Porcelain Wood-Grain Tiles: Kicking Hardwood’s Butt One Room at a Time
When I first stepped into my current condo during my housing search, I was immediately swept off my feet. Crown molding, a brand new kitchen, spacious bathroom, and ample closet space: all features very difficult to find where I live. And in addition to all of that, it was a condo not on ground level with real hardwood floors…extremely rare in my city. It was a major selling point to me, as I am sure it would be to many of you as well.
Fast forward to present day. Those gorgeous floors are the bane of my existence.
Don’t get me wrong, they are beautiful. Until the light shines on them and you can see every single time my dog got excited about someone at the door, every single place I have dropped my cell phone or keys (and let’s be honest, this happens at least once a week), and especially that time when I was leaning some porcelain tile samples on top of my fireplace so I could step back and see how they would look from a distance when for some reason I can’t explain they decided to fall off and break on the floor.
Sooo not my fault.
Mostly.
My point being, in theory, hardwood floors are great. In practice, they aren’t a good idea for someone like me who is both a) a pet owner and b) a mega-klutz.
That’s where porcelain comes in. While up to this point I have been unsuccessful in convincing my other half to rip out the natural hardwood for a material that would actually look like new everyday, I might be able to win the argument with this new material straight out of Italy that’s starting to hit the stores. Wait for it…wait for it…(oh yeah, it’s in the title already…you probably know what I’m going to say)…Porcelain wood-grain tiles.
Let’s play a game called “Which one is actual hardwood?” 
Trick question: they are all porcelain! Granted, some of them look more realistic than others, and if I were to use it in my own home I’d make sure I had the most realistic-looking one I could find, but they do a pretty good job, right? And the benefits are endless. Just think about it…
Drop your phone, keys, or a brick? Your floors would be undamaged.
Spill some wine? No worries because porcelain doesn’t stain.
Playing cat bowling (if you haven’t seen the video, click here)? Don’t sweat it because your cats claws don’t stand a chance against the strength of porcelain.
And it looks like hardwood!
Oh, and by the way, the price for these fabulous tiles is about a fraction of what you would spend on actual hardwood (especially when you take into consideration the maintenence costs of hardwood…which I try not to think about…too painful).
In short, I think this is a trend that will only grow in an economy where people can’t really afford to keep re-finishing their hardwood, or even afford to install it in the first place. And in my personal opinion, I find porcelain wood-grain tile to be a better quality product anyway!
I call that a perfect win-win situation.
If you would like assistance planning your next tile project, email me at tiletramp@gmail.com for a free consultation!
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Love to repost this on our blog, the cat bowling won me over!
I’d be flattered if you re-posted! And I’m glad someone else out there enjoys the under-appreciated sport of cat bowling
it’s so funny lately you have porcelain floors that look like wood, then you have wood floors that looks like stone (and that is more expensive than stone) , recycled wood floors that don’t look reclaimed at all
One way to look at it is it’s progress the other way is are they running out of flooring ideas
but thanks great article and very nice pictures I actually thought the most realistic one would not be porcelain for sure.
Wood floors that look like stone, and are more expensive than stone…that’s one I hadn’t heard of! Sheesh…what’s the point of that?? We do live in a crazy, crazy world
and thanks, i think those pictures really sell it for itself…now just need to get to work convincing the other half 
Absolutely PERFECT article. I am downsizing into a 1340 square foot ground-floor condo and although I want the look of wood, there is NO WAY I am signing up for it again. With 3 kids, including two boys, it’s just too much hassle.
Another HUGE benefit of tiling everything is that you don’t need the transitions between wood and non-wood surfaces. Those transition strips can be really expensive, even for less-expensive engineered-wood floors.
I found some this weekend that look like an old old old wood cottage floor in france, with multiple layers of painted and scraped and painted wood . . . all in a porcelain tile for $4.49 psf. Pale ivory with green and tan – just fabulous.
Thanks Alison! I work very hard to post relevant information so I’m really glad you found this useful! And you make an excellent point that I should have mentioned in my article; being able to go without the transitioning is one of the best features of this porcelain, especially because all of the newer buildings these days are using open floor plans. It allows for continuity without forgoing the desired style or texture. If you get a chance, I would *love* to see the material you found. It sounds gorgeous, and the price is definitely right! I would love to be able to recommend it to some of my readers.
Have you tried cat dusting yet…
No but it sounds fantastic! What is it??
Great Info here!!! Any suggestions on who has the most realistic wood looking tiles? Something where each plank actually looks a little different, just like real wood. Also any suggestions on grout? Seems like the most realistic looking tile has very thin (1/16th or 1/32) dark grout lines. Any thoughts? Thanks for your time:)
I’ve been most impressed by the wood tiles by Ann Sacks and Unicom*Starker. As for grout, you want to match the color as best as you can, and nearly every wood-grain tile I’ve seen is rectified, which means you can go as tight as 1/16th. Unfortunately you really can’t go any tighter than that, but that is still a very, very thin grout joint.