Wood Effect Porcelain Tiles

[kah22]

It's almost time to pick the new kitchen floor.

Two thoughts were going through my mind; a floated engineered wooden floor and a tiled floor. My preference is for the wooden floor but there is still that nagging doubt in my mind about its suitability in a country like Ireland where rain is never that far away. The tile floor on the other hand seemed cold and uninviting.

While doing some online research about wooden floors in kitchens I came across Wood Effect Porcelain Tiles and have begun to wonder to myself are these the solution I've been looking for?

Yes I know if you want wood buy wood but I'm wondering if anyone here has these tiles in your home and how do the look and feel? Will they give me that wooden feel, or will they just look up at me and say ‘who do you think you are kidding?’

If suitable they certainly would be much easier to keep clean, and might just be that bit more child friendly. Yes I do know that if you drop a cup or glass on tiles it's goodnight!

Anyway I'll be glad to hear your opinions.

Kevin

Our neighbour has these in her very new, contemporary kitchen/diner/family room. I think they look surprisingly nice. She does have underfloor heating though.

Very interested in people's response as I'm about to buy them for our bathroom. They look lovely in the showroom.

Gumps, i hope to visit a tile show room later this week. If I may ask, what length and breath of a tile are you thinking about, light or dark - I preference something light.

Im thinking of these for our bathroom: www.toppstiles.co.uk/tprod46277/section100/nayara-polished-natural.html

i dont like the herringbone lay out with different tile colours though.

in rl they are beautiful but wont fool anyone. I think they look luxurious, lustrous and will add a bit of detail to my simple white everywhere bathroom.

I am having my bathroom done as this very moment. DH really liked the idea of porcelain wood effect tiles, I wasn't so sure. Went for the Tabula Cappucino from Topps Tiles. Now it is down, I'm really pleased.

But it does what it says, it looks like wood, but it doesn't feel like wood. It is great for bathrooms due to the water on real wood issue. Not sure if I would have it in other parts if the house though.

I've just got a couple of sample ones (from the wood and floor company I think it was), they look much better than I expected. They could pass for wood from a distnace but as a Pp said they most definitely don't feel like wood.
They're not right for us (old house) but I'd use them in a very contemporary setting.

They seem to be a hit in the bathroom. Anyone have them in the kitchen

Visited two showrooms today, took an early day :) and you know they do look impressive, I also liked the feel of them underfoot but as Finola1step said: '...it does what it says, it looks like wood, but it doesn't feel like wood.' Do the benefits outweigh the cons, I wonder?

More on polished porcelain - a friend has them in their kitchen and although they arent wood effect, the shiney finish, if that's what you're after, made their wickes kitchen look like a pogenpohl (or another high end make).

Ive seen tiles similar to the ones finola linked to in a house i went to view recently (now decided we're staying out and making best of what we've got). They looked fabulous in their hall.

Kah, i think they are a brilliant choice anywhere and its all about how you style them and what you out them with.

Pilaw has engineered wood in his kitchen. They are not a gloss finish, maybe oiled, im not sure but they aren't shiney planks and tbh, they collect and hold dust/crumbs etc but i dont have the bottle to ask them how often they vacuum!

I know some people with very expensive engineered oak in their kitchen and I just don't think it is up to that environment. After just a year they have warping planks - I know it's engineered so shouldn't have been a problem although they do have underfloor heating but again, that shouldn't be a problem but it is.

The wood effect porcelain, as everyone seems to agree, looks great but it doesn't feel like wood - what about just going for very large porcelain tiles - I've seen slate effect porcelain that look fabulous with all the colour variation and texture and at least that would have the feel to match the look.

Porcelanosa has fantastic wood effect ceramic tiles. They come in various shades and I think they are amazing with a contemporary kitchen or bathroom. The tend to be about 90cm x 30cm or even a bit narrower.

A friend has had the wood effect tiles put in her humongous kitchen. They look great but would drive me bonkers, the ridges in them give a lovely look but would be a nightmare to clean. Think she got hers in Porcelanosa. Another friend was recommended a composite wood by the very good floors guy in Mulveys. Much better price, and more hard wearing with children in the house.

We fitted Porcelanosa wood effect porcelain tiles back in 2010 in a bathroom at our last-but-one house. Our buyers were initially fooled by them and they did look great.

Not had them in a kitchen, as we generally prefer limestone but this house has original parquet which we're going to live with and never had issues with breakages which I know is a reason why some people don't like tiles on kitchen floors.....

It definitely doesn't feel like wood but does look great and is easy to clean provided you are using dark grouting. Put them into two bathrooms and they look brand new 3 yrs later. The best part is no maintenance. I had natural stone before and it was a nightmare to stop bleaches etc from damaging the tiles.
www.rovic.co.uk/products/view/143/Barrique---aged-wood-effect

I put it in my last development in the kitchen and bathroom and I think most people loved it We lived there for a while and it was indestructible and didn't need much cleaning

I'd be inclined to steer clear of wood flooring in a kitchen or any other environment where it might get wet in a regular basis. Porcelain, ceramic, stone etc all the way here in both kitchen and bathrooms. Underfloor heating in all these rooms makes them lovely and cosy. Smaller areas such as bathrooms have electric whereas the kitchen which is larger has a wet system.

Only problem is tiles are a little unforgiving if you drop glasses, plates etc. good luck.

Just visited a house that has huge smooth white porcelain tiles over much of the ground floor. And it is a period house with small children living there. Wouldn't have imagined they could look so good - I thought gloss white porcelain would be really harsh but actually they look fantastic - seeing them over such a large expanse has changed my mind about them.

Glad I don't have to make the decision - I wouldn't know what to choose now - I guess do the research and then just go with your instinct

We've just had some fitted in our kitchen and I love them and people have been admiring of them too (though I'd be surprised if someone said they looked crap to our face). We got these and choose the grey ones so it's not too woody. Wish we got dark grout put in though.....doh.

As annaLP said: 'I guess do the research and then just go with your instinct.' quite right annaLP; research is part of the reason I'm here. So keep the comments coming
Kevin

The ones i saw were from CDT. They were short plank style and an ash colour. We are going for white tiles with them. Can't wait to see it all together.
We have gloss white tiles in our kitchen. Never again! For the 5 minutes they are clean they are beautiful and reflect the light from the bi folding doors. However 3 kids and a cat mean that they rarely are.

Porcelanosa here, in the en-suite. Good and non-slip too, just think we should have done the underfloor heating (was talked out of it by electrician though).