Terracotta Tiles and How to Use Them

When making a house a home, your choice of colour is a very important choice. After all, it’s a well-known fact of psychology that different colours have different effects on the moods of people. Bright vibrant reds, for example, have been known to make people irritated and agitated, while dark blues have a more calming effect in contrast. 

Use of these colours can help accentuate the effects a room has on people, and knowing how to do this can really add to the quality of your home. Terracotta tiles in particular have their own little niche, and you’ll find it one that’s very easy to exploit once you know how.

Warm and Cosy…

The most obvious thing you’ll notice about the colour of terracotta is that it’s very warm and earthy. Terracotta is a colour derived from a particular type of textile made from particularly red clay, made famous by the Terracotta Army in China. 

While it’s very red in colour, it’s not particularly harsh to look at. There’s enough brown in there to soften the colour and instead make it very soothing, rather than agitating. 

Looking at terracotta tiles immediately brings to mind freshly baked bread, sun-dried earth and warm summer evenings. As a consequence, terracotta tiles excel at making people feel relaxed and comfortable.

However be careful. Their ceramic look can make terracotta tiles look fairly hard and austere, so try to use them in areas where stone would work best rather than textiles. For example, avoid using it too much in lounges or living rooms, unless you want to go a very baked-brick style. Certainly don’t use it if you also wish to use carpets or wall paper. 

Overuse of terracotta tiles also has the effect of making a room look very stark and dry. Ideally it should be used alongside other warm and neutral colours, particularly grey, and it also goes very well with certain woods. Ideally you should use terracotta as a background colour, such as for the floors or walls, and interspace some border tiles of a different colour within it to keep the red from becoming overwhelming.

Which Room Works Best?

Terracotta tiles work best in rooms where you want the guests to feel relaxed and at ease, yet also don’t mind having the impression of hard surfaces. In particular, terracotta truly comes into its own in kitchens, patios and dining areas. Kitchens really benefit from the baked-brick look, as the warm colours of the terracotta really help emphasise the overall warmth of the kitchen. Adding together, it really gives the room a feel of the Mediterranean, and promotes a cheerful and casual atmosphere within it.

Patios, meanwhile, also get a dash of the Mediterranean with use of terracotta tiles, and are useful if you intend to use the patio for summer BBQs and sunshine relaxation. Mixed in with Spanish, Italian or Greek styles and patterns, and you can pretty much have a summer holiday in your back garden without ever needing to book a flight. You can just break open a bottle of champagne with your friends and family right there.

Underfloor Heating and What it Offers your Home

Heating your home has been a challenge for most people ever since homes became a thing. While many strategies and technologies have been developed to try and solve the challenge, they have varying amounts of success and efficiency. It seems short of setting fire to the whole thing, there’s no real way to heat everything up quickly and with little energy cost. 

While no system is perfect, that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t at least endeavour to try, and there are systems that do better than others. Under floor heating in particular has been making new inroads into modern day central heating, and while it’s no means new it’s certainly proving popular.

The first underfloor heating systems were actually Roman, and these were systems called hypocausts. They were basically large fires lit under the stone floors of large buildings, typically villas, temples or bath houses, and the warm air would circulate between slate pillars and heat through the floor. They were used both to entertain and show off wealth: hypocausts were notoriously expensive to keep fuelled. Often “barbarian” nobles would be shown hypocausts to impress the capabilities of Roman civilisation.

Nowadays under floor heating is a little less expensive and expansive, usually resulting in specialised tiles spread out beneath the floor of a given room. The principal however remains the same, and it is surprisingly effective.

Pros

Traditionally a radiator is the principal means of heating a given room, however they very frequently only heat up the immediate area they’re in. It’s difficult to get this heat to diffuse across the room equally. Underfloor heating is much more widespread. Every patch of the room can be heated, and as a result there are no cold patches that radiators frequently leave. They’re also a lot less intrusive than radiators -- it’s impossible to bang your hip on the floor (short of falling over)!

Likewise they’re much more energy efficient. The heat diffuses evenly into the room, and works at once with the room’s insulation to keep the room well heated for longer. It can be turned on in the morning for an hour or two, and remain warm for quite a long while afterwards. Perfect for warming up a room during cold winter days.

It helps that they’re very easy to install too. Most off-shelf units are easily installed even by amateur DIYers, and they can easily fitted into a newly-built room or installed retrospectively.

Cons

Of course, no system is perfect, and underfloor heating is not any different. While they’re very efficient, underfloor heating systems initially are highly expensive to purchase, install and keep running. They’re not for homeowners redesigning their houses on a budget, and are most certainly a mark of high-end luxury.

Further not every home may be able to support an underfloor heating system, depending on how old the home in question is. Some may be too small to accommodate the necessary workings, while others may not be able to have one installed without disturbing essential utilities, such as water or electricity. It may not even be possible to remove the traditional radiator heating system either. Even if those are not concerns, the very act of installing the system can be very disruptive and will result in possibly an entire day, even two, of the room being out of action.

Another frequent complaint is that they take longer to warm a room up as well. As the heat is coming from under the floor, it first has to work through all the insulation found within it. Radiators, while presenting large cold spots, are immediately touching the air, and so their effects are more quickly felt. You may be waiting for half an hour or more before the underfloor heating kicks in.

How Border Tiles can Be Used to Improve Tile Design

There are a lot of tiles in modern home design that don’t receive nearly as much attention as they deserve. Sometimes this is simply because the tile is somewhat obscure and not easily attained, other times it’s because it’s expensive and other tiles do just as well for cheaper. Then there are tiles that are overlooked, even though if used correctly they can truly change a design scheme for tiles for the better. In this, border tiles most certainly qualify. Perhaps by examining how these tiles are best used, it can be easier to see why border tiles need much more love than they have been receiving.

What are border tiles?

Border tiles, for the uninitiated, are exactly as their name might suggest. They are tiles used to create a border around a given object.

While there certainly are other ways you can achieve this effect, such as by using ordinary tiles of a different colour, or maybe a more stylish tile such as a stone tile or mosaic, border tiles have been specifically created for this task. Consequently, they are much better suited for this task. Look at it this way: you can easily use the handle of a saw to bash a nail into wood, but isn’t it much easier to use a hammer? The same applies here.

However because of their specific nature they tend to be overlooked by most amateur home designers. Their name and use make them sound boring and unnecessary, however this could not be further from the truth. Used correctly, a collection of border tiles can really help make a tile design truly amazing.

Uses for border tiles

The most obvious use for a border tile is to create a border for something. While this may sound pretty dull, it actually serves a very small yet very effective function. Sometimes when you create wall tile designs, it’s very hard to create distinction. Colours and designs blend together into the background tiles, and as a result the final look may not be as striking as you like. Even if you use strongly contrasting colours, it never seems quite as strong as it could.

This is because there’s nothing that really defines the shapes and patterns, and as a result the human eye can’t really focus on them. It’s difficult to distinguish between it and the background. As a comparison, compare a draw that is made using only colour pencils with no graphite pencils.

Border tiles can provide that needed distinction. They can be used to help block out a given pattern and give it depth, bringing it out of the background and into the foreground.

The result is some much needed order and separation. Because it’s now clear what’s supposed to be in the background and what’s supposed to be in the foreground, your designs become a lot more effective and eye-catching. It also helps make your backgrounds a little less overwhelming. As well as designs, it can also be used to separate fixtures such as sinks and toilets from the design proper, giving them their own distinction.

Another use for border tiles is also to help accentuate the design themselves. Despite their name, they should not be used simply to ring around other objects. That’s a very limited application, and they can be used in other ways. With a little bit of creativity and innovation, border tiles can be used to help add to a design in its own right. Because border tiles tend to be elongated, they can help break up a cluster of uniform shapes. This gives a design more variety, and thus makes it more interesting to look at.

Mosaic Tiles in Modern Bathroom Design

Mosaics have had a very long and distinguished history in modern architectural design. First appearing in the Middle East as simple, stylised geometric shapes, the Greeks took them into their current and best-known form. Even after the Romans made them fashionable across Europe, the Greeks were always held to have the best mosaic artists. While they dropped out of use after the collapse of the Roman Empire in the West and the movement away from Classical styles of architecture, from the Renaissance onwards mosaic tiles have seen new life in European home design and have now become a fixed part of any modern home.

Mosaic tiles nowadays tend to be a little simpler and scope than they used to be. While mosaics may summon up in the mind images of vast portraits utilising dozens, if not hundreds, of individual coloured tiles, modern designs tend to be a little simpler. While enterprising and resourceful home decorators may try to replicate the mosaics of old, modern mosaic tiles are often less excessively used.

The Mosaic Tile

Usually, modern mosaic tiles are small, square-shaped tiles of varying colours and shades, usually either coloured in a single block tone or else bearing a small stylised image in the centre. Often the pictures are natural in theme, such as small flowers, suns, ocean waves or leaves. They may be made of a number of materials too, although the most common tend to be plastic, ceramic, glass or stone. Metal is also used on occasion, but are much rare.

As a rule, such tiles are very durable. They can withstand a lot of punishment and come away relatively unscathed. This makes the ideal for use in bathrooms that experience a fair bit of foot traffic, or else can expect to come under heavy blows from time to time.

Further they tend to be very resistant to the sorts of stains and chemicals that a bathroom will likely experience, such as bleaches, shampoos and hair dyes. Thus they can last a very long time before they need to be replaced. Maintenance is very easy too, as most mosaic tiles are very easily cleaned and require only the occasional polish every now and then at most.

How Mosaic Tiles are Used

Commonly, they are used more to accentuate pre-existing designs and other tile types. For example a mosaic tile bearing a specific design may be interspaced through a collection of block-colour tiles to add variety, or else used to border a fixture such as a sink or bath.

Another use that they can be put towards as well is creating subtler, softer colours and shifts in tones. This is useful in bathrooms where you want a much more muted style than other tiles may offer, where the large sizes and vibrant colours may dazzle and overwhelm a bit too much. That said, mosaics can also be used to create very eye-catching displays too, depending on the colours and overall design used.

While it’s not common, mosaic tiles can also be used in their traditional way and used to create entire pictures on a wall. You may have seen this from time to time in public yourself, and the effect is very easy to achieve with a little bit of vision and creativity. Try to envision what sort of image you wish to have, and use your tiles to pick it out. This is a very advanced use of mosaic tiles, however, and can be difficult to pull off without an understanding of how all the different tiles play off and complement one another. If you’re unsure how it will look, try to do it “dry” first on a sheet on the floor. This will allow you to work out the details and avoid mistakes that cannot be easily corrected.

Satin Wall Tiles and How They Can Fit Into Your Home Design

Despite what the name may suggest, satin wall tiles are not wall tiles covered in a fine layer of fabric. That would, after all, be rather impractical, and perhaps a little tacky. Rather the word satin refers to the look that the tiles in question have, which is a slightly frosted and textured glaze effect. In contrast to the shinier gloss tiles, this makes satin tiles a lot more muted and faded in appearance. However this in turn can lend a great strength to the design of your bathroom or kitchen. Understanding how a satin tile can add or subtract from your bathroom is key to making your final room design a success.

One of the main strengths that lie behind satin wall tiles is that they generally don’t require as much cleaning as other tile types, especially gloss tiles, do. This is only in the sense that they’re not as obviously dirty for longer periods of time, it’s easier to hide smears and marks if the tile in question doesn’t have a shiny and reflective surface. It will still need cleaning, of course, and some claim they’re harder to clean than smoother tile types, however you’re less likely to notice that due to the longer intervals between each cleaning session. Another little bonus with cleaning is that you want me left with ugly smear marks left by the soap and water either.

Be aware though that although they’re more resistant to dirt, the frosted texture of satin tiles are more vulnerable to scratches and scrapes. Be careful if you’re using to back a crockery rack, or to line the base of a wall in a busy corridor. Otherwise you’ll quickly mark them with unsightly blemishes.

Whilst shiny gloss tiles can be used to great effect in smaller areas of the house, satin tiles work best in larger rooms. The muted appearance of the satin wall tile means it’s great for bringing the energy of the room down a notch or two, creating a more eased and relaxed atmosphere. They also seem a little less artificial and clinical than the almost unnaturally bright gloss tiles can be, bringing into the room a more organic atmosphere.

The trade of, of course, is a room that can seem a little darker, a little smaller and a little less energetic. Depending on the needs of the room and household, this may not be the ideal theme.

For more information about satin wall tiles, visit the website of Crown Tiles, a British tile merchant. You can also phone directly by calling 0800 156 0756.

How Kitchen Tiles Differ From the 1960s Decor

Over the years kitchens have changed drastically from those 1960s yellow and green colours with wall paper featuring flowers to today’s popular choices of lighter white kitchen tiles and use of warm metals.

Here are some of the noticeable differences

Colours

Today’s colours are sleeker and much brighter with whites, blacks, and greys and silver being used to bring the kitchen to life.  In the 1960s Colours played a huge part in the kitchen design, with bold, bright colours at the forefront, and checkerboard floors and patterns commonly seen in many homes.

The 1960s red was a popular colour used in kitchens during that era, representing emotional upheaval and rebellion.  The passionate colour, represented agitated and restless.

Lime green was another colour that was used a lot within the home by mixing green with yellow, and bright, lime greens. The colour Green is associated with relationships, especially those related to the heart.  Often used with yellow (the colour of ego and intellect), the combination represented a renewed sense of self. 

Orange was another important colour used, representing transition and change. The 1950s Pink still had an influence in some homes during the swinging 60s, however, brighter shades containing red undertones represented in most homes. Graphic black and white colours were also used to help bring out the colours around them.

Lighting

When purchasing lighting for the home there are many options and considerations to take into account, most importantly choosing the right light to help bring out your kitchen’s features such its colours, paint, wallpaper or tiles. These can include overhead lights or under cabinet lighting and recessed lights which are popular choices in many homes.

Pendant lights are a great choice for placing over sinks and come in a variety of styles which include track lighting to vintage glass pendants. Chandeliers, which were commonly used in kitchens in the 1960s, still look good in many homes today, appearing over table adding a touch of elegance to the room. 

Wallpaper and Kitchen Tiles

Many homes featured flowery and graphical, green and yellowish wallpapers during the swinging 1960s in comparison to today’s modern and fashionable tiles. Today most homes opt for more natural wall and floor tiles in the kitchen with white, cream and black being the most popular choices.  Lighter colours can also make a small room look much bigger and brighter.

If you are planning a new year makeover for your kitchen you can purchase some modern kitchen tiles for your walls or floors call Tile Choice on 0800 1560 560. 

How Gloss Wall Tiles Can Improve Your Bathroom

As you browse through the various articles that offer advice with regards to your own home design and tile choices, it may become increasingly apparent that there are a lot of factors to consider. Size of tiles, material of tiles, colour of tiles and so on and so forth. All this is rather a lot to take in, so allow us to add to that by adding a new consideration: the finish of a tile. What do we mean by that? We mean the final layer of varnish, the spit and polish if you will, that wraps a tile’s design up. There are three forms of finish; gloss, satin and matte.

In this article, we’ll be looking at gloss wall tiles. Specifically, why you may buy them.

A gloss wall tile is basically a tile with which the finish is particularly shiny. As the name may probably have already suggested. The result is a tile with a much glassier and reflective appearance, giving potentially a rather frosty or clinical look.

There are uses behind the installation of glossy tiles. The main one is that it truly does make your bathroom look sparkling clean, with every surface glistening gently in the light. For people with a particularly perfectionist streak, gloss wall tiles are sure to give their bathrooms a satisfying gleam that’s usually associated with cleaning product adverts. Certainly there is something to walking into a bathroom where you need sunglasses to keep yourself from being blinded by the walls.

It’s actually this reflective quality that makes gloss tiles so popular with small bathroom owners. The bright reflective tiles help light bounce around the room more, making it brighter. By consequence this also makes the room seem substantially larger. If used alongside a strategically placed mirror. You can make even the pokiest of bathrooms seem much bigger than they actually are. The bright ambient light will also improve the overall mood of the room. It’s easier to feel awake and energised when properly light, and it’s also harder to feel down.

The smooth, reflective surfaces also make glossy tiles remarkably easy to clean. Dirt has a hard time getting caked into the tile’s level surface, and so cleaning them takes only as much time as it takes for you to run a wet cloth over them. While the grooves in between each tile may need the usual love and care associated with tile cleanliness.

Of course this also makes gloss tiles somewhat grubby looking if not cleaned regularly. It’s very easy for stains from soap or water to dry up and leave unsightly marks, which would upset the otherwise sparkling appearance of the bathroom at large.

For more information about gloss wall tiles, visit Crown Tiles’ website. Alternatively, phone 0800 156 0756.

Get kitchen ceiling lights that work for you and your home

Choosing how to light your room can be a long and difficult task as it needs to be just right for the space. There are so many different types of lighting available that sometimes the choice can be overwhelming. Understanding which type of lighting works best for what room is key when designing a space that both looks great and functions well. The shape, size and layout of your room can all determine the usability of the finished outcome.

One of the most important rooms in the home is the kitchen and this is also the case when it comes to its lighting as kitchen ceiling lighting has several important functions. It should create ambience, help you to see and can also be a great opportunity to create of focal point in the room. If you are someone who loves to entertain, then choosing a kitchen light that can give you good usable light in the day and great mood lighting in the evening is essential. This can either be achieve through the use of several different lights, or through a main source of lighting which is controlled with a dimmer switch. Whatever option you decide upon, it is always advisable to have a couple of different lighting options within the room as lights are generally not ‘one shade suits all’.

If you have an island in your kitchen, it’s important to install ceiling lights above to really make the most of the space. If you want to achieve a more dramatic look for the room, try long, hanging pendant lights - these will become a fantastically stylish focal point and highlight a great area of your kitchen. If you prefer a more refined look for your home, opt for flush fitting kitchen ceiling lights instead, as this will give you a similar effect without being too overbearing. If your kitchen is on the smaller side but you still want to play around with ambient and functional lighting, you could opt for lights that sit underneath shelving units. Using all of the space available to you like this will allow you to stylishly fit several different types of lighting into one space. Although this trick works well with smaller rooms, it can be highly effective in any size room if done right.

Overwhelmed by all the lighting choices? Online stores such as Lighting Majestic offer a wide range of different kitchen ceiling lights and fantastic advice all in one place – perfect if you don’t want to waste time rummaging around the shops. For more information on kitchen ceiling lighting and lighting electrics, you can call them today on 0800 4080049 or click here to take a look at their range.

Tiffany Lighting options for your home

Choosing the right lighting can make a real different to a room, featuring brightly coloured, stained glass lamp shades Tiffany lighting will make a prominent feature in any home.

Tiffany lights were first invented by the American designer Louis Comfort Tiffany in the 19^th century and have since proven to be timeless eye catching pieces and valuable investments.

There are a number of different Tiffany lighting options available to choose from which include:

 Tiffany lamps

Tiffany lamps are the perfect option for any home as they give off a timeless touch of colourful elegance to any room. They are created by using a special technique with each piece of glass cut by hand before its edges copper foiled with the lamps then being put together using soldering techniques, connecting each piece to create the final product. Some Tiffany lamps feature bases which are carved out to make the lamps stand out even more .If you are after something a little different why not choose a Tiffany animal lamp. You can choose from a number of favourite animals such as a frog, owl, dog, cat or butterfly as they are fun, unique  and would be a great choice for your child’s room or even your own room to add a bit of colour and vibrancy. 

Tiffany ceiling lights

You can purchase a wide range of Tiffany inspired ceiling lights which include pendant lights, chandeliers and up- lighters which will look great with almost any decor style shades and patterns. These lights are a popular option in many homes because they come in a wide range of styles and colours and never go out of fashion.

Tiffany wall lights

If you’re looking for a wall light to help light up your room and bring your colour schemes and decor to light during those dark and dull wintery nights then Tiffany wall lights are affordable and will give you something different whether your home has a contemporary or traditional look and feel.

Lighting Majestic offers a range of Tiffany lighting to suit all tastes and needs. At Lighting Majestic, customers will find a wide variety of lights available for the Kitchen, Living room, bedroom or dining room from chandeliers, to pendant lights to wall lights, garden lights and floor lights. Whether you’re looking for Tiffany table lamps, wall lamps, ceiling lights or floor lamps you’ll find a striking Tiffany lighting that will fit right into your home to suit all decors. Call Lighting Majestic free from a landline on 0800 4080049.

Underfloor Heating Thermostats 101: What They Do and How That Helps You

Underfloor heating tiles are quickly becoming a very popular means of central heating for households across the British Isles. Cheap, effective and energy efficient, it’s no wonder why this is the case. However they are fairly sophisticated bits of technology. Because we live in an age where we want to optimise our environments and lifestyles to our own pleasure and taste, it should come as no surprise that these heating systems come with underfloor heating thermostats. Of course these things are useless if you have no idea what function they serve, or why you’d even want one in the first place.

With winter on its way, however delayed it may seem with all the balmy October days we’ve been having, a good system of heating the house is a top consideration for the modern homeowner. However most current systems are expensive, unreliable or lack the coverage necessary to keep all sections of the home warm.

Underfloor heating has been around since the Romans were still picking their noses on Hadrian’s Wall, however it went into something of a decline after they realised that a rainy island on the edge of the world probably isn’t a good place to settle after all. After making a comeback in recent years, it is quickly finding its way into homes across Britain, and with them underfloor heating thermostats. The underfloor heating system itself goes, you guessed it, under the floor, with a protective layer between if the floor in question is sensitive to heat. They’re very cheap to run, capable of heating a room to a comfortable temperature within half an hour, and are also insulant enough to stop that heat within the room. They also heat it evenly, preventing cold spots. The thermostat, meanwhile, is mounted elsewhere, usually with the rest of the electronics, gas and heating controls.

The underfloor heating thermostat is responsible for regulating the temperature, as well as setting time and durations. It’s easy enough to programme the thermostat to only activate just before you get up in the morning, and just before you get back in the evening for limited periods of time. This allows you to quickly warm up your home at very little cost. When used for bathrooms or living areas, the result is a room you can truly relax in during any possible cold snaps this year.

For more information about underfloor heating thermostats, visit the website of Crown Tiles, a British tile and flooring company based in the UK. You can also contact them directly by calling 0800 156 0756.

Bathroom Flooring Tiles: What Ones are Best for You?

The best way to make your house a home is through a great design, inspired by your own style and own personality. Every room in the home is important but some just deserve that extra touch of luxury to really help you to settle in. The bathroom is a room that really is worthy of that extra bit of time and thoughtfulness, and whether it’s a large shared family bathroom or a perfect paradise just for you, making it perfect is the first step to a great home.

Nevertheless, with all the fixtures, fittings and plumbing, creating that perfect bathroom doesn’t always come cheap, so looking for stylish décor that doesn’t break the bank is paramount if you want to achieve the room of your dreams. 

Bathroom floor tiles are one way that many people choose to save money when decorating their bathroom, as it can help you to achieve style and affordability in one. Due to the popularity of bathroom flooring tiles, there are a number of fantastic style options available from the absolute basic, to something a little more luxurious. 

Porcelain and ceramic are the most popular choice for bathroom tiles as the material is both durable and easy to clean. These tiles can easily stand up to the knocks, scrapes and spills in your bathroom as they are incredibly strong, all you need to do is wipe clean and carry on. Nonetheless, if you want something a little different from the norm, marble, quartz, travertine and slate are some of the other strong and sturdy bathroom flooring tiles available to you.

Another important factor to consider when deciding on the right floor tiles is the finish that you will want. Depending on what style you’re opting for you may want to choose a gloss, matte or satin finish. If you just want a stylish, everyday bathroom to relax in then why not choose a satin tile? Satin tiles are a great in between choice for almost every bathroom and work well if you find that either a gloss or matte finish is too harsh. 

If you’re after a more quirky yet sophisticated look, then a matte tile is the way to go. Matte bathroom flooring tiles aren’t the most common choice and therefore, can help you to achieve a look that is incredibly striking and a little bit different. Nonetheless, choosing a high gloss floor tile will fit you perfectly if an ultra-modern and sleek design is what you’re after. A high shine tile paired with brushed chrome fixtures is a perfect concoction for the modern design lover.

Whatever style of tile you choose to make your room shine, there’s a great range of bathroom flooring tiles out there for everyone, so get your DIY hat on today!

Understanding Red Wall Tiles in Your Home Design

How you use your red wall tiles can have a significant impact on your overall home design. It’s a well known fact that different colours have different associations, connotations and evoked emotions. This is rooted deeply in human thought processes, as humans frequently make use of symbols and motifs to help them make sense of the world around them. This works in home design not least of all, where different colours can be used to give each room a certain atmosphere depending on the whims of the home owner and the function of the room in question.

So what can red wall tiles do to a room? The answer is rooted partially in examinations of Western cultural mores and in some sense to human psychology. That’s right, this home decoration article is making you learn something. In case you’ve forgotten, you can close the window by clicking the X in the upper right corner.

Still with us? Excellent!

So, the colour red is typically associated with the following themes and emotions: passion, lust, danger, war, anger, blood, summer, fire, heat and royalty. To the Chinese and other Sino-sphere cultures, red is traditionally associated with good fortune. Red roses are traditionally regarded as a very romantic gift, while in road sign symbolism red is traditionally used to border signs that issue specific warnings. Naturally you’re probably not wanting to invoke a sense of danger or warning in your own home design, so it’s unlikely that you want your red wall tiles to invoke that particular connotation. Nor will people walking into a room decorated red expect to encounter anything particularly hazardous.

It is possible to use red as the primary defining colour of a room. Usually in room design, red is used in warms where relaxation is the primary motive for using that particular room. As such, your red wall tiles would function very well in a bath typically used to help unwind after a hard day’s work, or in a kitchen that may also double as a dining area.

You should avoid stark, bright shades. Those tones will add an unnecessary energy to the room, making occupants agitated and restless. Likewise, avoid mixing red with other summery colours such as yellow, gold or orange. Deep, dark reds are much more effective, and assist with giving the house a warm, inviting look, especially if used with browns or dark beige. Burgundy is a good colour to use, while reds with purplish hues can provide a very rustic feel to a given room.

However you should be very cautious in using red as a background colour to your wall design. Sometimes, less is more, and with red wall tiles this can apply in particular. Too much of it, and you can quickly overwhelm yourself and other people in the room. If you’re uncertain about using red tiles, therefore, you may want to consider using red as a secondary colour or partner colour.

Because red wall tiles can be quite bright and bold, you may find the most effective use of them to be in outlining given fixtures in a room, such as surrounding a cooker or mounted cabinet. You can also use them in patterns with other colours such as blue or green, or white or black tiles. Contrasting different colours and shades can provide additional layers to a room’s mood and feel, and if you get the combinations right you may find red wall tiles work perfectly to amplify both tiles’ associations.

For further information about red wall tiles, or to see a wide range of other tiles throughout your home, visit the website of Crown Tiles, a British tile warehouse. You can also phone directly by calling 0800 156 0756.

Wood Effect Floor Tiles are a Great Alternative in your Home

A beautiful floor can completely transform a home and if you are considering splashing out on a new floor then it’s important to know exactly what options are available to you, before you take the plunge and spend that hard earned cash. Hardwood flooring is a beautiful luxury to have in the home but it does come with many disadvantages if you’re not willing, or simple don’t have the time to put in the effort of upkeep. A great alternative to wood flooring are cost-effective wood effect tiles. Wood effect tiles can be used anywhere in the home that you would traditionally use wooden flooring and are particularly good for the kitchen and bathroom. Understanding the benefits of tiling over wood flooring is the best way to decide if they’re the right choice for you.

Wood vs. Tiles, what’s the Difference?

Wood effect tiling will never be exactly the same as real wood flooring but that doesn’t mean it isn’t any good. Wood effect tiles can have a similar texture and identical colouring to real wood so that without closer inspection, you wouldn’t be able to tell the difference.

One of the main reasons that wood effect tiles are a popular choice over their real wood counterparts is the price. Real wood flooring is incredibly expensive to buy as it isn’t a cheap material to manufacture. Tiling, however, normally comes from a much cheaper source: clay. This cuts initial costs by a whole bundle and means that you have more money left over to spend on the rest of your home.

Wood flooring also requires a lot more groundwork and upkeep than wood effect tiles. Although you have to prepare for tiling, the preparation for wooden flooring is much more difficult and often needs to be done by a professional if you’re not a keen DIY guru. You don’t have to maintain wood flooring but if you choose not to it will become damaged and ruined, and generally leave your floor looking a little worse for wear.  Both wood and wood effect tiles are easy to clean but over time, even with good upkeep, wooden flooring may become dull and less attractive. As tiling is most commonly made from strong clay, it is extremely resistant to everyday wear and tear and tends not to fade over time in the same way that wood can.

The upkeep that comes with real wooden flooring is also costly, meaning that on top of an initial high expense, there are also a number of other expenses to consider. If you choose to opt for wooden floor tiles however, these costs can be significantly lowered. Like all flooring, tiles need to be looked after but if grouted and laid correctly first time, you can enjoy flooring for years and years to come, with very little change in appearance.

If you’re on a budget or just don’t fancy the hassle and upkeep that comes with real wood, then wood effect tiles are a great alternative and with so many different styles to choose from out there, you can be certain that your floors will look fabulous.

Beige Wall Tiles - Underappreciated, Or Underachieving?

What can be said about beige? That default of colours, that chromatic fall back that has so polarised the world of home decoration. For many beige is a nice neutral colour, perfect for decorating any room of the house you care to name and one that goes with just about any other colour to boot. It’s nice, it’s friendly, and it’s unobtrusive. However, others say, beige is the refuge of the unimaginative and the stolid. It’s a colour about as exciting as a Catholic funeral, and with half the energy. As such when looking at beige wall tiles, it may be hard for some to come to their own conclusions about the merits of this particular colour.

The truth of the matter is that beige, like any other colour, can come in a wide variety of tones and shades. There isn’t just beige, there’s a variety of beige that you can choose from. Each individual option can have its own impact on the mood and feel of a given room.

With effective use of beige wall tiles, or beige paints if you choose to forgo tiling entirely, there’s actually an infinite number of things you can do. It’s perfectly fine for people to want to use alternative colours, and to buck what they may see as a stodgy, uninspired tradition for something that more suits them. That’s what decorating is all about: taking a room, or even a whole building, and making it yours in every aesthetic sense.

But let’s not do beige a disservice here. It’s a colour equally as viable as any other, and you should not be dissuaded from it simply because of mere counter-cultural snobbery. Used correctly, and you could make beige a colour that’s not only versatile, but moody, evocative and, yes, even exciting.

For example, if you use a particularly light collection of beige wall tile shades and apply them to a living room that’s fairly poky, you can immediately give the impression of calm, light and space. Light reflects more easily from brighter shades and colours, and this added light can quickly present the illusion of a room being much larger than it really is.

While white tiles can do this equally as well, pure white can look a little too sterile, clinical and severe. Beige wall tiles can give the impression of space, yet are softer and less stark in appearance. This stops your home from looking like a hospital, and more like a place that can be lived in.

Experimentation with beige can be equally as creative, and perhaps arguably more so, than experimenting with a range of colours. Once you get a proper understanding of how the tone of a colour can directly impact the mood of a room, you’ll quickly find your mind coming up with new ways to take this colour and make them your own. The mind is indeed the limit, and you can quickly see for yourself why the reputation for beige wall tiles as boring simply shows a lack of vision.

For more information on beige wall tiles, visit the website of Crown Tiles. Alternatively, phone directly by calling 0800 156 0756.

Mosaic Tiles and How to Use Them

When it comes to the matter of home design, mosaic tiles usually get overlooked by the majority of home designers. The reasons for this vary, but usually it amounts to people being uncertain how exactly to use mosaic tiles. They are, of course, rather small and fiddly as tiles go, which gives people the impression that they’re difficult and time consuming to use. This of course is a little disappointing, as mosaics can truly give your bathroom or kitchen a dash of any sort of theme you desire if used correctly. But how do you use mosaic tiles effectively?

Do not be intimidated by their small size. Mosaic tiles are actually surprisingly easy to install, certainly they’re no harder than any other kind of tile. The key to using them effectively comes with understand how to properly use their size and colour.

Like most tiles, mosaics can come in a wide range of colours, tones and textures, whether its dark and stone-like to bright and glossy. How they’re used can radically alter the mood, theme and perception of a bathroom, so understand the basics of tile design first. Use bright, reflective tiles to make a kitchen seem brighter and larger, and use darker, more natural tiles to make a bathroom seem cosier and more contained. Also consider carefully just how the tiles themselves are shaped and designed.

For example, you can easily use stone-like, naturally coloured and textured mosaic tiles in a kitchen to give it a somewhat authentic Mediterranean appearance, with just a dash of the Levant or Tuscan Italy. Use of reds, browns and beiges will enable you to capture a warm, summery look, and used with larger stone-like tiles and fixtures will quickly give your kitchen a timeless, handmade appearance. This is especially useful if your kitchen is in view of guests -- the effect of the mosaic tiles will certainly give them something to talk about.

Another design is the use of single primary colours to evoke a single feel or theme. For example, extensive use of green tiles will give your room a very natural, foresty feel that would work well if you plenty of plants scattered about the place, such as in a conservatory. Meanwhile, blues will naturally lend themselves more to nautical and sea themes, which is a rather obvious design choice for a bathroom.

Meanwhile use of bright blues, greys and whites will make your rooms seem brighter and cleaner, while reflective surfaces means that more light can bounce around the room and give the illusion of space. The final look will be very modern, perfect for homeowners who want a home that looks ahead of its time. There is also a practical application to the use of bright mosaic tiles -- marks and stains become easier to spot, and thus they’re easier to keep clean. Clean rooms are hygienic rooms, and thus will enable you to better see to the health and welfare of your family.

How you array your tiles will also influence the final look and feel of your home. Evocative and bold designers may wish to consider using exaggerated, chequered designs using several different contrasting colours, something that will make the room stand out and draw the eye. This is good if you want to create a distinction between the wall and any working spaces or fixtures, such as showers or cabinets. Others may consider that a little too loud and distracting however, and as such may prefer to use only one or two colours of similar shades and hue to give the appearance of texture without overwhelming the sight. This is more suitable for people who want to create a sense of harmony and balance to their rooms, with everything blending together into one comprehensive whole.

As you can see, mosaic tiles can thus be used to great effect in altering and enhancing the designs of your home. For more information, or for a selection of other tiles, visit the website of Tile Choice. You can also phone directly by calling 0800 1560 560.

Kitchen Light Design Tips and Ideas

Your kitchen will probably form one of the core communal areas of your household, after the living room. Indeed it’s actually the custom among some families with particularly spacious kitchens to keep all domestic activities within that section of the house alone, with the lounge being strictly for entertaining guests. As such, ensuring that your kitchen is adequately illuminated by good quality kitchen lights is essential if you want to maintain a positive atmosphere for you, your guests and your family.

It is also essential if you want to keep things organised and tidy, given the amount of activity the kitchen can expect.

So what do you need to consider in kitchen lights? The first steps are to consider exactly what you intend your kitchen to provide for your family. What you usually do within a room should, of course, reflect in how you design the room around it. It also depends on whether you want guests to see the kitchen or not. If the kitchen also functions as a dining room where you will be expecting to have guests, it’s essential that the lighting is just as attractive as the rest of the kitchen.

So, what if your kitchen is strictly for cooking with very little activity besides? In that case you’ll want lighting that’s utilitarian and practical, offering you a very clear vision of what you’re doing. You can place a kitchen light in the dead centre of the room for maximum coverage, or maybe even include several lights installed on the bottom of overhead cabinets for additional illumination.

As there’s no real concern about aesthetics -- no one will be spending too much time in here -- you don’t have to worry about the tone of lighting. It can be as warm or stark as you please.

What about a kitchen that doubles as a family gathering area, or one where guests can expect to be entertained? In that case you need to be a little more thoughtful.

 Try to go with lighting that, while offering good illumination, also gives a warm and inviting feeling. Lower the watts of the light by a few units to give a more relaxed air, and scatter them around the room evenly. A particularly effective design is to have several wall-mounted lamps and a single ceiling light directly over the centre of the dining table or living area, which gives good coverage of light without being overwhelming.

As there are more going to be more shadows in this sort of kitchen, lighting needs to be more strategic and precise. Place kitchen lights directly over your main cooking stations, such as the cooker, the cutting board and any islands you may have. Light here can be a lot stronger than light in the dining and living sections -- because the lights are so focused they will not interfere too much with the overall ambience. Besides, you can always shut them off after the meal is cooked and served.

Consider installing lights directly in drawers and cabinets, which activate as they are opened. Lights under overhead cabinets and behind backsplashes are also a very good way of illuminating key areas unobtrusively.

For more information about kitchen lights, visit the website of Lighting Majestic, which can supply for a wide variety of lighting needs within the kitchen and other sections of the home. You can also contact them directly as well by calling 0800 4080049.

Kitchen Floor Tiles are an Essential for your Home

Most floor tiling is incredibly durable and can stand up to a large amount of heavy traffic whatever the size of your home, making it perfect for busy areas such as the kitchen. If you’re looking for a long term flooring solution for your home then tiling makes sense. Floor tiles have many advantages when it comes to style and practicality and can help you to put a personal stamp on a room or give it a more expensive and ‘stylish’ feel. Kitchen floor tiles can be one of the cheapest ways to decorate a room if fitted, laid and maintained properly and what’s best is that this can all be done by you!

To perfectly prime your floors for tiling, you will need to invest in a few bits and bobs if you haven’t already done so. Adhesive is the first thing you will need once you have ensured your floor is clean, dry and even. Applying a thin layer of adhesive to the floor will make sure that the surface is smooth and that any remaining dust will be fixed in place. This gives you a smooth finish that’s perfect for your floor tiles. You will need to measure the floor tiles out from the centre of the room to achieve the right fit for your room; this will be slightly harder with an irregular shaped room but should still be doable with the right tools and a keen eye.

You will need to buy and mix a good quality tiling adhesive to secure the kitchen floor tiles to your surface and this should not be applied too thickly. A notching trowel and spirit level are needed to lay the adhesive evenly and will help to ensure your flooring remains even. Once the floor tiles have had 24 hours to set, you will need to fill the tiles gaps with a good quality grout, available at most hardware and tiling stores. If all of the steps are followed correctly, your tiles should be perfectly straight and even, giving you a great floor finish.

Once you’ve got all of the bits and pieces you need, you can start focusing on the style. You can purchase kitchen floor tiles in stone, ceramic, porcelain and many other different materials, they all have their advantages but it’s best to get advice if you’re not sure which one to go for. Red, blue, beige or black, whatever you fancy there’s a tile out there for you and once you’ve got the tools, all you need is your imagination!

Create the Perfect Home with Your Choice of Kitchen Tiles

The kitchen is the most important room in the entire house; it’s used for socialising, cooking and generally bringing friends and family together. Therefore, it’s important to give your kitchen the TLC it deserves when decorating so that it not only reflects your style but is simply a pleasant place to be. Your floors and walls are an important component to the overall style and design of your home, adding character, colour and a range of other benefits. Getting them just right for you can sometimes seem both expensive and difficult but it doesn’t have to be. Kitchen tiles can be a great way to add a unique touch of elegance or colour to your home without forking out thousands of pounds for standout style.

Tiling works well in any home but finding the right fit for your style and your space is the most important thing you can do for a room. Practicality is key when it comes to kitchen tiles and if you have a smaller kitchen, it’s important to create space and light with your tiles. Not doing so could enclose your room and create a dark, dingy and unpleasant atmosphere. Whites, beiges and pastels are the best colours to choose for small kitchens, as they can really help to lift a room. Although opening up your room is important, you should also remember to differentiate the colours in your walls and flooring. If you’re worried about your room being too boring, it’s easy to incorporate splashes of colour into both your walls and floor without compromising on an airy, spacious look.

Open plan kitchen and living space? If your kitchen incorporates a dining area as well as a main cooking area, you can afford to play around with different colours and shapes a little more. Nonetheless you may have to work harder to ensure your room looks comforting and cosy, rather than cold and empty. Bold border tiles and mosaic tiles are a great way to do this, as the short sharp bursts of colour break up your room and help the space to appear more homely. This style of kitchen tile is fantastic as it can be found in a variety of shapes and colours, meaning the most important room in your home will never look dull. Kitchen tiles are perfect for every space because they’re easy to fit, cost effective to maintain and best of all, there’s a style to suit every home!

Why Ceramic Wall Tiles are Best for the Kitchen and Bathroom

Want to revamp your home but don’t want it to cost the earth? There are a number of ways to save money on a home redesign without cutting corners. Many people choose cheaper, alternative materials that often look and feel the same but aren’t, such a laminate flooring or wood effect floor tiles. Another material that is widely used due to its cost effective nature is ceramic tiling. Although cheaper than many of its counterparts, ceramic wall tiles are often more advantageous than marble, glass and quartz tiling. So, if you’re looking for an amazing new wall without having to spend your life savings, a ceramic tile could be your new go to material

Unlike many other materials used for wall tiling, ceramic wall tiles are perfect for the conditions you have to contest with in the kitchen and the bathroom. Ceramic tiling is made by shaping, glazing and baking clay. It has been made the same way for thousands of years, with just a few modern tweaks to allow a better shape for your walls. 

Due to the hardening process that takes place when ceramic is baked, it makes a wonderfully durable surface for any bumps and scrapes that occur around the home.  Glazing is another great feature of the ceramic process, as it ensures that the wall tiles are easier to clean than almost any other material. Scrubbing and repainting will never be a worry with ceramic wall tiles, meaning you get to sit back, relax and enjoy your space.

Alongside excellent durability and an easy clean surface, ceramic wall tiles are also perfect for your style. Due to their popularity, ceramic wall tiles are made in both huge quantities and an incredible range of colours and shapes. Whether you choose a gloss, matt or satin finish, you can transform your kitchen or bathroom wall into the ultimate stand out feature. Go bold with fiery reds and greens or recreate a beautifully classic style with beiges and creams, thanks to ceramic’s hassle free manufacturing process, you can enjoy whatever style you want at the right price.

Want to save even more money? Ceramic wall tiles can easily be fitted by a keen DIY lover, there’s no need to call in the experts. If you’re not sure where to begin when it comes to tackling you wall tiles, check out these detailed guides from Crown Tiles. These guides will tell you how to prep, lay and maintain your ceramic wall tiles in a professional manner and ensure you get the perfect finish for your new wall. So what are you waiting for? Get tiling today!

Why do Ceramic Gloss Wall Tiles Work so Well in Homes?

Everyone knows that gloss wall tiles look lovely in the home; there are a vast number of styles, colours and shapes available so that you can design a room that is perfect for you and reflects your personality and style. However, there are so many more reasons to choose gloss wall tiles for your bathroom and kitchen, which makes them brilliant if you need practicality too. Sometimes the most attractive, high end materials can have serious downfalls and it takes a sturdy classic, such as the ceramic wall tile, to show them whose boss.

Ceramic is the most commonly used material for making gloss wall tiles because it is strong, sturdy and can stand up to the everyday wear and tear of kitchen and bathroom use. Thanks to the way it’s made, using ceramic, it also means that it’s not prone to staining either so you won’t have to worry about the dreaded sauce and toothpaste stains that are such a hassle to get out of other surfaces.

Choosing a gloss wall tile in a ceramic material will also give you protection against moisture too. Because ceramic tiling doesn’t expand or retract when exposed to steam or water, it makes the perfect surface material for rooms where this can be an issue, such as the kitchen and bathroom. The tiling’s resistance to moisture also means that if looked after properly, they will last years and years without being harshly affected by mildew. Finally, gloss wall tiles are easier to clean than other materials and are also resistant to many harsh chemicals, making them great for hygiene too. Simply wipe a tile clean when a splash occurs, there’s no need for endless hours of scrubbing!

Gloss wall tiles are easy to prep for too and if done properly, will ensure you get the best out of your new wall for a long time to come. To prep your walls for tiling, you must first make sure the walls are clean, smooth and free from damp. If you need to fill any holes in your wall, simply use wall filler to achieve a clean finish. Alongside this, to ensure the tiles easily adhere to your surface it’s also worth placing a good quality acrylic bonding on the wall. For more detailed information on how look after and fit your gloss wall tiles, check out these how-to tips by Crown Tiles or give them a call today on 0800 156 0756.