Floor tiles are the heart of a room. Floor tiles can be of various styles and types. Some of the types are stone, vinyl, linoleum, cork and ceramic. Each tile has a specific texture, nature and appeal. While cork floors give a casual look, stone floors are elegant in nature.

1. The psychology of flooring tiles
The act of giving meaning to well defined boundaries of objects seems very vague. It has often
been observed that things appear as they are not. This isn't rocket science. It's the miracle of
perception.
When we enter a room, the first thing that we sense is the space that we are in. This analysis is
primarily enabled by our sense of sight. When you look at something, you start decoding it. What
is startling is that, this analysis is triggered not just by the complex biological processes in our
body. It is also by the external stimulus around us. This includes external setting of the space.
One of the most important aspect of this aesthetics is tiles. A tile is the foundation of the floor and
thus everything that is designed in a room is followed from the flooring of the room.
Floor tiles are the heart of a room. Floor tiles can be of various styles and types. Some of the
types are stone, vinyl, linoleum, cork and ceramic. Each tile has a specific texture, nature and
appeal. While cork floors give a casual look, stone floors are elegant in nature. Ceramics are
durable and waterproof and linoleum add colour and texture to the floor. Thus their specialities
can be utilised to give a completely different perception of the room. Tiles can provide a texture
to the room and influence the overall décor.
It is common to hear people ask about methods to make an initially small room appear bigger. To
answer the same, given below are a few important factors to be kept in mind while choosing the
tiles. Finally, a summary of what to do and what not to is also given as pointers.
When you are choosing a tile for your house, there are four essential factors that you need to
look into.
The first is the Size of the tile. Tiles can be found in a variety of sizes today. They range from 12,
16,18 and 24 inches. It has been observed that large tiles (exception: 24 inchesbecause it is too
large) generally make the room appear big. This is due to less interruption of the flooring surface
with the grout or cement lines. When the floor tiles are small, there is more separation of these
tiles that is felt and visible to the eye. Thus, it makes the room "feel" fussy or packed. It is also
advisable to keep the grout colour similar to the tile colour to make it look non distinctive.
The next step is to choose the right Colour. Research has pointed out that lighter shades convey
greater space than dark colours. It you can also observe in your house. When the tiles are light
shaded, the light in the room naturally increases, which makes us perceive the room in an
expansive manner. The world Floor Covering Association has also highlighted how large and
light coloured floorings are the ultimate combination.
The next important feature is the Shape of the tile. Tiles are usually square and rectangle in
shape. Mixing both these shapes of the same colour and texture does not affect the sense of

2. space. Contrary to common belief, random patterns seem to expand the space rather than
creating borders.
The last is Orientation. The trick here is to lay the tile diagonally. The limitation here is that if the
room is interrupted by wall spaces and many doorways, then it is a challenge to lay the tiles
diagonally. Otherwise such tiles are better than checkerboard tiles.
Thus, the five tips to be kept in mind while choosing the floor tile
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Use bigger floor tiles.
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Keep the tone of the tiles lighter
Keep the grout colour complimentary rather than contrasting
Select gloss finished floor tiles
Finally, before deciding, have a rough plan of the interiors (wall colour, furnishing etc) to
match the floor.
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