How to Combine Tile and Wood Flooring — Helpful Tips & Ideas

If you're looking to seamlessly combine wood and tile flooring in your home, continue reading for helpful tips, including ideas on blending these two flooring types for a harmonious finish.

Selecting the perfect flooring for your house is very important, as it will dramatically impact the look and feel of your home. This has made combining tile and wood flooring a popular option in many houses, as it offers occupants the best of both worlds—durability and style.

However, there are a few things you should consider before attempting to combine tile and wood flooring — from how you will use them to create harmony in your space and design tips—which you will find below.

Things to Consider before Combining Wood and Tile Flooring

Before you embark on combining tile and wood flooring, think about how you want to use these two flooring types to create visual harmony in your home. For example, consider the durability of wood and tile flooring before attempting to pair these two flooring types.

Tile flooring is more durable than wood; for this reason, you might not be able to combine the two flooring types in the same room, especially if it is a commonly used room with pets and children, where scratches and dents are more likely to occur.

Another factor to consider before attempting to combine tile and wood flooring in your home is moisture. While tile flooring is highly resistant to moisture —making it perfect for areas prone to water — wood flooring can swell or warp if exposed to moisture for prolonged periods. For this reason, you might be limited in how you can combine these two flooring types in spaces like bathrooms or outside.

It is important to plan how you want to combine these two tiles ahead of time and know the limitations that come with this combination before committing to the design.

Tile and wood flooring | Source: Getty Images

Interior design also comes in handy in seamlessly blending wood and tile flooring into your home. For instance, you can create a clear division between spaces using these two flooring options and use thresholds, transitions, tile borders, or simple moldings to maintain the integrity of both.

Evaluate the overall style of your home — from the color scheme to the lighting — and choose the correct interior pieces and designs that will match well with the mixture of wood and tile flooring in the space for a harmonious blend.

You can also complement the different flooring options by using accent pieces throughout the space.

Tile and wood floor with a gold transition strip | Source: Getty Images

Design Ideas Combining Wood and Tile Flooring

Using different flooring patterns is a great and creative way to seamlessly combine tile and wood flooring in your home. One option is to create inlays with different flooring materials. Inlays are when different tiles are incorporated into wood flooring to create intricate patterns or shapes. So in this case, you would have wood flooring with tile inlays for a unique flooring shape and pattern.

Alternatively, you could opt for mixing tile and wood flooring in a hybrid plank design. With this combination, you can enjoy the durability and water resistance of tiles with the warmth and texture of wood.

Tile and wood hybrid planks flooring | Source: Getty Images

Lastly, consider laying your tile and wood flooring combination in a herringbone pattern. This pattern's distinct V-shape makes it so visually appealing and eye-catching, and a perfect option as it can work in most homes — from traditional and modern to industrial or rustic.

How to Combine Tile and Wood Flooring Together

Combining wood and tile flooring also works wonders in an attempt to gently break the monotony of a room so it doesn't feel boring but rather creative and fun.

A home with wood and tile flooring | Source: Getty Images

You can successfully combine tile and wood flooring in your home to achieve an aesthetically pleasing and harmonious look. Just consider the durability of these materials and other design elements to bring out the best in each flooring type. For more on tile and flooring, here is a guide on how to clean mortar off tiles using 3 easy methods.