Kitchen Tiles, 12" vs 16"

[Doug S.]

Hello All,

I am remodeling my condo in Chicago with the intention of renting it out in a couple of months. It is only 650 sq ft and the kitchen is about 70 sq ft.

My questions is, which size floor tiles should I use, 12 inch or 16 inch? I heard 12 inch may be a little outdated, but I am concerned that putting in 16 inch tiles won't look good since my kitchen is so small. Cost is the same for each size tile and the 12 inch tile definitely looks better than the 16 inch in terms of design (although they are both technically the 'same' style of tile).

Any advice would be greatly appreciated. I am just worried about putting in tiling that is outdated.

Thanks!

[Rob K.]

I would go with the 16's. They look better and there's less grout work. I would advise against ceramic and go with porcelain. Porcelain is allegedly 3,000 times stronger than ceramic. I have dropped a porcelain tile from waist high and it didn't break. Ceramic would've shattered into 100 pieces. Also with porcelain, the color goes through it. If it gets chipped, it won't look bad like ceramic does when it's chipped. You can use porcelain outside too. I have a nice patio table and the glass shattered during a big storm. I re-did the table top in porcelain and it still looks great after being outside for two winters.

I usually buy whatever porcelain HD has on sale.