Floor Tile

Choosing Floor Tile by Room

Unlike a wall or backsplash, floor tile has to perform under foot traffic, moisture, and in some cases weather, which makes the room you're tiling the single biggest factor in choosing the right product. See our full guide to choosing floor tile for every room for a deeper walkthrough.

Kitchen Floors

Kitchen floors see heavy foot traffic and frequent spills, so durability and easy cleanup matter most. Porcelain is the top choice for kitchen floors thanks to its density and stain resistance, while a matte or textured finish helps hide everyday scuffs better than a high-gloss surface. Read our full breakdown of the best tile types for kitchen flooring for more detail.

Bathroom Floors

Bathroom floors need the same slip resistance as a shower floor, since water reaches the floor outside the shower too. Look for a DCOF rating of 0.42 or higher, and favor smaller-format tile like mosaic or hexagon, which adds grout lines that improve traction. See our full shower floor tile collection if you're tiling both spaces at once.

Living Room & Entryway Floors

Entryways and living spaces prioritize style and comfort underfoot over water resistance. Wood-look tile is especially popular here, delivering the warmth of hardwood with far greater durability and zero risk of water damage. Large-format tile also works well in these spaces, minimizing grout lines for a clean, open feel. Explore more tile flooring ideas for the living room for inspiration.

Laundry Room Floors

Laundry rooms combine heavy moisture exposure with the practical need for an easy-to-clean, durable surface, making them closer to a bathroom floor than a living space in terms of material requirements. Porcelain and ceramic are both strong choices here. See our guide to laundry room floor and wall tile for specific product recommendations.

Outdoor & Patio Floors

Outdoor floor tile needs to handle direct sun, rain, and in colder climates, freeze-thaw cycles. Porcelain rated for exterior use is the most reliable choice, and a textured or matte finish is essential for slip resistance on a wet patio or pool deck.

Floor Tile by Material

Most floor tile falls into a small number of material categories, each with real performance differences worth understanding before you buy. See our full guide to what floor tile is made from for a deeper look at how each material is manufactured.

Porcelain

Porcelain floor tile is known for strength and versatility, making it a dependable choice for high-traffic areas of any kind. It's also available in finishes that convincingly mimic natural stone, concrete, or wood grain.

Stone-Look Tile

Stone-look tile brings the natural beauty of quarried stone with the easier maintenance and lower cost of manufactured tile. It's a strong choice anywhere you want a natural, organic look without the sealing requirements of real stone.

Wood-Look Tile

Wood-look tile brings the warmth of hardwood flooring to spaces where real wood isn't practical, including bathrooms, kitchens, and basements. It's fully water-resistant and far more durable than hardwood under heavy foot traffic. See our full guide to whether wood-look tile is right for you for a closer look at the tradeoffs.

Mosaic Floor Tile

Mosaic is ideal for smaller spaces or intricate design work, and its small format naturally improves slip resistance thanks to the added grout lines per square foot. It's a common choice for bathroom floors and accent borders.

Natural Stone

Natural stone floor tile, including marble, travertine, and slate, offers a genuinely one-of-a-kind look. It should be sealed before grouting and resealed periodically, especially in bathroom or outdoor installations. Our guide to sealing tile floors for maximum longevity covers exactly when and how to reseal.

Popular Floor Tile Patterns

Herringbone and brick-look layouts add visual movement to a floor without relying on a busy tile pattern. Hexagon tile is a popular choice for bathroom floors, since its shape naturally creates more grout lines than a square tile of the same size. Waterjet-cut and encaustic-look tile bring decorative pattern to entryways and accent areas. Browse the full floor pattern library to compare every layout side by side.

How to Choose Slip-Resistant, Durable Floor Tile

Slip resistance matters anywhere a floor gets wet, not just in the shower. A DCOF (Dynamic Coefficient of Friction) rating of 0.42 or higher is the accepted standard for bathroom, kitchen, and outdoor floors. Durability is measured separately, using a PEI rating from 1 to 5: look for a PEI rating of 3 or higher for any room with regular foot traffic, and PEI 4 or 5 for the busiest areas of your home.

• Choose texture over gloss in wet-prone rooms. Matte and textured finishes grip better underfoot than polished surfaces.
• Go smaller in bathrooms and outdoor spaces. Mosaic and hexagon formats add more grout lines per square foot, improving traction where it matters most.
• Confirm exterior tile is freeze-thaw rated if you're in a climate with cold winters, since not all porcelain is rated for outdoor exposure.
• Check the PEI rating against your room's traffic level before ordering, since a tile rated for a quiet guest room can wear poorly in a busy kitchen or entryway.

For a full walkthrough of matching tile to room and traffic level, see our step-by-step guide to selecting floor tile.

Floor Tile Installation Tips

• Measure carefully. Calculate your floor area in square feet and add 10 to 15 percent for cuts and waste.
• Check subfloor flatness. Floor tile is less forgiving of an uneven subfloor than wall tile, since gravity works against you.
• Use the right thinset for large-format tile. Larger tiles need a medium-bed or large-format mortar to prevent lippage and cracking.
• Waterproof bathroom and outdoor floors before tiling, since tile alone doesn't stop water from reaching the subfloor below.
• Seal grout after installation, especially in kitchens and bathrooms where spills and moisture are frequent.

Explore More Tile by Room & Application

• Bathroom Tile, wall and floor tile for showers, tub surrounds, and bathroom floors
• Kitchen Backsplash Tile, glass, subway, mosaic, and more for kitchen walls
• Shower Floor Tile, slip-resistant mosaic, penny round, and porcelain
• Pool Tile, glass and porcelain tile for pools and water features