While an outdoor patio is a must-have for many gardens, when it comes to utilising the natural light within your home all year round, it’s hard to beat the benefits offered by a conservatory or sunroom.
And let’s face it, it's pretty hard to imagine anything better than a cold glass of wine and a good book whilst relaxing in a bright and warm conservatory, safe from the occasional breezes and protected against summer showers, all while still being able to soak in every ray.
However, if you’re currently building or renovating a conservatory, it’s important not to overlook the décor and design aspects, especially when it comes to flooring. After all, the last thing you want to be doing is changing out the flooring not long after it’s been laid.
So, to help you get a better idea of how to pick your conservatory floor material and why tiles make for an excellent flooring option, here are our suggestions on the best flooring for a conservatory.
(image credit: Vital Sinkevich)
How to choose the best flooring for a conservatory
When it comes to choosing the best type of conservatory flooring, there are numerous considerations you’ll need to take into account to ensure you pick the right material for the job.
For example, think about how much sun your conservatory is likely to receive on a daily basis. If it’s going to be exposed to bright sunlight all day, every day of the week, then you’ll want to pick a material that won’t rapidly fade in colour from constant sunlight exposure.
You should also consider how much you’ll be using your conservatory in the colder months of the year and aim to avoid having freezing cold floors over winter that prevent you from being comfortable in the room.
And, of course, you need to think about foot traffic. Plenty of homeowners treat their conservatory as the exit to their garden, as well as a space to leave boots and shoes. Therefore, you need to be sure you’re picking a flooring material that won’t wear down quickly and can handle the dirt that comes with this sort of home environment.
What are the advantages of having tiled conservatory flooring?
If you’ve been considering installing or redecorating a conservatory for a while, you’re no doubt aware of just how many material options there are available to you to choose from, such as wood, vinyl, LVT, and everything in between.
However, at Stone Superstore, we believe there’s a clear choice when it comes to selecting the ideal flooring for your space - a durable, stylish set of indoor tiles.
Indoor tiles not only offer a wide range of styles and designs to suit any taste, but they also come with a variety of practical advantages over other flooring materials, including:
1. Excellent durability
Whether your indoor tiles are made from traditional natural stone or more modern porcelain, tiles offer unmatched durability and easy maintenance, withstanding daily wear with ease.
Simply put, floor tiles are incredibly tough and hard-wearing, minimising the potential risk of damage that can come with rapid temperature fluctuations. This factor in particular makes tiles one of the more popular conservatory flooring ideas among homeowners.
Left: Tudor Brushed Sandstone Tiles, Right: Versailles Tumbled Limestone Tiles
2. Easy cleaning
For those looking out for simple maintenance requirements, porcelain tiles require simple cleaning and minimal upkeep, which is why they’re so well-suited for use in a conservatory.
Requiring little more than a quick wipe or brisk mop with warm soapy water to remove dirt, a good set of conservatory tiles means you don’t have to worry about your conservatory floor being permanently marked by mud as you track in and out of your garden.
3. Cooling underfoot
When summer rolls around and the days get particularly warm, it’s not uncommon for conservatories to get a little toasty. But thanks to their low heat-retention properties, most tiled floors will stay relatively cool, regardless of the temperature of the room.
However, being such a durable material that can withstand temperature changes, you might be concerned that your tiles will get cold in winter. Fortunately, this can be easily avoided with the addition of underfloor heating, letting you get the best of both worlds.
Hamlet Ash Antique-effect Porcelain Tiles
4. Temperature resistance
And speaking of temperature resistance, one core feature of porcelain tiles is their ability to resist the effects of temperature changes, something that is fairly common in conservatories.
Essentially, this means that your tiles won’t crack or shatter during those transitional months of the year or when you turn the heating on, instead staying in tip-top condition for many years to come.
What sort of tiling should I choose for my conservatory?
When weighing up conservatory tiling options, you have plenty of choices available in order to make the most of your new sunroom. Of course, it can help to understand the different conservatory tiling materials on offer, so you can pick an option that best fits your home aesthetic:
- Natural stone – a very traditional tiling option for a conservatory, natural stone tiles help to give your room an organic feeling while also lending it a sense of rustic homeliness. They’re particularly well suited if you often enter your garden through your conservatory, as they can be easily matched with your patio tiles outside.
- Porcelain – a more modern tiling option for a contemporary conservatory, porcelain tiles are available in neutral hues as well as porcelain-effect options, which enable you to capture the look of wood or stone flooring without any of the associated drawbacks.
- LVT – also known as luxury vinyl tiles, LVT is an innovative flooring solution that can match the durability and style variation of standard tiles while still being budget-friendly if you’re renovating on a budget.
Our Somerset Limestone Tiles are used both indoor and outdoor, for a cohesive dual flooring solution
Conservatory floor tile ideas and inspiration
Now that we’ve covered why tiles are the ideal flooring choice for a conservatory, let’s explore some top conservatory floor tile ideas and the styles they’re best suited to. Here are five of our favourite conservatory flooring ideas and themes to inspire your design:
1. Classic country aesthetic
A country aesthetic is all about adding warm colours and organic texture to your conservatory space to make it feel that much more welcoming and inviting whenever you enter.
By opting for aged limestone flooring or antique-effect tiles, paired with traditional wicker furniture, layered throws, and reclaimed accessories, you can really nail that older farmhouse feeling, which will only be enhanced by worn slabs underfoot.
2. Bring the outside, in
As another traditional conservatory floor tile idea, consider making your conservatory an extension of your garden by using sandstone tiles or neutral grey porcelain tiles paired with wrought iron furniture and plenty of lush greenery. This decor approach beautifully captures the organic nature of a garden, creating a cohesive indoor-outdoor experience.
Enhance this by choosing an indoor/outdoor porcelain tile combination between both areas to create a seamless transition between your home and garden.
3. Lending a contemporary touch
If your home is more contemporary in style than traditional, a set of light pattern-effect or warm white porcelain tiles are an absolute must.
Sleek and stylish, these sorts of tiles not only enable you to maintain a continual flow of style throughout your home and conservatory, but their lighter tone will help to brighten your conservatory on those darker, rainier days.
Provence Bianco Antique-effect Porcelain
4. Add a coastal touch
Always a popular style choice for those seeking a calming and serene space to relax in, with the right tile set and wall decor, bringing a touch of the seaside into your home is simple.
Lighter beige limestone or sandy-toned porcelain tiles are ideal for capturing that beach-inspired look underfoot. Alternativly, you could even extend a rustic timber aesthetic to your conservatory floors or walls using wood-effect tiles, offering the beauty of natural wood with the versatility and durability of porcelain.
5. Opt for added luxury
Finally, if you want your conservatory to stand out from every other room in your home, then you can make a wonderful statement with eye-catching furniture atop a sweeping marble tile floor.
Marble tiling is adored for its association with luxury and class. To complete the aesthetic, finding the right style of chairs, table, and towering corner plants will capture that old-school sense of glamour effortlessly.
Update your conservatory with our tile range
By now, you should have a clearer idea of why tiles make an ideal flooring choice for conservatories, along with some inspiring styles to explore. These are just a few of our top conservatory floor style options, but with a bit of research, you'll uncover many more that could perfectly suit your space.
If you're ready to start your conservatory project and just need to choose the right tiles, take a look at the Stone Superstore collection today. We offer a wide range of options to help you bring your vision to life.
Don’t forget to visit our tiling blog as well, where we have plenty more articles like this one – including pieces on natural stone living room design ideas and traditional kitchen tile inspiration.
