All you need to know about Victorian Floor Tiles

Victorian floor tiles

Victorian style floor tiles are very distinctive and characterful. Patterned tiles were extremely popular and dominant colours were black, white, terracotta and a muted dark red. While Victorian colours and patterns may not be entirely to today’s tastes, there are ways of adapting the basics to create beautiful and practical floors for modern homes.

Many Victorian floor tiles were laid in geometric patterns, and in many places, the striking black and white paths leading up to front doors are still in use today. You could recreate something similar – and possibly equally long-lasting – by creating a herringbone pattern using Summer Black and Summer Ivory polished porcelain tiles.

If you’re hoping for a dark and sophisticated effect that makes you think of leather chairs and velvet smoking jackets, have a look at the Oriol Beige Metalic tiles – the perfect backdrop for any aspidistras you happen to have around the house! Or maybe you like the concept of a classic-style conservatory, full of dowagers attending to their beloved orchids! In which case, the Jupiter Beige, Brown Gloss tiles would fit the bill.

Wooden floors

Many Victorian homes had bare wooden floorboards, but these aren’t necessarily practical for our modern lifestyles, especially if you’d like to have them in the kitchen or bathroom. Luckily, advances in technology since the 19th century mean that you can now get wood-effect porcelain tiles, like the Lightwood Brown Matt, which offer the look of real wood at the same time as the protection and durability of tiles. You can also use wood-effect tiles with underfloor heating, which would be impossible to have with real wood.

Bringing the Victorians up to date

For a very modern take on the Victorians’ love of patterned tiles, try the unusual Corintia and Brushstroke Gris ranges. You can use them to create a feature area in a room or across the entire floor space – they’re guaranteed to be a great talking point!

For more information regarding Victorian style floor tiles, get in touch or visit your nearest Home Tiles store.