The Many Uses of Tiles

Tiles are a hugely versatile decorative and practical covering for walls and floors. Tiles are mainly used in kitchens and bathrooms but can also be used in other rooms of the house or even outside as they are so hard-wearing. The great thing about tiles is that they can be very decorative as well as practical. They have been used for thousands of years, since Roman times in fact, as a durable yet decorative surface solution. Tiles can be painted with patterns or bright colours and then glazed. They can also be used to create patterns themselves, with mosaic tiling being a beautiful way of decorating a surface indoors or outdoors. The Romans used mosaic tiles as a wall and floor covering, creating beautiful designs containing motifs and portraits of important people. Mosaic tiles today are often used as decoration in bathrooms and kitchens, quite often as a boarder to break up a section of painted wall and wall tiling. Mosaic tiling can be made of a number of different materials; a particularly popular material is glass as it has a lovely iridescent quality and can contain shimmer or be beautifully glazed. Tiles can also be used as a floor covering, outside on a patio for example. Tiling can be made slip resistant for practical use in outside areas, or in shower and bathrooms where there is a lot of water. Tiling is also commonly used in and around swimming pools because it is very durable and provides a slip resistant surface both under water and around the pool. The different materials that tiles can be made from these days also provide a wealth of possibilities. Wooden flooring is a particularly popular floor surface currently and you can buy wooden tiles instead of laminate flooring to get this look. Wood effect tiles look really like real wooden flooring and can be used in any room of a house or building to create a stylish floor surface. Carpet tiles are also another durable and practical flooring solution that has been used for many years and can provide comfort in a home. Hard-wearing carpet tiles can also be used in offices as they provide a long-term flooring solution and offer some level of comfort in an office building. If you like the look and feel of tiles, individual tiles can even be used for decoration around the home. Tiles are actually a great surface protector and can be used to stand hot dishes or drinks on. So as we can see the uses for tiles are endless and they really are one of the most long-lasting surface solutions that have been used around the world for a wide range of purposes for centuries!