Hi Everyone!
Back with another edition of design obsession my design crazed friends! So, raise your hand if you have a little issue underfoot? Yeah, you too, huh? So glad to know I’m not the only one.
I hate our floors. Like, seriously cant stand them. Its the flooring that was installed during the original construction and it aint pretty. There’s carpet in the bedrooms, family room, and entry room and linoleum sheeting in the bathrooms, laundry/mudroom, and kitchen/dining room. First off, I’m not a huge fan of carpeting. Aside from the fact that I have allergies, the maintenance of them with two young children is a beast. Secondly, the linoleum is pain in neck to clean and its ugly, to boot. And thirdly (yes that is a word) I don’t like the fact that there are multiple flooring surfaces throughout the house. In some areas there a line straight through the middle and half is carpet and the other half is lino. Not a good look.
Originally Naomi and I were dead set on replacing the flooring with engineered hardwood. But, lately something else has caught my attention in a major way. I’m talking harwood tiles. My very first run in with these was back in 2004 when I lived in Vegas and was sprucing up my condo. I thought it was a neat idea then and Ive totally jumped on the train now.
I have a few reservations, though. I mean at the end of the day it is tile, so the warmth factor that I love about wood just isn’t going to be there. I also dont like the idea of the grout lines. I’m sure we could always use a smaller grout spacing and use a grout tinted to the color of the tile to help minimize the look of them and give the illusion of more of a wood floor application. I also worry about the uniform size of the tiles. Most of the time hardwoods come in varying lengths, so the floor looks more organic and less uniform.
Even still, with all these considerations, I cant help but be drawn to them. To me the pros outweigh the potential cons. Easy cleanup. Anti-allergen. Can take a beating from the kids, traffic, pets, etc. Can be installed in any room including bathrooms and high moisture areas. Plus nowadays they look so damn real!
Here are some spaces that are making my decision just that much easier:
ingrid@nowathomemom says
A lot of designers are using these now, it looks very nice! I would love this in our bathroom and laundry room for sure! but I prefer the warmth of hardwood floors!
Darnetha says
Stopping over from instagram…I love hardwoods but I love the look of hardwood tiles. I first saw them on the DIY network and fell in love. They would look great in a bathroom if you don’t want them throughout the house. I especially love the look of pic 4. Too offset the coldness of tile, install warmers underneath the tile. My friend has warmers and you can walk around with bare-feet without noticing it is tile you are walking on.
Shavonda says
Hi Darnetha! Welcome from Instagram!!! Thanks so much for your input. I def think radiant heating is the way to go with these. Maybe not in every room, but def in the bathrooms, kitchen, and family rooms since those are the rooms we are likely to spend the most time in throughout the day. I’m so glad you stopped by.
Brandi says
I love this look. I’ve seen them before on Pinterest, but not in person. I would love to do something like this in a small space, maybe a bathroom. We just added sheet lino in our laundry room that resembles wood flooring. I would never have it in the main living areas, but for our laundry room it really works and clean up is a breeze.
Shavonda says
Hi my friend! I think this would look awesome in your bathroom 3/4 bathroom with the beadboard! I wish our lino was a breeze to clean. First off its a white/grey/beigish color so it stains super easily. And on top of that it has little ridges within it so dirt gets trapped in there and we end up on our hands and knees trying to scrub it out. Aint nobody got time for that!
Dee says
My neighbor just installed these just like your first photo. It was a lot of work since they did the whole first floor. They do look great but I have notice my neighbors wearing socks when it was cold. Great blog. I’m new here.
Shavonda says
Hi Dee! Welcome and thanks so much for stopping by! You know the whole sock wearing scenario is a concern of mine. Though this may not be the nicest thing to admit, I’m a country girl at heart and I love walking around my house barefoot. I hate socks. Tile does always seem so cold to me. There is the possibility of installing radiant heating underneath the tiles. That could work. Thanks so much for your input. I hope you come back and visit again soon:)
L.Duncan@Home23DuncanBoys says
Sign me up! Love this! What about price? Is the price cheaper than wood?
Shavonda says
Hey lady! You know what from what Ive found they seem to be very comparable and in some cases more afforadle than hardwood. I have seen them range in price from $1.50-$4.00/sqft. Im sure they get even higher than that depending on the source.
Mrs. Chic says
Yo know I love real hardwood, but love how practical and easy to care for wood look tile is! We are going this route with our laundry room, you know I almost fainted when my contractor asked what type of lino I wanted for the space! Of course I shut him down! lol 🙂
Shavonda says
Oh no he didn’t go there with the linoleum! I’m interested see how well they work with the hardwoods that are throughout the rest of your space.
Mrs. Chic says
I hope they look good with our hardwoods, I’m planning on going with a darker grout and very thin almost invisible grout lines! Of course you’ll be invited over so you can see in person 🙂
Shavonda says
Absolutely! I’d love it. And I was thinking of the invisible grout line application too. Now my wheels are really spinning.