Can I Use Porcelain Tiles Outside? 5 FAQs About Garden Design

It’s true, not all tiles should be used outside, but you won’t have to worry about porcelain. This tile has flexible uses both outdoors and indoors, in your bathroom and on the patio. Here we explain precisely why porcelain is so perfect and four other common queries about designing your garden, including where to use an archway or a water feature. In fact, let’s look at some great garden tile ideas.

1) Can I Use Porcelain Tiles Outside?

Porcelain tiles are perfect for outdoor use because they are both frost proof and easy to clean. When purchasing a porcelain tile for outdoor use, ensure that you are buying an outdoor anti-slip tile, preferably a matt finish. This will help prevent accidents which might not be as noticeable in dry weather but will be very important in wet weather. As a bonus, porcelain tile is fade and scratch resistant which makes it a popular choice for the floors of car showrooms; if you can drive a car across it without fear then it’s certainly suitable for withstanding wear and tear in your garden.

As well as these bonuses, a patio tiled in porcelain will really stand out as a fantastic design choice. You have a wider choice of colour and design when it comes to choosing porcelain instead of stone, which can bring your garden to life.

2) Best Way to Use Steps in the Garden

By splitting your garden into different areas and region, you can create individual spaces with their own personal feel about them. If you are using porcelain to style your steps in your garden too, then using an outdoor anti-slip tile is paramount. Your first concern should be to ensure that you are minimising accidents and trip hazards, so consider spacing out your steps with landings along the length of your garden, as well as planning steps with low depths. A garden is a place to relax, so avoid intimidating features like steep stairs.

3) How to Use an Archway, Arbor or Pergola

If you’re designing your first garden, then it can be easy to take in the expanse of land that is at your command and forget that you can also plan vertically. Creating height in your garden can change the feel of your garden quite dramatically, in some cases offering privacy, cool shade or an atmosphere of grandeur.

An archway is one way in which you can experiment with the vertical space in your garden; using climbing plants like wisteria, grapes or certain types of rose can bring a sharp flash of colour and beauty in the spring and summer months, making the most of all the space that you have available.

Tunnelling a section of your path or steps under a pergola or archway can give your garden a very romantic edge, though you may have to wait a few years for the climbing plant to really flourish in your environment.

4) Creating Natural Privacy in the Garden

Just because you are outdoors doesn’t mean you can’t have a little privacy. The aforementioned archways and pergolas can provide some privacy, but you might be looking for something a little stronger to craft a corner of your garden that positively oozes with peace and quiet. Since we’re already thinking about the vertical potential of your garden, planting some trees could help you to attain your goals.

In terms of tree choice, fruit-bearing trees can be a great idea if you want to encourage birds and blossoms that can provide a rare and exquisite beauty during the spring, but both of these types will look quite bare and lonely during the winter. If you can view this section of your garden from a window indoors, then you might prefer to choose an evergreen like fir that will bring life to your garden all year round and can even double as a living Christmas tree. In the summer, these trees will provide a lot of shade and the relaxing scent of pine needles.

5) Using a Water Feature

Before planning your garden, you need to know what kind of feel you hope to create with your structures, blooms and space. If you want grandeur and amazement then working with height can create the illusion of space where carefully planned, if you want a garden that stands out then you might consider working around a colour. You need to be firm on your decision before you consider a water feature.

A water feature often figures as the focal point of outdoor space, but you don’t have to place a fountain in the centre of your garden if you are trying to create a space that you can relax in. A relaxing water feature might be unassuming and built from natural looking rocks with water gently spilling in all the right places. You could create a small pond in one corner for plants which need shallow water to thrive. Everything is dependent on the mood you are trying to produce from your garden space.

If you are going for a stunning display to attract guests and visitors, then you may choose to use anti-slip large format tiles around your water feature. This will encourage guests to walk up to your display and admire the fountain, and you could even set up some chairs on the tile for a gentle summer read.

There are so many options for your garden so make sure that you carry out thorough research before you settle on your decision. You want to be sure that you have chosen the best resources for your garden’s makeover before you get bogged down in the real renovation work, so make sure that you visit our tile showroom in Preston and our tile showroom in Bolton to find some amazing outdoor tile inspiration. And don’t forget to add porcelain tiles to your list of garden outdoor tiles.