We have an office/study in the front of our house that I use as a studio, and I'd like to put wood flooring in. I like the idea of the ceramic tile that looks like wood. My husband and father in law have done tile before, but I'm not sure how this stuff works since it doesn't have grout between the tiles...visible anyway.

Anyone know if it's easy to put in on your own? The husband and FIL want to attempt it on their own, so I wanted to see if anyone knew how difficult it is to install.

Thanks!

There was a thread on this recently. I think the vote was split 50/50 on if it looked good.

I have a friend who put it in her dining room. I did NOT like it.

I'm not a fan. Of course, I'm not a fan of laminate either. Is it the wood floor look you like or the linear/vertical design pattern? Or is it the durability? What about some sort of stone vein cut in elongated tiles?

I think you meant to ask "has anyone done something cheap and tacky looking in their home and NOT regretted it?"

Oh okay...see, I've never seen it in person, it just looked like a nice alternative at the hardware store.

I need wood-look for studio photography, but I don't think my budget is going to allow for real wood. I didn't really want to do laminate, and I thought the tile would be a good option but I guess not!

on the thread Drumma alluded to there were a couple of different pictures and the brown plank version I have seen in person and it looked confused...am I wood cut too perfectly or am I a longer tile?

Then someone posted a pic from his beach house with a grayish staggered wood/tile floor that was really nice!!! That picture totally changed my mind about the possibilities and uses.

I have installed five or six different varieties and looked at several more. The look is highly dependent on the product. In my opinion, these products look nicer in small areas than large ones, and they fit contemporary designs better than traditional.

In order to keep it from looking too wierd, you need a selection that allows for random lengths greater than about 36". The shorter tiles start to look way too uniform.

Of the products I've used, this is my favorite http://www.granitifiandre.com/porcelain-tile/technical-ceramic/essenze-extreme/mogano/

Bird93,

I really like the tiles in your link.

Guess I missed the beach house picture. Here's the limestone I installed in our laundry room over the weekend. Still need to seal it again and clean it up.

^^ See...that looks good.

Looks good, but it was pricey. Oh well, small space, high end finish. We also didn't want to buy the tile alternative; we wanted natural stone. In the long run, we'll probably be wishing we bought the ceramic knockoff - not sure how durable this limestone will be.

This is a 15 by 12 foot room that will have no furniture in it....just lighting equipment on stands and hanging backgrounds.

The stuff they had at Lowes or Home Depot was all the same length shorter tiles...I can see now that y'all mention it how it would get repetitive looking.

I just need non-shiny wood look...I don't want glare reflecting off shiny wood flooring in my images.

[This message has been edited by rachag03 (edited 4/26/2012 4:20p).]

rach, I put a vinyl wood plank in two rooms and I specifically chose a color and finish that didn't look shiny...it is TrafficMaster at Home Depot and I chose Teak as the color...CHEAP in comparison to stone, tile, and about the same as carpet but easier to keep clean.

One room is the guest room with an old iron bed and I got the old wood floor look I wanted for about $500...it is about the same dimensions you are dealing with. Dust mop, Swiffer wet mop and good to go!

Thanks Mom....I'll check that brand out!

We have a few planks left and the box is Traffic Master Allure in Teak.

Thanks for getting the name for me! We're going to go look tomorrow.

Vinyl planking. Pick the right color, install it right, and you're set.