How to Choose Tile for Your Living Room?

What role does your living room play for you? It is usually the heart of the whole house. It is the place where you socialize when you have visitors or the place where you relax with your loved ones at night. Therefore, it is natural that there are a lot of things to consider when choosing tiles for your living room. Follow this guide to find the right tile that suits your lifestyle.

1. Ensure a Suitable Atmosphere

Getting a space that has a homely feel is an essential factor to consider when choosing tiles for the living room. After all, this is the room where your loved ones and guests spend the most time. So how do you choose the tiles for your living room?

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To make it a comfortable space for everyone, choosing the right colors is essential. It is well documented that the colors of an environment can affect the human subconscious. Therefore, the color scheme in your living room should favor soft colors and avoid extremes. Some of the favorite colors used in living rooms are brown, beige, gray, and amber colors.

Consistency in how you choose the tiles for your living room between the flooring and the furniture design is also crucial in getting the perfect space.

2. Choose Wood Look Tile, if You Like the Aesthetics of Hardwood

Hardwood floors look excellent in the living room, but they scratch easily and can be challenging to maintain. If you like aesthetics of hardwood but want the hassle, go for ceramic wood look tile. It is really durable and resistant to both moisture and scratches, which means your floors will look great for a long time.

You can buy ceramic lumber that mimics the look of almost any type of tree. Keep in mind that real wood floors are softer and warmer than ceramic wood, which can be hard and cold. However, ceramic wood look floors are easier to clean than real hardwood floors. This type of flooring can be expensive to install, however. Car title loans can be the perfect way to cover those costs, and have your living room looking stunning!

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3. Pick Ceramic or Porcelain Tile for a Solid and Dense Flooring

Ceramic and porcelain look-alike, but porcelain is slightly denser and slightly less porous than ceramic. If you have children and pets, this can be a good option as it can handle a bit more action (and is less likely to get stained).

Porcelain generally costs a bit more than ceramic, but it usually lasts a bit longer. Porcelain tiles come in many different designs and colors, so you’ll have plenty of options!

4. Install Mosaic Tile for a Patterned and Textured Flooring

Mosaic tile may look strange for a living room, but it can really add a lot of color, texture, and artistry to your space. It works well if you want the rest of the room to be simple, and at the same time, you want an explosion of color or design in the room.

Mosaic tile is ideal if you want to create a design yourself, it lasts a long time and is easy to clean.

5. Consider Durability and Maintenance

When choosing tiles for your living room, durability is an essential factor to consider. Not only does your living room floor get a lot of human traffic, but it’s also exposed to falling and spills objects that can cause damage.

For durability, porcelain tile is always the top priority. Porcelain tile is harder than old-style ceramic tile and most natural stone tiles. Regardless of the finish, the hard body ensures that they will retain their original appearance for a long time.

Most porcelain tiles are stain-resistant, which means they are virtually maintenance-free. This is because most porcelain tiles are pre-glazed or sealed, so surface porosity is kept to a minimum.

6. Choose Flooring that Suits Your Daily Lifestyle

Don’t buy fancy flooring for entertainment purposes. If your floors are regularly subjected to heavy traffic, you shouldn’t add glazed or slippery tiles to your rooms, particularly when you have children or pets in the house.

Having a tile floor makes you vulnerable to slips and minor accidents. Therefore, consider the daily needs of your family members when choosing a tile for your living room.

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Parquet wood floors are back in vogue

7. Make a Small Room Looks Bigger by Choosing Lighter Colored Tiles

Ceramic and porcelain are decent options for small living rooms, as are all other tiles in white, beige, or cream. Light colors give the room a more open look.

Ultimately, you need your tiles to be a color that you don’t mind looking at every day. VIP Realty suggests you take home samples of different colors and styles to see what works best for your living room before making a final decision.

8. Choose Large Tiles to Make Your Living Room Appear Spacious

The larger the tiles, the bigger your room will appear. Look for tiles that are 13 x13 inches (33 x33 cm) or larger. There will be fewer grout lines in your living room, simplifying the space.

That also means you have to clean fewer grout lines. Larger tile looks more modern than smaller ones. However, remember that small tiles are more slip-resistant than large tiles.

9. Select a Matching Grout to Create a More Cohesive Room

If you don’t want your floor to get a lot of attention, choose a grout that matches the tile of your choice. Similar colors will make the tiles appear to flow together, making the living room perfect.

An off-white or gray grout will bond light tiles and draw less attention to the floor. Select a grout that matches the color of the tiles for the perfect look.

10. Take Pictures of Your Furniture and Paints to See How Things Blend Together.

Take some photos of your living room before going to the store. Think about the decorations, doors, curtains, furniture, and artwork that you have in the living room. It will always be tough to say precisely how things will look together. Still, having the photos should help you narrow down your options.

If you have fabric or paint samples from when you painted or bought new furniture, take those with you too. Be sure to bring photos of the room with you when you buy tiles.

Simple Ways to Transform Your Condo Into an Eco-Friendly Space

Global warming and climate change have been at the forefront of news headlines nowadays. This brings to attention the need to protect the environment. When it comes to going green, every step matters and you can do your share with through your condominium unit.

Whether you own a condo unit for personal use or as an investment, you should think about how to transform your space and make it green.  Get started with basic maintenance care when you read this post. Then, incorporate 8 lifestyle changes and remodeling tips listed below to reduce your carbon footprint and make your condo eco-friendly.

Parquet wood floors are back in vogue

1. Switch to LED Lights

This is one of the simplest changes that you can adopt into condo living. LED lights are the new standard for modern and eco-friendly lighting at home. If you are still using incandescent and fluorescent lights or lamps, you need to consider getting new LED lights.

Light-emitting diodes (LED) are more energy-efficient and can last up to 20 years. They are, therefore, a good option to use for condo lighting if you want to minimize your carbon footprint. They are also practical since LED lights are affordable and last a long time, giving more value to your money.

2. Install Eco-Friendly Air Conditioners

The traditional air conditioners are notorious for consuming large amounts of energy that also hike up utility bills. If you want to save on power and optimize cooling within your home, it is best to find eco-friendly air conditioners. It can help you save up to 90% off your current energy bill.

But it is not just your air conditioner that you should consider replacing with eco-friendly ones. Make sure you choose other energy-efficient appliances, too.

3. Use Natural Cleaning Products

Going organic when it comes to your diet is one of the best ways to develop an eco-friendly practice at home. But when you cannot fully commit to altering your diet, it is best to start with the products you use. For example, you can switch to green cleaning products. This will not only benefit the environment but anyone living in your condo as well.

When you use natural cleaning products, you are exposed to fewer amounts of harsh chemicals. The fewer chemicals you use, the less harmful it is to your health. Also, if you have small kids, the use of chemical cleaning products should be a no-no!

The best part is that natural cleaning products are often less expensive than chemical-based ones. If you are not sure which to choose, research on brands that manufacture or specialize in natural cleaning products.

4. Furnish Your Condo with Reclaimed Materials

Have you inherited antiques from your grandparents? Do you have any unused furniture lying around? Instead of opting for new furniture items and accessories to decorate your home with, it is best to opt for those made of reclaimed materials instead. This will help reduce the waste dumped in landfills and maximize the shelf life of these materials. The use of antiques and old furnishings can also add an interesting decorative flair to your home.

Reclaimed wood materials are one of the most common recyclable materials that are used for home and interior decorating. You can repaint them to make them look brand new and fit into your interior décor theme.

5. Spruce Up Space with Plants

The addition of plants to your condo is a great way to enhance its aesthetic appeal. At the same time, add color and vibrancy to interior space. But there is also an eco-friendly benefit to incorporating plants as decoration–it improves indoor air quality.

Some of the plants that act as an air purifier are:

  • Aloe Vera
  • Areca Palm
  • Elephant Ear Philodendron
  • Lady Palm
  • Bamboo or Reed Palm
  • Rubber Plant
  • English Ivy

Before you move into your condo, get one or more of these plants for a healthy home for you and your family.

6. Be Eco-Conscious in Your Choice of Kitchen Sink

If you need to renovate your kitchen, make sure to choose eco-friendly sinks.  As the most important part of your kitchen, choose stainless steel or kitchen sinks that are made from copper recycled materials. This will add a modern look while making it eco-friendly. Sinks made of renewable materials are also great options.

Pair it with low-flow faucets to conserve water easily. Another alternative is to install a low-flow aerator with existing taps. This will significantly reduce the flow rate of 4 gallons per minute to just 0.5 gallons. That’s a huge volume of water saved.

7. Invest in a Smart Home System

A smart home might seem like an expensive investment. But when you live in a condo, you will find cheaper systems that will make your life more efficient and eco-friendly, too. A smart home system will adjust the control of various appliances and equipment, such as lighting, heating, and cooling.

With its data-driven system in place, control of indoor temperature, lighting, and the like are automated. By adjusting to the optimal level, you won’t waste energy heating or cooling your home. It also helps to ensure that no unused light is turned on (as it automatically turns the light off when you leave a room).

This is a simple step that you can take to transform your condo into an eco-friendly space. While the one-time investment might be big, it can help you save more in the long run (in terms of lower energy bills).

8. Repaint Furniture, Not Replace Them

This is another simple step that you can do if you want to promote sustainability in your condo unit. Does any piece of furniture look old? Is your cabinetry looking a little dated? Don’t throw them away just yet to get new ones!

Make sure you look at the possibility of repainting or re-facing any furniture or cabinets in your home instead of replacing them with a new one. This is true for appliances or furniture that are still in good working condition.

What steps are you taking to make your condo eco-friendly? Why not give these tips and try and let us know what benefits you gained from doing so?