout lines in mosaic tile, these slip-resistant flooring options make excellent choices for wet environments such as bathroom floor tiles and shower floor tiles. Mosaic tiles can be made from a combination of materials including ceramic, marble, Mother of Pearl, metal, and glass, and their distinctive texture to make them worthy of their own category. Depending on their composite materials, mosaic tiles should be regularly sealed in wet and moisture-prone environments.

Thanks to their high volume of grout lines, mosaic tiles like this Floral Eternity White Carrara & Bardiglio Waterjet Mosaic Tile are an excellent choice for water and moisture-prone environments.

Mosaic tiles can transform any floor in your home to be a truly incredible piece of art. This is just one of Tile Club’s gorgeous Custom Mosaic Tile Designs. Contact us to learn more!

Known for their unprecedented strength, durability, affordability, and longevity, porcelain floor tiles are one of our most recommended kitchen, living, and bathroom floor tile options! Porcelain floor tiles are made from dense clay fired at high temperatures and available in many beautiful options like stone and wood. The material won’t swell or soak in stains, so many designs also make excellent shower floor tiles.

Porcelain floor tiles also offer one of the lowest prices per square foot for flooring options, making them a great option for your budget and long-term investment!

The Vancouver Miel porcelain “wooden” floor tiles deliver all the warm feelings of a traditional wood floor without the traditional wear and tear.

Unlike ceramic tile, porcelain floor tile works well in high-traffic areas with more style options and designs to choose from. 

More on this:  3 Advantages of Porcelain Wood Look Tile vs Hardwood Flooring

Ceramic tile is one of the more cost-affordable floor tile options available today. Ceramic tile works best in low-traffic areas and makes an excellent entryway flooring option! 

Similar to porcelain tiles, ceramic is made of a fired clay and can be finished with a glaze that adds color, shine, and a non-porous finish. It’s only fired once, making it less durable than a twice-fired material like porcelain.  We always recommend checking your desired tile’s “area of use” information to be sure your porcelain floor tile choice will work for your space.

This Sospiro Smoke Ceramic Tile is a great residential flooring option for your kitchen or master bathroom!

Thanks to its superior water, moisture, and mold-resistant nature, glass tile is an excellent choice for wet, low-traffic environments. You’ll love how many unique style options there are to choose from, from classic subway tiles to marble hexagon mosaic tiles. Eco-conscious home renovations will love our selection of sustainable recycled glass tiles to give their floor a gorgeous finish!

Good to know: Glass tiles should be installed with a glass tile adhesive. 

Tile club has an amazing selection of recycled glass tile, like this Blue Leaf Recycled Glass Mosaic Tile safe as indoor and outdoor wall tile and shower floor tile.

We know what you’re thinking - glass tile doesn’t sound like a very strong floor! However, glass tiles that are rated for floor use are strong enough for low-traffic residential foot traffic! The size and shape of glass mosaic tiles is also a great choice for a shower floor, thanks to their strength and extra grip that improves slip-resistance! 

Contrary to popular belief, shell tile is surprisingly strong! Shaped from mollusk shells, what shell tile lacks in thickness it makes up for in strength. Shell tile is recommended for low-traffic flooring areas - whether it’s a pearl penny round shower floor tile or a white marble and Mother of Pearl waterjet patterned floor for a luxurious master bathroom. Some shell tiles are more sensitive than others and should be wiped clean from any spills or drops. It's also best practice to avoid the use of chemical cleaners altogether to keep the shining surface intact!

This Mother of Pearl Penny Mosaic Tile is an excellent tile option for residential home and shower floors.

Good to know: Unlike grouted mosaic tiles that improve your grip, groutless tiles are not recommended for wet floor areas like shower floors.

Natural stone is an elegant, durable, easily maintained flooring option in really any room in your home! Not only does natural stone floor tile offer a unique aesthetic, but it’s also an excellent choice for heated floors, naturally radiating the heat through the stone. We carry a gorgeous selection of marble, slate, and travertine stone tile floor options to choose from.

Meet the Sea Dream Slate Tile, the perfect example of natural beauty you can enjoy in any commercial or residential floor space without worry.

As a general rule, peel and stick floor tiles are not recommended. Peel and stick tiles fair better as accent walls or as backsplashes, but will not hold up on floors. This isn’t to say peel and stick tiles aren’t a great addition to your home, though! We carry a gorgeous selection of peel and stick tiles in the colors, shapes, and styles to match any space.

This Selo Grand Hexagon Carrara and Thassos Marble Mosaic Tile is a refreshing twist on classic marble. Marble kitchen floor tile is an excellent choice for a timeless look that can be dressed up in various interior design styles while withstanding anything you throw its way.

The Tribeca Blanco porcelain floor tile offers all the aesthetic of wooden floor tiles without the classic signs of wear and tear, making it an excellent choice for well-loved, high-traffic floors.

Because porcelain floor tiles don’t swell when wet, they make great bathroom floor tiles. Paired with a neutral textured wall tile, the geometric pattern and wood-like texture of this Taco Melange Black porcelain floor tile create a stunning first impression.

Micro mosaics like this Floral Dream Bianco Carrara & Thassos Mosaic Tile make excellent slip-resistant bathroom floor tiles in both residential and commercial spaces.

Because of its durability, longevity, and ability to mimic the gorgeous natural tones of wood, we recommend porcelain tiles like this Gems Bianco “wooden” floor tile for high-traffic living spaces.

Porcelain does it again! The unmatched quality of porcelain floor tiles mixed with the wood grain of this Retro Blanco Hex residential floor tile is the perfect match for any sophisticated, rustic look in bedrooms, kitchens and living areas alike.

The high volume of grout lines mixed within this Pure White Mother of Pearl Herringbone Mosaic Tile makes this a gorgeous natural shell shower floor tile option.

Because of its mold and moisture-resistant nature, glass tile like this Ocean Glass Louvre Blue Mosaic Tile is an excellent choice for wet, low-traffic environments like shower walls and floors. 

The natural composition of slate makes it an excellent water-friendly, slip-resistant, and commercial shower floor option. Take this Color Bone Slate Mosaic Tile indoors or out for a gorgeous outdoor shower floor and walls sure to impress your guests.

The high-impact nature of Thassos tile bodes well in high-traffic areas where you need to cover a lot of ground. Achieve this timeless mudroom look with the Nero Marquina Hexagon Mosaic Tile.

This Sand Valley & Thassos Star Mosaic Tile is here to prove that Thassos performs exceptionally well in high-traffic areas in wet environments, making it a great choice for mudrooms, entryways, laundry rooms, and really, any other room in the house.

Tile Club makes it easy to find the perfect tile for every room of every design style! Whether you’ve just purchased a new home that needs some TLC or you plan on selling your current home for your best return on investment you can get, find the right tile for a gorgeous job well done!