When you think about the most critical areas of your home, three rooms or regions come to mind before all of the others. You have the kitchen, the entryway, and the bathroom.
The kitchen is where everyone gathers in your home. It’s the place where you cook meals, plan your day, or run for snacks during a commercial break. When you have a tile floor in this room, you’re supporting the home’s value while creating a low-maintenance surface to enjoy.
With the entryway, you have the first impression of the home to consider. It becomes the mudroom, shoe storage area, and coat closet in many houses. If you have a tile floor here, you can keep things cleaner while enjoying the durability that the product provides.
Bathrooms have a high moisture environment, so a tile floor isn’t always appropriate. The added weight could also be problematic around some of your plumbing.
How to Start Tiling Your Floor
You’ll discover that there are several ways to layout the tile for a floor. The best option is to use the manufacturer’s instructions to get the results you want.
Some building codes might also apply that you’ll need to manage. Depending on your community, it might be necessary to secure a building permit before continuing.
Once you’ve got everything you need, here are the steps to follow to create your best kitchen and entryway ideas.
1. Prepare the floor for the installation first.
It would be best if you prepared the subfloor before working on any tile install idea. You’ll need to use a floor scraper to remove any old mortar or adhesive from the bare floor. It also helps to have good ventilation in the area.
The entryway is a relatively straightforward project. If you want to put in kitchen tile, you’ll need to remove the cabinets and appliances.
2. Measure the room.
It helps to know that you’ve got enough tile for your project before starting. You’ll need to get the numbers for the length and width. Once you have them, multiply the figures to get your square footage. Once you get that figure, it helps to add another 10% to it for mistakes and broken tiles.
3. Think about the design.
Some tiles come with a specific design that requires you to follow a particular pattern. You might choose a product that alternates colors, which means you have to think about your placement first. It always helps to start in the center of the room when planning your design, even if you have more tiles to cut.
Don’t forget about laying your membrane down first before you get started on your flooring project. It helps to attach it with thinset if the product doesn’t come with a self-adhesive. The membrane allows the floor to expand or contract without cracking the tile.
4. Use colors that pop in your home.
The tile floor should be one of the first things you notice when walking into a room. It delivers that initial visual to make you think that positive experiences are about to happen. How you approach this concept depends on your personal preferences, how long you plan to stay in the home, along with additional factors like size and shape.
When you’re ready to begin, mix more thinset to the consistency of peanut butter. You’ll start at the center, spreading it evenly, to ensure the cavities in your membrane get filled. Work one section at a time, using your established patter as the tile gets laid.
5. Clean and level your tile as you go.
It helps to use a wet sponge to wipe off the thin-set on your tile’s surface as you work. You’ll want to check for high spots with a long level. If you encounter one, a rubber mallet will help to even things out. You’ll need to account for a quarter-inch gap around your pipes, edges, and between tiles, cutting the tile as you go.
You’ll want to keep spacers in to ensure the tiles are set correctly after the installation.
What Patterns Work Well in the Kitchen and Entryway?
The best tile patterns are the ones that keep things simple. That’s why you’ll see a straight lay pattern in most homes. It’s clean, straightforward, and allows for tile patterns.
You can also choose the brick pattern, which is sometimes called the “running bond.” It’s like a straight lay, but each row gets offset from the other.
If you want to enhance your kitchen or entryway appearance, a herringbone pattern is another option. It creates a wide “V” for added movement.
Diagonals, basketweaves, hexagons, and chevrons are also possibilities.
Here’s the extra good news. When you put in the time and effort to update your rooms with a tile floor, most of the expense becomes equity you can put into the home.
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