Wood Grain Ceramic Tile: Ahead of the Curve

Recently I was in an upscale, newly constructed home located in Westshores, an opulent neighborhood of lakeside estates in West Omaha. All of the furnishings were modern and sleek, but the thing that caught my eye was the flooring. At first glance the floors looked like elegant grey wood boards, but upon taking a closer look I realized they were not wood floors but in fact ceramic plank-like tiles. One might question this method of flooring. Why use tile instead of wood flooring in such a nice home? Is wood grain ceramic tile cheaper than wood flooring? What would make someone choose tile over solid wood? Well Becky Harris explains on Houzz.com that “with reclaimed wood so on trend, buying wood tile is an alternative to searching for the perfect hundred-year-old barn wood, and tiles are available in dimensions that wood is typically not.” With improved technology to make highly realistic wood grain ceramic tiles, designers everywhere are backing the use of this flooring not merely as a fiscally responsible alternative, but as a preferable choice over any type of flooring including solid wood. Stores like HomeDepot sell both solid wood and ceramic tile (Below is attached links to both), and the price of ceramic tiles are roughly half the price of hard wood floors depending on which type of wood/ceramic. Other concerns that regularly coincide with solid wood flooring is scratching. Homeowners with dogs and small children have to be concerned about dog claws scratching up the wood, or accidents with small children that damage this kind of flooring. With wood grain ceramic tile you get the desired aesthetics of hard wood, but it is sturdier and more resistant to damages and stains.