Ceramic tile: Tips for choosing the right size for your project

It's just as true for tile: "size matters"

by Jim Bessey

how many tile sizes do you see here?*

What's more fun than doing a tile job? - choosing the tile!

Shopping at tile stores is a sensory experience. So many shapes, sizes, textures, patterns and colors to choose from; it's enough to make you dizzy. At first it's easy:

"Love that! Love those! No way I'd use them!" But then comes, "- oh, I like those, too. These would look great in our bathroom. So would these, over here."

And that's just in the first five minutes of browsing the tile displays. When you consider the combinations and permutations, there are actually more tile choices than there are paint colors at Sherwin-Williams. One way or another, you have to...

Narrow the field.

Most folks start with a color scheme and a budget. That cuts the possibilities by at least half. Still leaves a couple thousand potential selections. Move on to texture: smooth or "natural" surface? Glossy or matte finish? Now you're down to just a few hundred possible tiles.

Size matters... keep reading

copyright 2009 Jim Bessey - all rights reserved ~ Reprint rights available at Helium.com
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This guide to choosing tile sizes for your DIY tile projects recently tied for second place in Challenge 21: Your best advice, hosted in Betaville on Helium.com. 
Your can find more tile advice from Jim and other Helium authors on the DIY Tile Zone, also hosted in Betaville. See this story as it appears on Helium.
If you have pictures of a recent DIY tile job you completed, contact me by Comment or email to share them here on K&B by D'Zyne.

* answer: there are four distinct tile sizes shown in the picture: 12x12, 6x6, 2x2, and 12" by 1" gold metallic 'rope' as an accent band edging. The tiles laid diagonally are the same 6x6's as in the horizontal row below the accent band.