Tiles for kitchens need a hard, stain-resistant floor tile and an easy-to-wipe wall tile, while tiles for bathrooms need a slip-resistant floor and waterproof walls. In both rooms, choose porcelain for floors, ceramic or porcelain for walls, and pay attention to slip class, joint width and finish.
The mistake most buyers make is choosing the same polished tile for every surface.
Which floor tile suits a kitchen?
A kitchen floor takes dropped utensils, spilt oil and heavy cleaning. Porcelain with very low water absorption resists stains, and a matt or lightly textured surface is safer than a high-gloss polish when wet. Avoid very rough finishes that trap grease. Check stain and chemical resistance in the test report. Tile chemical and stain resistance explains the classes.
Sizes of 600x600 or 600x1200 are common and give fewer joints to clean.
Which floor tile suits a bathroom?
Wet floors need grip. Showers and areas where people walk barefoot need a higher slip class than a dry hallway. The R scale and the barefoot ramp scale are used in different markets; see R11 and R12 slip rating. Slip requirements come from building codes and specifiers, so confirm them for the project.
In shower trays and walk-in showers, smaller tiles or mosaics follow the slope to the drain better than large tiles, and the additional joints give extra grip.
Which wall tiles work best?
Wall tiles in kitchens and bathrooms are usually glazed ceramic or porcelain. Look for a smooth, hard glaze that wipes clean, and tile sizes that suit the room. Large wall formats reduce grout lines, while smaller tiles suit splashbacks. Kitchen and bathroom wall ideas and sizes are covered in kitchen and bathroom wall tile concepts.
Wall tiles are often not strong enough for floors, because they are thinner and more porous. Read can wall tiles be used on floors before mixing them.
What finishes and details matter?
Consider these points when you specify:
- Finish: matt or satin on wet floors, gloss on walls where light and easy cleaning matter.
- Rectified edges for narrow joints, which are easier to keep clean.
- Matching floor and wall sets, with trims, so the room looks resolved.
- Grout: a stain-resistant grout in colours that hide marks.
- Waterproofing behind the tile in wet zones, which is an installation matter and not a tile property.
Which sizes work best in small rooms?
In small bathrooms, large tiles reduce joints and can make the room feel bigger, but they need a flat substrate and careful setting. Medium sizes such as 300x600 on walls and 600x600 on floors are easy to cut and to handle. In kitchens, large floor tiles with narrow rectified joints are easy to clean, while splashbacks can use smaller formats for pattern. Always consider drainage falls in wet rooms, which may require smaller tiles or a mosaic. Provide trims and corner pieces so the installer can finish edges neatly.
Next step
A bathroom range works only if floor and wall tiles share a colour and the slip class is right. We find and audit manufacturers, check samples and documents, and have lots tested. Book a free sourcing review to choose a range.