Marble-look tiles: statuario, onyx or bold veins for a drawing room guests ask about

Real marble in a Ludhiana drawing room means yearly polishing, stains from a spilled glass of rooh afza, and a price that climbs every season. A marble-look vitrified tile gives the look without the maintenance. The question is which look, because "marble" covers three very different characters.

Statuario: white with grey veins, the safe classic

A white base with grey (sometimes grey-gold) veins. It brightens a room, goes with every sofa colour your family will ever buy, and does not date. Valentino Satvario, Endmatch 21 and Costa Statuario are the ones people pick most. Endmatch designs are made so the veins continue from one tile to the next; ask the tiler to lay them in sequence.

Onyx: light, soft, slightly translucent

Onyx looks like it has depth, as if light goes into the tile. Antila Sky is the lightest tile we sell, almost ivory-white with soft clouds; Grazia Cyan is the same idea in blue-grey. Onyx suits bedrooms and bathrooms, and a drawing room where the furniture is dark and you want the floor to stay quiet.

Bold veins: the "where did you get this" tile

Nuvo Grey has black clouds and gold streaks on white; Sp Hg 0529 has green-black and gold in high gloss. These are the tiles guests photograph. They work on a floor if the rest of the room is plain; they work even better on one feature wall behind the TV or the dining table, with a quieter statuario on the floor.

One warning from experience: a bold tile has fewer faces (two to four), so the pattern repeats. Look at the laid-out view on the product page, not just the single face, before you fall in love.

Dark marble for the brave

Atlas Black, Black Marquina and Emperador Choco. Dramatic, warm in the evening, and a lot of work to keep dust-free in Punjab. Best in a formal room, a bar area, or as the border of a lighter floor.

Questions we get asked

Do marble-look tiles need polishing?

No. The polish is on the glaze at the factory. Mop with water and a mild cleaner; avoid acid.

How do I see the full pattern before buying?

Every product page has a laid-out view and all the faces. At the showroom we lay 8 to 12 pieces on the floor so you see the real repeat.