How To Lay Wood Effect Floor Tiles

Wood effect tiles are continually growing in popularity as people discover the versatility and practicality of these tiles over other types of wood flooring. Over time, these effect tiles have become even more realistic, now expertly replicating the look and feel of real wood.

We’re now able to mimic the feel of a wood knot in a print and produce a lot more canvas faces which means each tile has its own unique look, much the same as nature would produce.

In this blog, we talk you through the crème de la crème of wood effect tiles and how to use them in your home.

In terms of how to tile a floor with wood effect tiles, you treat them like any other porcelain floor tile. It’s vitally important to prepare your substrate correctly for tiling, you can read our handy guides on how to tile different substrates in our knowledge base.

Once you’ve prepared the area correctly you’ll then need to consider how you’re going to lay them. If you’re using a plank-like tile, aka a longer rectangle, then a staggered brick bond would be best as longer tiles can be prone to bowing in the middle. But you can also experiment with more eclectic patterns like herringbone or the crate. We’ve put together some of the top tile laying patterns to help guide you in your design process.

A lot of people had quandaries over what colour grout to use with their wood effect floor tiles so we teamed up with BAL to create three brown toned grout colours to ensure a close match to our range of wood effect tiles.

Using a coordinating grout colour will help the floor look even more wood like as the grout lines will be less obvious. Of course, if you’re opting for a coloured wood effect tile then our range of grout colours should cover your design needs too!

We’ve got quite an extensive range of wood effect tiles, they mimic different kinds of wood as well as tones, similar to staining real wood as well as different formats enabling you to create different designs. We’ve cherry picked a few of our favourites to introduce you to the range.

Combining expert, innovative technology with cutting edge design, Elevo uses relief reader technology to perfectly synchronise pattern and texture to create the most realistic wood effect ever made. The use of glossy and matt inks reproduces knots and veins with expert precision and extreme realism.

The range of colours represent different stained oaks and are really versatile, from a modern country feel to a rustic industrial look. We’d keep this floor looking like a traditional wood floor by using a staggered brick bond pattern.

Our exclusive Mora tile in oak echoes the look of traditional wood with its light brown tones, inspired by the look of English oak floorboards. This tile works really well in an exaggerated herringbone, due to the mid-length of the plank.

If you’re looking for something a little different then the Mora range has it all. There’s a range of four colours, a matching herringbone mosaic that makes a stunning border and coordinating trims and door bars for a completely seamless finish.

Inspired by classic French parquet flooring, the Adalene tile is a great way to make a subtle statement in any room. The tile has a unique glaze which makes it extremely hardy and slip resistant making it perfect for use in a bathroom or outdoors. We think it makes the perfect hallway to living room transition which will help open up your space.

For a little more inspiration, check out our wood effect Pinterest board and don’t forget to share with us your finished project, you can tag us on Instagram @toppstiles.