One important factor in selecting tile is obviously its cost. Most commercial tile ranges in price from about $5 to $ 10 per square foot. If cost is not an issue, exquisite art tile can be had for hundreds or thousands per square foot, although local artists, working through retailers or distributors, can usually supply custom work for considerably less.

Once you’ve established a price range, your choice of tile revolves around the questions of size, color and style. Although these decisions are highly subjective, a few guidelines may be helpful.

Size and Room Proportion

With regard to size, begin by considering the dimensions of the entire installation.  Generally speaking, small tiles look better in small rooms, and large tiles in large rooms. Yet this rule of thumb does not always hold true. Disregard it if you want to, but plan your design carefully.

While considering size, it’s important to point out that there is no standard sizing system in the tile industry and that most imported tiles will be sized in centimeters rather than inches. Sometimes a manufacturer’s specifications are meant to allow room for a specific grout-joint width, but often this is not made clear. Because of the wide discrepancy in sizing, never begin planning a layout or ordering tile until you have actually measured a sample tile or have been assured by the retailer that a tile’s stated dimension is correct.

Go Easy on the Bright Colors

Since tile is available in such a wide array of colors, selecting among them can be difficult. Generally speaking, a dark color used extensively in a room tends to make the room look smaller, whereas a light color opens up the space. Use caution with bold colors in general, unless you’re a seasoned designer or decorator.

If you’re planning a very complex installation, you might consider an even more direct approach: painting the full-scale design on the wall or floor. Experimentation of this sort is far preferable to installing tile and finding out too late that you don’t like it.

Precisely because tile is so permanent and expensive to replace, try choosing a color that is easy to live with.  Reserve the accent colors for the accessories in the room rather than the tile.  Also, remember that when selecting floor or countertop tile that the lighter the tile, the more work it will take to keep it clean.

Tile comes not only in a range of colors but also in a large variety of styles. Perhaps the most prevalent style is square or rectangular tile with square corners and square edges. Other tile combines these same shapes with soft, rounded corners and traditional, square edges, or with edges that are “cushioned” (rounded over) and which may be straight or gently serpentine. Still other tile departs from the traditional square or rectangle in favor of such shapes as hexagons, diamonds and ogees.

Depending on a tile’s shape, composition, glaze, and edge and corner treatment, it can produce effects that range from the simple and classic to high­-tech to rustic. And combining several types of tile in a single installation may yield anything from a streamlined Art Deco effect. The obvious place to begin selecting a style of tile is with the installation itself. Are you tiling a formal entry foyer in your home or a utilitarian mudroom at the back of the house?  Will the tile go in a cozy kitchen or a large restaurant facility?  Each installation suggests a different style of tile, and it must be a style that is a reflection of you.

It may be the practical needs of the installation that dictate the selection of one tile over another.

In the end, almost every choice of tile will involve some compromise. But, provided that choice doesn’t invite disaster such as would a nonvitreous tile used outdoors in a freezing climate. Compromise last of all on the look of a tile you really like.

A remodeled basement can drastically increase the amount of livable space inside of a home. A properly remodeled basement can serve any number of functions from a recreation room, laundry room, guest room, home theater, or even your own personalized sports bar. Why take a cab home from the local pub when you can just take the stairs?

Walls
Most basements have bare concrete or cinder block walls. You will need to finish the basement walls with a material of your choosing. Walls are a necessity for many reasons. Walls over the default brickwork create a more natural look to the new basement, covering exposed wiring, water pipes, and joists. Walls also provide much needed insulation. Moreover, walls create spaces to install electrical outlets, which will be a legal and practical necessity regardless of the planned usage.

Lighting
Typical basements come with very little lighting, often little more than a bare bulb with a string switch. Bear in mind, your new basement will be need to be better lit than the rest of your home, because of the absence of natural light. Lighting can be maximized by strategically adding windows or mirrored surfaces to your basement remodel plan.

Flooring
The poured concrete floor of your current basement will not do. The pores in concrete draw loads of moisture into the basement. Consider the many choices of floor coverings available for your basement. Carpet and hardwood are not recommended because they will react poorly to the moisture in the basement. Vinyl, stone and laminate flooring are better choices because they are resistant to moisture and they are easy to heat. It is wise to install electric floor heating in your renovated basement to combat the high moisture levels.

This list is not exhaustive by any means, but you cannot successfully renovate your basement without these basic considerations. Now that you are equipped with information, it’s time to do some homework. Find a reliable local contractor with a design team and ask some questions. Learn about your local building codes to see what you will have to do during the course of your project to make your basement safe and sound in the eyes of the law. Before you know it, you will be ready to get started. With the right design team, you can turn what was once an auxillary storage space into a cozy and inviting human habitat.

If you decide to remodel your basement, be sure to do the proper planning and preparing. When a home is originally erected, the basement is never intended to be a functional living space. To make it so, the designer will have to make some significant modifications to ward against darkness, moisture and cold. But if approached by a knowledgeable designer, making a basement livable is a welcome and rewarding challenge.

This brief basement remodeling guide will outline some of the essential considerations a homeowner must make before beginning a basement remodeling project. Once you are acquainted with some of the major obstacles in front of you, you will be better equipped to begin planning your basement remodel. Five essential considerations to make when assessing your basement are: moisture, usage, walls, lighting, and flooring.

Moisture
Moisture is the make-or-break factor of a basement. By virtue of being underground, all basements collect moisture. Some basements collect so much moisture that renovation is impractical or impossible. Examine your basement for significant moisture. Significant moisture means that water is actually pooling and/or dripping into your basement. If your basement is too moist, it is not a candidate for renovation and you can save yourself a lot of time by quitting while you are ahead and looking into that ground level addition project.

Usage
What do you want to use your new basement for? This is one of the most fun parts of a project. Pre-visualize the basement as it would appear after the remodel. Are you interested in building a home theater? If so, how many seats and where will you put them? Do you need a play room for the kids so you can have a little more peace and quiet upstairs? The way you choose to use the new basement will have the most affect on any subsequent design decisions. For example, if you include a guest room in your basement plan, building codes require that you equip the basement with an new exit in addition to the door that leads back into the home.