Would you tile the whole downstairs?

londoniana

Tiling everything is very common in warmer climates as it's an inexpensive way to keep the temperature down in the summer. It's not done for aesthetic reasons.

In England I would keep tiling to minimum - bathroom and kitchen.

You also have to consider resale value, I think a lot of people would be put off by tiles in the living room, it doesn't look elegant no matter how beautiful tiles are. Again, I think it works for vacation homes in warmer climates or perhaps for cottages here (but not even..).

Mojisola

fluffnutter wrote: »

When I read the title I envisaged tiles everywhere. Up the walls and on the ceiling too.

I have seen that (almost) done in a flood-prone house. All the ground floor was tiled up to about 1m up the walls. The owner moved all the furniture when a flood was predicted, hosed down and disinfected the tiles when the water went away and moved the furniture back. Minimal disruption and no insurance claims.

Money_Saver

zepsgal wrote: »

Or would it look daft?

We currently have a light wood style laminate flooring at the front door and the living room, a carpet in the back hall, different carpet in the downstairs bedroom, and tiles in the kitchen.

We plan to knock the wall down between the hall and bedroom to create a dining room leading to the kitchen. The plan is to tile the kitchen and new dining room with the same tiles. Now I'm thinking that rather than put down new wooden flooring in the living room, it might be nice to use the same tiles, so the whole downstairs is the same.

Maybe a tiled living room would look weird? What do you guys think?

My whole downstairs is tiled in Travertine. Different design in Hall but same throughout. Everybody loves it. Can be a bit cold in the evening's during winter, But I am always going around in my socks and I don't really notice it. Beats carpet anytime!

lostinrates

londoniana wrote: »

Tiling everything is very common in warmer climates as it's an inexpensive way to keep the temperature down in the summer. It's not done for aesthetic reasons.

In England I would keep tiling to minimum - bathroom and kitchen.

You also have to consider resale value, I think a lot of people would be put off by tiles in the living room, it doesn't look elegant no matter how beautiful tiles are. Again, I think it works for vacation homes in warmer climates or perhaps for cottages here (but not even..).

I disagree that it cannot look elegant. I think it can look like a cheap Greek restaurant, or it can look very chic, in either a modern or a period setting, the right tile chosen.

I think carpets often look dreadful, but appreciate they have appeal for some! For me a riled house would be no less appealing and potentially more so than carpet buying a house. In fact, I think certainly more so.

thorsoak

Regarding the resale value of tiled floors/carpeted floors: unless one is very lucky and buys a house that has been newly carpeted, one is buying someone else's dirt! You know that a tiled floor can be steam-cleaned in 10 minutes, but a carpet can take forever to clean properly!

jenhug

I have slate in the kitchen and dining room, and am desperate to do the living room too. Hubby isn't so keen and wants carpet, but I just love the slate and want to carry it right through. My house is a 70's ward home and has no interesting features like alcoves or chimneys etc, so for me it adds some personality, you can make slate look really sleek and modern with chrome accessories or you can make it look rustic and cosy.

londoniana

thorsoak wrote: »

Regarding the resale value of tiled floors/carpeted floors: unless one is very lucky and buys a house that has been newly carpeted, one is buying someone else's dirt! You know that a tiled floor can be steam-cleaned in 10 minutes, but a carpet can take forever to clean properly!

I was actually thinking hardwood floors when I thought resale value. Carpet is off putting for me.

ps. tiles are harder to remove than hardwood floors and carpets..

andygb

lostinrates wrote: »

I disagree that it cannot look elegant. I think it can look like a cheap Greek restaurant, or it can look very chic, in either a modern or a period setting, the right tile chosen.

I think carpets often look dreadful, but appreciate they have appeal for some! For me a riled house would be no less appealing and potentially more so than carpet buying a house. In fact, I think certainly more so.

We have Cappucino marble tiles in kitchen and hall, so they really go quite well with the neutral walls and modern kitchen. Our lounge is also quite neutral, so they would fit in there as well if we decided to go for it.
We have one quite rich Persian rug in the kitchen/diner, and a couple in the lounge.
When we bought the house over 20 years ago, there were deep carpets throughout, and for the first year we kept getting bitten by animal fleas, even though we cleaned the carpets.
We are now a happy itch free zone.:)