Basement Tile Renovation Ideas

Image: Paros Navy Hex 8-1/2 × 10 Porcelain Bathroom Floor Tile from Arizona Tile

Basements can potentially be the most versatile space within a home. Used for a wide variety of reasons, like a living room/movie room, a guest space, a home office, a home bar, a playroom, an exercise space, and, of course, for storage. You will want to design the basement with style and durability in mind, regardless of what your plans will be with the space.

If your basement has multiple rooms in it, opposed to one open space, your creativity can broaden as you create design ideas for this multi-function level of your home. Whether your basement will be fully enclosed or open to the yard, tile and stone additions will help you effectively master your basement plans.

Plan Properly for a Worry-Free Finished Basement

Knowing how you are going to use your space can help in your basement design; however, regardless of your basement uses, tile and stone are great options for walls, flooring, and bathrooms. Basement tile and stone provide great durability, longevity, beauty, versatility, and minimal maintenance, regardless of what may be happening in your basement.

Basement Water Risks

Basements can be wet. It’s a notorious concern when planning for how to finish the space. If properly designed and waterproofed, water should not be a general issue. However, if your home ever floods, that water will all run down into the basement. Therefore, using materials that can sustain a possible water event will save you a headache. Tile and stone are at the top of that list, versus other options such as carpet and natural wood.

Basement Lighting

Another consideration will be lighting. Some scenarios:

1. Is the basement enclosed and lacking windows making it a dark space?
2. Is the basement enclosed but fashioned with adequate windows to allow in natural light?
3. Does the basement walk-out into a yard, patio, or entertaining space?

Depending on your answers to these questions, and the overall feeling you are trying to achieve in the space, you will need to consider whether you should design with dark or light colors, or perhaps a combo of both.

Image: Alpi Crema 6 x 36 and 8 x 48 Wood-Look Porcelain Bedroom Floor Tile from Arizona Tile

Basement Flooring

You may love the look of wood floors because of their natural beauty; however, in the unfortunate case of a flood, a real wood floor may not survive as its porous nature allows for water absorption. A solution to this worry: porcelain tile that emulates wood. If installed properly, tile should survive an event of excessive water. The Alpi Series is an American-made porcelain tile that has a sleek and classic appearance of wood. Its versatility allows it to be used on interior floors, interior or exterior walls, shower walls, steam showers and along fireplaces.

Image: Cementine Retro 1 Porcelain Laundry Room Tile & Concerto White Glossy Glazed Porcelain Backsplash from Arizona Tile

With the fear of water entering your basement, you may choose to avoid rugs. But what about that detailed accent rug that can add so much to the aesthetics of the room? Well, there is porcelain tile that can give the same visual without the worry of a soggy, water-drenched mess. The Cementine Retro Series is inspired by the fabrics of the 60’s, 70’s, and 80’s. The graphics provide a strong visual impact and appear as a stencil worn by time. If you are liking this idea but not seeing quite what you want in this series, take a peek at some other hand-painted tile options. Using porcelain tile as an accent in the main area of the space will create the same visual effect as an area rug but without the worry of being ruined (or stained and dingy like rugs can become).

Esthetics to Aid Your Basement Lighting

Dark colors typically have a shrinking effect on a space, unless they are used to create a depth-provoking accent wall, and light colors bring a sense of openness. In line with the three questions above, here are some basement stone and tile ideas.

Image: Blue Tahoe Bookmatched Quartzite Feature Wall & Anthea Earth Large-Format Porcelain Bedroom Floor Tile from Arizona Tile

Scenario #1

If you are trying to embrace the darkness of a basement, maybe to create a “movie theater” setting, sticking with darker colors will enhance the feel. If you have a bar top to cover, or another surface area, Black Mist Honed granite will add to the perfect dark, mystical feel with its depth of color and white and grey veining. Pair it with Anthea porcelain tile as your flooring, in any of the four colors—Gray, Dark, Earth, or White—and you’ll have a home theater that makes a stunning statement.

Image: Gioia Greige Porcelain Wall Tile from Arizona Tile

However, if you want to brighten up a dark basement, use light colors. Anthea porcelain would still make a wonderful flooring choice, in White or Earth, but add elegant detail to the walls by using Gioia porcelain tile in Aqua, Ash, Bone, Greige, Milk, Sky, or Steel. Don’t fear adding accent details with any of the remarkable colors within the Gioia series. Not only are the colors fun and playful, but the tile in this series has a glossy finish which will help reflect light and add dimension.

Scenario #2

You have more versatility here than in a dark space and could certainly embrace playing up the natural light or accentuating the darkness. If the basement tile renovation will include a guest room or a home office, opting for brighter, more inviting colors and textures will make a comfortable space. The Paros Series would not disappoint. Available in three colors—Black, Navy, and White—but in five different sizes and two shapes, creating a space of comfort will happen naturally. Use your creativity to mix and match colors and shapes within this collection whether it be on the floor, the wall, in the shower, or even around a fireplace.

Scenario #3

If this space is open and relatively airy, you will have more options to create the overall feel you desire with basement tile. If your walk-out area opens to a patio used for entertaining, using similar tile and stone inside and outside could create an elegant look.

The Anthea Series remains a great flooring option, especially in this scenario with going in and out, because Anthea is available in the R11 Anti-Slip Finish which is specifically designed for use outdoors and in wet spaces. You can install the matte finish inside and transition to the R11 Anti-Slip Finish for the outside space, creating a seamless transition. Additionally, Anthea features PROTECT® technology which eliminates up to 99.9% of bacteria. Besides being beautiful and remarkably resistant, PROTECT® surfaces have been crafted with Microban®, a proven antimicrobial product that helps fight the growth of bacteria on the surface of the tile for its expected lifetime. Because of this, Anthea series has a surface that stays cleaner and fresher in between your regular cleaning.

Image: Silver Split 3D Stack Travertine Bedroom Wall Tile from Arizona Tile

Once you’ve decided on your flooring, the other esthetics in the basement will come together nicely. Blue is a color that provokes thoughts of nature and calmness. If you’re embracing the walk-out elements of your basement, bringing elements from outside in with the color blue would be a lovely touch. Blue Tahoe quartzite would work wonderfully on an interior wall or countertop with its blue-toned and silver background, grey veining, and various white areas throughout. To pair this gorgeous stone with a complimentary product and keep color themes consistent, some beautiful wall options are the Concerto series and the 3D Mesh Mount Stacked stone.

Once you are complete with your basement tile design, don’t forget the finishing touches. No matter what schemes you’ve created, don’t forget the liners, moldings, and trim you will need to complete the look.

From the First Thought to the Finishing Touch

We want to be part of your residential and commercial design from the very beginning to the very end. Peruse our site to find out what else we offer, then stop into a showroom and talk to our professional and knowledgeable staff or check out our virtual slab yard to see what amazing products are available from the comfort of your own home. Also, you can utilize the tile and stone Visualizer to see your favorite products in your space, and, if you ever have any questions, please don’t hesitate to send them our way!