Hopefully you will have chosen the overall colour scheme for your kitchen. You may also have decided on a style and will probably be restrained by a budget.

You now need some kitchen tile ideas!

Ceramic, stone, glass and metal tiles are all cost effective surfaces that will provide a versatile hard wearing finish for wall and floor colour schemes and styles in your kitchen.

Don’t fall into the trap of creating a monotone kitchen with little contrast or interest. Many people try to co-ordinate tiles, units, work surface, walls and floor and end up with a bland beige-brown room. Be brave and use tiles to focus attention by using contrasting accent colours to create interest.

Another common mistake is assuming that the tiles must co-ordinate with the worktop. When you enter a kitchen the predominate surface you see is the kitchen doors and it is this surface that the tiles will be seen against. Make sure your tiles contrast against the doors and do not worry too much about how they look with the worktop. The tiles should be either a lighter or darker shade to the doors, or a contrasting accent colour.

Consider mixing different materials and textures. Ceramic, stone, glass and metal can be mixed to create unique designs to suit all budgets and styles. Low cost white tiles could be used to create a modern look with glass mosaics used as an accent colour under the cooker hood, or perhaps a stone effect ceramic tile with a contrasting natural stone mosaic. Colourful harlequin effects using several different coloured tiles can be used to great effect.

Tile textures can also make a big impact. Matt, silk or gloss tiles, un-filled travertines, polished natural stone or porcelain and glass tiles all provide different effects and capture light differently. Do not forget to incorporate kitchen floor tiles in your scheme. Extremely hard wearing, easy to clean and unaffected by floods they are ideal for kitchens. Match them up with Enerfoil underfloor heating to create a beautiful warm and cosy floor. Either co-ordinate with your kitchen wall tiles or contrast. Using a darker flooring makes your kitchen look larger.

Kitchen tiles also come in a wide variety of shapes and sizes. Try using larger size kitchen floor tiles if you have a large room, or perhaps add interest with a flagstone effect. Natural stone mosaics could be used to create an interesting feature and add interest. The same ideas could be used for kitchen wall tiles. Mosaics, 10×10cm, rectangular or large format tiles can be used to create very different styles. Tiles fixed at an angle can also add a lot of interest, consider tiling whole walls or make feature panels.

Do not forget the finishing touches, consider grout width and colour. Contrasting grout colours can add definition (but also show up any grouting or tiling mistakes) or co-ordinating can create a seamless effect. Metal trims and plastic trims are available to add the final touch.

Article contributed by The Tile Source