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 am so happy to see you here! I will have to go back and see if i can retrieve my posts... thought I would make them into a little book for my daughter, with photos. Quick run-down on the bathroom (not travels, no time) - The kitchen has a rather elegant sliding door with beveled glass panels. Painted white, since this was the original colour. GD's new bathroom has the doors I had picked earlier; i thought of polishing them but decided sprayed automobile paint (on a resin primer) would wear better. Especially since it is such a small bathroom, and she is so splashy. I have this finish in my kitchen and it has lasted 15 years now. A tad chipped here and there, but only needs a wipe down once a week. Same finish for the balcony doors, also split like the bathroom. We have a new wardrobe, a study table with built-in shelves, and a small chest of drawers for her odds and ends. I want to re-tile the tiny balcony, more as a little statement. Currently we are looking at Portuguese tiles, though I did think a mosaic with a funky cat might be nice. Let me see the costing. The room will be painted a neutral adobe, with bright white woodwork and an off-white ceiling. This means she can go wild with cushions and covers. Other changes in the flat; We have changed the glass in the master bedroom and living room from small cramped panes to a single pane for each section with a 1" bevel all round. Doubles the cost of the glass, but looks so elegant! The air-conditioning is being re-located. The compressors were all mounted in the bedroom and living room balconies, which looked terrible and meant the balconies (very narrow, only 30" deep) couldn't be used for anything. Not even plants. So they are being moved so that the compressors can be mounted at the rear of the building. two down, one to go. Now we can put in some nice plants, fishtail palms etc. The kitchen counter on one side came out intact and will be reused elsewhere. I am planning overhead storage, cupboards, and a draining cupboard for plates and glasses. Right now there is no dish washer, though a place is earmarked, but for now I will put in a cupboard with steel racks for cups, glasses and plates, all hidden behind pressed glass doors. This is all in the planning stage.... Pictures in a little while, they are mostly on my ipad and don't transfer well to the mac. They come without numbers... so I have to rename the or something. Somebody tell me how to do this!

If you love the marble tile, go for it! You can always buy a stainless or white range hood backsplash like this http://www.wayfair.com/Air-King-Range-Hood-Back-Splash-SP2430-AXK1174.html to slip in place when you are cooking something really messy. I have a travertine backsplash and use a stainless sheet when frying. It works great and no worries about stains ruining the stone.

Selecting floor tiles requires a certain level of perfection. Floor tiles need to be durable, strong, and at the same time be visually appealing. There are many different types of floor tiles available, but the most suitable types are Porcelain, Glazed Ceramic and Vitrified tiles. Each have different features and suit a different purpose, let us compare these 3 types to know which tile suits you the most. Porcelain Tiles: Porcelain tiles are full-body ceramic tiles that is most used when it comes to floor tiles. They hold higher density and MOH’s scale rating with very low porosity. These floor tile designs have a water absorption rate of less than 0.5 percent. Due to their low-slip factor and water absorption rate, they are the most purchased floor tiles for bathrooms. The clay used to build these floor tiles is denser when compared to others. Advantages of Porcelain Tile: Wide range of colours, sizes, thicknesses, and finishes. Resistant to the most common acids which damage the calcium in marble Due to low porosity and high natural stain resistance, they are easy to clean. They retain their colours even after being exposed to sun, weathering or smog for longer duration. It contains no waterproofing chemicals, varnishes or resins and does not give off any gases even when exposed to flames. Glazed Ceramic Tiles: Ceramic tile is made from clay and sand. But the glazed ceramic tiles have a liquid glass coating on the surface. The liquid glass coating creates the texture, design and color of a glazed tile and protects the body of the tile from staining. Due to this extra layer, custom tile designs can be added to them. This allows the floor tiles designs to be available in multiple colours. Due to their vibrant allure, they are mostly used as floor tiles for kitchen and bathroom walls. Advantages of Glazed Ceramic Tiles: Glazed ceramic floor tiles are stain resistant due to the presence of the liquid glass coating which makes the tiles durable, less porous and strong. Similar to porcelain tiles, they also retain their original colours even after being exposed to sun and harsh weather. They are most cost effective tiles. The Ceramic tile prices can be easily fit into your budget. These floor tiles are scratch resistance, but continuous damage can render them useless. Vitrified Tiles: Vitrified tile is a ceramic tile with very low porosity. They are often used outdoors due to their water and frost resistance. Vitrified tiles are manufactured through a process called vitrification which gives them their low porosity. These tiles are mass produced by machines therefore making vitrified tile prices low and easily affordable. These tiles are the most sought after floor tiles for bedroom and living room. Advantages of Vitrified Tiles: Vitrified tiles are Time Savers as it takes very less time to lay these floor tiles. These tiles are pre polished during the time of production, and does not need extra time for polishing while setting the tiles on the floor. They have more strength and scratch resistance than marble or granite which are more prone to breakage. Despite their high durability and strength, they are thinner and light in weight. These tiles are non-porous due to which they are totally spill resistant and stain resistant. Now that we have known what these 3 types of tiles are suited for, now comes the important questions! What will be their price? Where can we buy them? Can we order good quality tiles online? Is this service available in Hyderabad, India? For all your questions, I have a single answer!! XFACTORY.IN It is an e-commerce platform that helps you buy all kinds of building materials online. It is a one-stop store for buying products from different categories like Cement, Steel, Paint, Tiles etc. from all top brands in the market. They have different brands of tiles like Cera, Kajaria, AGL and many more to choose from. If you are from Hyderabad and need to renovate your flooring. This is definitely the right place to check! Do tell me how did you find this discussion in the comments! Thank you for reading!!