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Ceramic tile is the classic for walls and backsplashes: deep glazes, handmade looks and every shape from subway to hexagon, and it cuts easily around windows and outlets. At Oracle Flooring & Design in Sarasota we carry it from makers in Spain, Italy and the Americas.
Ceramic tile is clay pressed into shape, fired and usually glazed. It is less dense than porcelain, so it's lighter and easy to cut and set, which is why it covers so many walls and backsplashes.
The glaze is where ceramic comes into its own: deep colors, crackle and handmade looks, relief patterns, and shapes from subway to hexagon. Put it on the walls over a porcelain floor and each one does what it does best.
Both are fired clay. Porcelain is pressed denser and fired harder, so it barely takes in water. Ceramic is less dense, so it takes in more water, and it's lighter and easier to cut, which is what you want on a wall.
Not every tile sold as porcelain actually is. If a floor or a shower depends on it, we'll show you what its maker says.
First, check that it's made for where you want it. Plenty of ceramic tile is wall tile only, and a floor needs one its maker rates for floors.
Then let the glaze and the shape lead. Gloss bounces light around and brightens a small bathroom; satin and matte are softer; crackle and handmade looks give a wall depth and a little irregularity on purpose. Subway, square, hexagon, picket and arabesque each set a rhythm before color does.
Choose the grout with the tile, not after. A matching grout keeps a wall calm; a contrasting one draws every joint, which can be the whole point. And ask about trim: many ceramic lines come with matching edges and corners.
Wipe it with a mild cleaner and a soft cloth, and skip scouring pads on glossy glazes, which they can dull. The grout can be sealed so it resists stains, and a crackle glaze may need sealing too; its maker's care guide will say.
Yes, if it's made for floors. For a busy kitchen, anything outside or a floor that gets wet a lot, porcelain is the safer pick.
On the walls, yes: glazed ceramic handles a shower wall well. The floor wants a tile made for wet floors, or a mosaic for grip.
Most ceramic is made for indoors. Outside, use a tile made for outdoor use, which usually means porcelain.
For walls: the glazes, the colors, the handmade looks and the shapes, and it cuts easily around windows, niches and outlets. On floors, porcelain usually wins.
A glaze with fine cracks fired into it on purpose, for an old, handmade look. Some crackle tiles are sealed so the cracks don't catch stains; the maker's care guide says whether yours needs it.
Yes: compare it with the other materials in our Sarasota showroom, and ask for a free estimate in your home.
