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

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

Use bigger floor tiles.

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.