It is generally agreed, among those who have renovated more than one kitchen, that the floor is chosen last and regretted first if it is chosen badly. This is, on reflection, a curious arrangement for the floor outlasts the paint, very often the cabinets, and occasionally the marriage that commissioned it. This guide concerns itself with the kitchen floor tiles Leicester homeowners most reliably return to: porcelain in its grey, beige, ivory and silver dispositions, each with a character quite its own.

A Floor Must Earn Its Keep in the Kitchen

A kitchen is planned, as a rule, from the cabinets downward units chosen first, worktop next, and the floor left to make its peace with whatever has already been decided. This is, if the reader will permit the observation, rather back to front. The floor is the one surface that touches every other decision in the room, and a well-chosen one can make plain cabinetry look considerably more refined than it has any right to.

Porcelain recommends itself here on grounds of temperament as much as durability. It does not absorb the smell of yesterday’s supper, as carpet is inclined to; nor does it demand the ongoing attentions that timber expects as its due. It bears spills, footsteps and the general commotion of family life with a patience that few other materials can claim.

Grey Kitchen Floor Tiles Leicester Homeowners Can Style Easily

Grey remains, whatever the season’s fashions, the colour Leicester kitchens return to most readily forgiving of daily life, and willing to sit beside oak, white or navy cabinetry without complaint. The Bellagio Grey Polished R10 Porcelain Tile, 30x60cm, offers a rather more refined reading of the colour than the matt stone effects generally on offer, its polished surface catching the light in a manner that flatters a kitchen rather than merely furnishing it.

Beige Kitchen Floor Tiles Leicester for Warmer Interiors

Where grey feels a touch severe, beige generally answers a colour with none of the coldness sometimes attributed to its cooler relations, and every bit as willing to suit a busy household. The Capitolina Beige Matt Rectified Porcelain Tile, 29.2×59.2cm, brings a soft stone character to a kitchen without ever tipping into the ornate, and rectified edges keep the grout lines narrow enough to satisfy the more exacting eye.

Ivory and Cream, a Softer Establishment Altogether

For a kitchen wishing to appear brighter than its window allows, ivory and cream tones are seldom mistaken. The Eleganza Cream Ivory Matt Porcelain Tile, 60x60cm, R10 rectified, carries its luxury lightly, suiting a kitchen just as comfortably as the bathroom its name rather modestly suggests. Where a smaller format is wanted a galley kitchen, say, or a utility room adjoining it the same character is available in the 30x60cm size, and those wanting a more pronounced stone texture in the same palette will find it in the Capitolina Ivory Matt Porcelain Tile, 59.2×59.2cm.

Silver Grey Kitchen Tiles for Modern Leicester Homes

Between the coolness of grey and the warmth of beige sits silver a colour that manages to flatter stainless steel appliances and warm timber cabinetry with equal grace, which is no small feat. The Eleganza Silver Grey Matt R10 Porcelain Tile, 60x60cm, is one we recommend without much hesitation to anyone building a genuinely contemporary kitchen, its rectified edge and R10 rating doing exactly what a busy household requires of them.

Featured Kitchen Floor Tiles Leicester: Sizes and Finishes

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Large Format and the Open-Plan Persuasion

Leicester’s kitchens are, by every account, growing larger and more sociable opening into dining rooms, spilling into gardens through doors that were once merely windows. In such rooms, a large-format tile does more work than any single piece of furniture: fewer grout lines mean fewer interruptions to the eye, and the floor reads as one calm surface rather than a grid demanding to be counted.

Underfloor Heating, a Comfort Our Grandmothers Would Have Envied

Porcelain and underfloor heating suit one another admirably, the tile conducting warmth efficiently and releasing it with a steadiness that rugs and timber cannot match. For households considering the combination, it is worth remembering that the flooring is only half the arrangement the adhesive beneath it must be equally suited to the task, a subject we address at greater length in our guide to tiling over underfloor heating.

On Choosing Amongst Leicester’s Tile Merchants

Leicester offers no want of establishments claiming to sell the finest tile in the county, and the discerning customer would do well to judge them by their counsel rather than their signage. The lowest price rarely represents the truest economy; a porcelain floor that serves twenty years without complaint is, by any reasonable arithmetic, the better purchase over one requiring early and inconvenient replacement.

What Is Said of Us, By Those Who Have Already Chosen

We are, on the whole, disinclined to praise ourselves at length when others have already done so more convincingly.

In Conclusion, Practically Speaking

The best kitchen floor is seldom the most fashionable one; it is the one that continues performing well long after fashion has moved on to something else. Whether the choice falls to the polished confidence of Bellagio Grey, the gentle warmth of Capitolina Beige, the brightness of Eleganza Cream Ivory, or the quiet modernity of Eleganza Silver Grey, porcelain remains for kitchen floor tiles Leicester homeowners can rely upon the most sensible foundation a kitchen can be given.

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