One of the toughest parts of redesigning your kitchen or bathroom is figuring out what you want your countertops to look like. These surfaces are often focal points within the room; they occupy quite a bit of visual space, and they can help you more firmly establish the design style you’re hoping to achieve within your interiors. There are tons of different countertop materials for homeowners to choose from, including everything from natural stone products like granite and marble to engineered alternatives like quartz and laminate. Some of the more unique options that you might have come across are porcelain and ceramic tiles. From a visual perspective, these kinds of materials can be especially exciting to work with if you’re looking to restore or resurface your vintage countertops and furnishings.

Before you start redecorating or remodeling your old-fashioned countertops and furnishings with tile, it’s a good idea to familiarize yourself with the benefits and drawbacks that come with tile using this material. Tile can offer significant aesthetic advantages thanks to how easy it is to customize, in terms of both color and finish. However, there are also a handful of reasons why it might not be the best fit for your bathroom or kitchen, especially if you’re unfamiliar with how to maintain and repair the kind of surface it effectively creates. You should also make sure to read up on the most common mistakes to avoid when tiling before you begin any sort of project that uses this material.

Tile comes with a number of unique advantages compared to other countertop materials. First amongst these benefits is the fact that it’s available in all sorts of different patterns and colors, and can therefore help establish a unique vibe or aesthetic within your space. You can mix and match different colors with mosaic tiles, or try using tiles with vintage floral patterns to make your furnishings look more ornate. Or, if you end up wanting to put a modern spin on your vintage countertops, you can just stick with simple white and black fixtures instead. You’ll also have the choice between either a glossy or matte finish for your tile, with the former being significantly shinier.

Another major benefit of resurfacing your vintage countertops with tile is the price, relative to using other materials like natural stone or quartz. The cost per square foot, however, will vary significantly depending on the type of tiles you’re buying. Porcelain tiles, for example, are usually more expensive than other kinds of ceramic tiles. Adding tiles to countertops can also improve the surface’s heat resistance. Porcelain tiles, in particular, tend to be a bit more heat-resistant than their other ceramic counterparts. So long as your tiles are glazed, they should also be relatively water and scratch-resistant too. Always check that to make sure your tiles are glazed before buying them, especially if you’re planning to put them in areas in which they’ll come into contact with water.

There are several reasons why you might want to think twice before using tile to resurface your old-fashioned countertops or furnishings. For starters, tile can be exceptionally difficult to clean. The grout, in particular, can stain, discolor, or develop bacteria over time if you’re not regularly sealing it. If you’re going to use this material, you should probably get familiar with the natural ingredient that helps keep tile countertops clean. Additionally, you might want to consider putting down a layer of waterproof backer board below the tile when you’re installing it to help protect it from moisture build up. The backer board will also provide an even surface onto which you can install the tiles.

Another downside to using tile for countertops is that the material can crack or chip quite easily. If and when this happens, however, making repairs isn’t too tricky, because you’ll only have to replace a handful of individual tiles instead of the entire surface. Installing the tile can also take quite a while, especially if you’re doing it by hand. Finally, one of the main reasons why you might want to steer clear of tile countertops is the fact that the surface is uneven. Using larger tiles might make this less of an issue, but it still won’t fully resolve this concern. If you want to explore different options for your vintage surfaces instead, there are plenty of lesser-known countertop materials worth considering for your project.