Tile Style: Walk The Plank

August 30, 2016

porcelain-tile

Do you believe it’s impossible to get a classy, upscale look in your home décor unless you use the real thing – real marble, real travertine, real wood? Think again! Not only does porcelain tile have many advantages including easier maintenance, lower cost, and superlative durability, but the technology behind today’s porcelain tile also makes it beautifully realistic. Even up close, it’s tough to tell the difference! 

So if you’ve been holding off on your remodeling project because the natural stone or hardwood is too expensive, or you’re worried that your busy lifestyle means you can’t maintain them properly, and your pets will scratch them up, your wait and your worries are over. These look-alike porcelain tiles will inspire you and elevate your décor!

plank-wood-look-tileFeatured: White Oak

Wood look tile solves many homeowners’ problems. Inkjet technology allows for the production of a wide variety of woods – pine, oak, even weathered and distressed planks that look like reclaimed wood from a century-old barn. 

If you prefer the contemporary, industrial style of décor, or have an area such as a garage or patio where you’d like to install concrete, what’s stopping you? Maybe it’s the idea of bringing in a thirty-ton concrete truck then waiting for it to cure – and hoping your cat doesn’t sneak in to leave paw prints. Concrete-look porcelain tiles to the rescue! Elegant, luxurious, refined – if that’s your style, consider Marble porcelain with its rich veins of color, or Travertine porcelain for the soft, muted shades of beige and gray so similar to naturally quarried stone that you’ll want to touch it to be sure. 

Slate is another material that porcelain re-creates faithfully! And unlike the real thing, porcelain tiles can be used without worrying about staining, etching, scratching or water resistance. Here are three of MSI’s beautiful porcelain look-alikes we’d like to highlight. 

Veneto Sand 

veneto-sand-plankFeatured: Veneto Sand

With the texture and linear striations of natural travertine, Veneto sand offers warm shades of beige and cream. With a variety of sizes available, from 2” x 2” mosaics all the way up to 12” x 24” tiles, they are ideal for countertops, backsplashes, flooring and more. The matte finish is glazed for extra durability. 

Eramosa Beige 

beige-eramosa-woodFeatured" Eramosa Beige

Vein-cut Canadian Eramosa stone is a distinctive variety of marble known for its dramatic linear pattern. We’ve made it possible for everyone to get the stylish, elegant look of Eramosa with MSI’s Eramosa Beige porcelain, available in matte-finish 12” x 24 tiles. 

Cashew 

cashew-botanica-plankFeatured: Botanica Cashew

The warm, rich shades of brown in Cashew from MSI’s Botanica collection recreate the knots and grains of real wood. But unlike wood, you can install this fearlessly – in bathrooms, kitchen floors, even backsplashes, and countertops. It’s available in 6” x 24” planks with a glazed, matte finish, creating a truly authentic wood look.

If you still haven’t taken a good look at today’s inkjet-printed porcelain tile, particularly the collections made to mimic the look of other materials that may be more expensive or difficult to install and maintain, prepare to be amazed.