Make your tile flow

When choosing floor tile for your home, a lot is based on personal taste; such as, color and design. When tiling multiple rooms, most people prefer the tile to flow from one room to the next for uniformity. For instance; tile should flow easily from the kitchen to the family room, and even a bathroom off the kitchen.  

While still keeping uniformity, you can create differences in the living spaces with tile to separate rooms, especially in open-floor-plan homes.

Here’s how: 

Borders: 

Borders can be made to create dramatic effect, as well as distinguish a difference between rooms. For instance; in a large, open kitchen, distinguish lines between kitchen and eat-in area by adding an accent border tile along the wall. You may wish to bring the accent tile in one tile width for a dramatic effect, giving the illusion of an area rug. 

Use patterns:

Have your tiled laid so that you use different patterns to mark the difference in rooms. For instance; for room separation, one idea is to lay the tiles straight in the kitchen, then lay the tiles in a pattern for the family room. One pattern that works well in most kitchen spaces is a diamond pattern. A diamond pattern can give the room personality, as well as a wow-factor.  

Use a different tile:

To go from a kitchen area to formal dining area; especially in an open floor plan, you may want to consider changing tiles. For a formal living area, choose a marble tile that compliments the tile in your kitchen. Marble tile gives a more distinguished, dramatic look to a room; perfect for a formal living area. From kitchen to family room, try transitioning from a traditional tile in the kitchen, to tile that simulates hardwood flooring, in the family room. This is a dramatic, yet more casual look. 

Accent tiles:

Add a row of accent tiles between the kitchen and living room to mark the end of one room, and the beginning of a new room. In an open floor plan, it can be hard to distinguish where one room ends and the other begins. Consider laying a row of accent tiles between the two rooms that go with both the kitchen and living room to give it separation. 

Tile flow to Bathroom:

If you have a bathroom off the kitchen, you can carry the tile into the bathroom using the same idea. To give separation to the rooms, try adding a border on the outer edges of the floor in the kitchen. This will give the room separation, as well as a dramatic, tiled look. You may also want to use a more casual tile in the bathroom, one that uses the same colors and tones as the kitchen tile.