Just a little ceramic information to share as a potter. Vitrified simply means the clay has become glass like by being fired to its proper maturing temperature. Usually ceramic tile means it is a lower temperature clay like earthenware or terra cotta. Porcelain is fired to the highest temperature and is more vitrified if you will. This usually means it is less porous to to absorb water and harder. Low fired ceramics with glazes much darker or lighter than the clay body will show chips easier. Rectified has to do with making the edges precise enough to fit smoothly together for less grout lines. So porcelain cost more to produce but it is more sturdy. All clay tiles should be vitrified.

I have tumbled travertine (basically a form of marble) in the master bedroom and a marble mosaic in the master bath. It is higher maintenance. It stains and it wears differently in different areas. I am not doing natural stone in my new home. There are some fantastic tiles now that mimic all the stones, and a good quality porcelain tile will be very durable. Some ceramic wall tiles are "weaker" but I have had excellent luck with porcelain tile. Granite floors. Sure. But as people have said they also require maintenance like periodic sealing etc. In a house that size you don't want a different kind of floor in every room. I would stick to one or perhaps two types of floor tile in the main rooms. You can get away with additional types on walls in the bathrooms but I would keep the floors consistent. As far as cost goes, there is a very broad range of tiles and stones. In my shopping I have found some very good high quality floor tiles for reasonable prices. Stone has priced out higher...at least the ones I have looked at. Good luck!

I think this piece is quite lovely. It appears that your couch and chairs have dark wood so I would be tempted to stain or paint the buffet to match these items. Changing the large modern handles to smaller antique ones might help to make it less bulky looking and tie in with the other items in your room.. I like the idea of putting a mirror in the upper door, however much as I like the criss cross effect in the sample pictures, adding more detail may conflict with the curves in your sofa and chairs. You could look for a decorative detail that has more subtle style. As for placement, it might go on the short wall where you have a bench or even on the wall where you have your table with two chairs, one on each side to balance the look.

Steel - it is heavy but most durable option but it is costly and may catch rust in a few years, However, you can treat it with chemicals to protect it from rusting.Heating capacity is fast. Aluminium/UPVC - Its light weight and durable, it is cheap but very bad against fire. UPVC would burn in seconds if it happens to catch fire. UPVC windows come with limited color options and same with aluminium ones. However, there are few companies who have now started providing wood looking UPVC windows.Moderately resistant to heat. Wood - Wood windows look very rich and you can mould it to any intricate details. It all depends on the quality of wood used, Old Burma Teak is the best wood. You get various options with polishing and painting. They are best to give a vintage look. Wood will cost you more but its worth the investment since they are maintenance free and with right wood chosen and treated, it will remain durable for years. Resistant to heat but catches fire. If you liked our suggestion, do write a kind review on our profile. It will help :) Thanks, Smit Bhagat