Outdoor Porcelain and Ceramic Tile: What’s New to Arizona Tile

Choosing a beautiful and practical tile for your outdoor living space can be a challenge. Maybe you love the timelessness of natural stone but can’t deny the contemporary style of wood planks. And outdoors, there’s a lot more to consider than just looks—sun, rain and freezing temperatures can each have an impact on how well your tile stands the test of time.

Enter: porcelain and ceramic tile! Durable, low-maintenance, weather- and UV-resistant and (of course) gorgeous, porcelain tile could be an excellent choice for your patio or outdoor living area. Best of all, it’s so versatile that you can find it in your favorite “lookalike” styles, including tile that looks like wood, limestone, marble, cement and more. Let’s take a look at what’s new in porcelain and ceramic at Arizona Tile.

Outdoor Porcelain Tile Recommendations

When choosing a tile for any outdoor space, you should consider the risk of slips and falls. Tile can be slippery, especially polished or smooth surfaces like many porcelain products, particularly when wet or dusty. For this reason we recommend using a porcelain product featuring R11 Anti-Slip Finish when installing outdoors.

Pools, sprinklers and rain can make a porcelain surface slick and dangerous to walk on. Products with R11 Anti-Slip Finish are designed to offer more frictional resistance than standard porcelain tile. This internationally-recognized certification is earned by demonstrating that a person can maintain balance while standing on the wet tile at an incline of up to 27 degrees. While no surface is slip-proof, R11 Anti-Slip Finish is specifically engineered for exposed outdoor areas and wet interior applications too, such as shower floors.

R11 Anti-Slip Porcelain

Explore these R11 Anti-Slip options for an exterior living space that’s as stylish as it is practical:

• Aequa – Soft, sleek and contemporary, Aequa is a popular wood-look porcelain available in five colors. Extend the warmth of your home’s floors to your outdoor living space with R11 Anti-Slip planks that exude timeless style.

• More Wood – Wide plank tiles with a warm finish highlight a beautiful woodgrain pattern that looks just like the real thing. In your outdoor space, More Wood gives a welcoming ambiance that blends with your home’s natural surroundings. Choose from four colors resembling favorite wood finishes.

• Pietra Italia – This Italian-made limestone lookalike has all the visual appeal of natural stone without all the maintenance requirements. Available in a range of classic, neutral hues, Pietra Italia is perfect for achieving that timeless stone patio look.
• Reside – A unique porcelain tile with an industrial look similar to concrete, Reside delivers a sleek and modern style ideal for contemporary patios, pool decks and more.

Tips for Choosing Outdoor Tile

Now that you’re feeling inspired, here are some quick tips for how to choose the perfect outdoor porcelain tile for your home:

• Consider color and lighting: If your outdoor space is heavily shaded or doesn’t get a lot of natural light, brighten the area up with a light-colored porcelain tile. Likewise, if your patio is brightly lit, you can tone it down with a darker color to balance out the appearance of the space.
• Make it seamless: Create a seamless, open atmosphere by extending the porcelain tile of your home’s interior to your outdoor living area. With a stunning tile floor that stretches from your kitchen all the way to the patio, both spaces will appear larger and more inviting.
• Browse our inspiration gallery: Check out our photo gallery of designs and ideas for using tile in outdoor applications.