How to lay a tile in the kitchen: analysis of 6 popular layout patterns

Beautiful, comfortable kitchen is the dream of any housewife. However, this room has a number of features: humidity, temperature changes, increased sanitary standards, therefore, special requirements are placed on finishing materials. They should be not only beautiful, but also practical, safe. As the facing material in the kitchen, tiles are most often used. This is explained by the resistance of this material to high humidity, high temperatures and mechanical stress. Those who create their own interior, often think about how to lay tiles in the kitchen with their own hands. We’ll talk about this today.

How to choose a quality tile?

Decorating the kitchen with tiles gives the room a special charm and comfort. The choice is huge today. Suitable options can be looked after by both lovers of classics and fans of country style, minimalists and lovers of bright interiors.

The first thing a home master faces is choosing the right tile. Errors at this stage are unacceptable, you need to choose the material, taking into account not only aesthetic preferences, but also its technical properties. The material for making tiles is clay with various additives.

It is molded, pressed in a special way and subjected to firing. Then the surface is painted, a pattern, glaze can be applied. The surface can be either smooth or embossed. Different samples differ in price, appearance, strength, coating porosity, etc.

The tile, for example, has a porous base, therefore it is used only indoors. Its front side is protected by glaze. This tile is great for an apron and wall decoration in the kitchen, it is not used for the floor.
Ceramic tile has slightly different characteristics than tile. It is harder, stronger and has little water absorption. Glazed tiles are better protected from moisture, but less resistant to mechanical damage.
Porcelain tile is perhaps the most durable. It has high wear resistance, so it is excellent as a floor covering. The disadvantages include the meager color scheme.

Preparation for laying and calculations

In order for the tile laying to be performed efficiently, you need to prepare the necessary materials, tools and, of course, the base. It is no secret that the final result will depend on its condition. And the basis for the tile can be: concrete floor, cement screed, wooden floor and even old ceramic tiles. In each case, there are secrets of preparation, but the general requirements include the fact that the foundation must be smooth and clean.

Next, calculate how much tile you need to purchase. It is more convenient to do calculations for each wall separately. This procedure is performed elementarily:

The area of the wall on which the tiles will be calculated is calculated (the width is multiplied by the length).
Make a diagram. Find out how many tiles are needed per row, whether it will need to be cut. All numbers are rounded up.
The number of tiles depends on the method of laying, the selected pattern.
The use of decorative elements and their quantity are thought out in advance.

Tile layout options in the kitchen

After completing all the preparatory manipulations, you can finally decide which options for laying tiles in the kitchen are better to choose.There is scope for imagination, since there are quite a few options.

Option # 1 - “basic”

This option is also called "seam to seam" - one of the most simple and common ways. Tiles are laid one under the other, the seams are lines, as in a school notebook in a cage. On the resulting simple background, decors and interesting accessories look advantageous.

So they lay square and rectangular tiles. With this installation option, the least amount of waste is generated.

Option # 2 - “dressing” or “scatter”

The type of tile laid in this way resembles brickwork - each next row is shifted relative to the previous one by half a tile. This is one of the simplest styling options.

The option of laying tiles in the dressing or in a run

The option of laying tiles “in the dressing” or “in the run-up”

Plain rectangular tiles look better. It is worth considering that when facing the floor “in dressing”, laying is carried out only in horizontal rows, while it is not advisable to use tiles of different textures and colors, since the floor will look uneven.

Option # 3 - “diagonally”

Laying tiles “diagonally” is the most complex and time-consuming. This method allows you to create an interesting picture that optically expands a small room and allows you to level out minor irregularities in the walls.

All tiles must be carefully selected in size, deviations are unacceptable. There is a lot of waste with this method of laying

Seams are parallel lines that are located relative to the walls at an angle of 45 degrees.

Option # 4 - Chess

This method is characterized by the use of tiles of two contrasting colors. It is not necessary to use only black and white. Other options will do.

The chess method is used for laying tiles "seam in seam" and diagonally. These checkerboard style tile options will look great on the floor and on the walls.

Option # 5 - “modular”

According to this technology, tiles of at least three sizes are used for cladding, which saves the surface from the monotonous alternation of identical segments. This styling option looks very unusual, and quite nontrivial, requires careful use of decorative elements, since it is already quite dynamic.

Although the layout of the modular tile looks chaotic at first glance, it has a clear rhythm. From the same elements you can make completely different drawings. Therefore, before starting work, lay out several options for the pattern from the tile and select the one you like

When choosing a modular tile, it is necessary to pay attention to the fact that the lengths of all its sides must be multiples of each other, the entire tile must be of the same texture and, preferably, from the same collection. You can immediately purchase the finished tile marked "modulare" on the packaging. Color can be both monophonic and contrasting, but excessive variegation must be avoided.

Option # 6 - “lines”

Using a tile of 2-3 colors, you can create a fairly simple and unpretentious pattern in the form of stripes that can be located from wall to wall, be continuous or intermittent, narrow or wide, straight or broken, intersecting or parallel. Tiles of a contrasting or close shade can be used as a border - the effect is very interesting. With a sufficiently high decorativeness and a variety of options, this method of laying tiles is simple and economical, as it gives a small amount of waste.

In custody

The issue of tile technology is very important. Even at the stage of designing a kitchen design, he needs to pay special attention. Tile should organically complement the interior: if your kitchen is sophisticated, it is better to choose a laconic tile and lay it in a simple way. If the furniture is modest, then the tile can become one of the most striking elements of interior decoration.At the same time, you can give scope for imagination and choose complex, intricate styling options.

Rate this article:

(0 votes, average: 0 out of 5)

Do not answer

3 comments

Inna
6 years ago

My dad puts tiles on his own, although he never did this professionally. But only he knows how to lay tiles only according to the first option. Now I see what could be done in more original and interesting ways, and it would not look as banal as we have now. Although, if there is a desire to lay the tiles on your own without inviting specialists, it is better to try it by the first method - it is the easiest, it is impossible to do something wrong in it. The main thing is to level everything all the time. And already having got it, it will be possible to experiment diagonally, a chessboard or even a modular style.
To answer
Elina
7 years ago

What modern materials are now - there used to be an ordinary mold and it lies in my kitchen, or rather it is already crumbling, it has served for about 10 years. Now the repair started - I was interested in porcelain tile - I want to make a modern repair for a long time. Modular styling looks interesting, but it seems to me difficult to do it myself.
To answer
Yulia
7 years ago

We have porcelain tiles in our kitchen. We were advised of this in the store. Light beige shade is perfect for our furniture. I liked laying diagonally, but too much waste would have come from such laying. Yes, and my husband would not lay down the tiles because it would take more time.
To answer