Buy a porcelain for a $1/ sq ft.

I will use medium grade porcelain tiles or better tiles that were a deal, and then mix in high end glass or decorative tiles.

I actually like porcelain time even better, but it requires a sturdy floor to install and is more expensive.Home depot and other stores only carry a few colors in stock, but can special order others.

If I did that in Eastern Oregon, I'd have burst pipes and probably broken porcelain toilets.

In South Florida we can get Porcelain tiles for as low as 1.25 a sq ft.

Unfortunately, I didn't need any.I've purchased a through body porcelain at Color Tile, because after searching around nobody had one I liked as well for a better price.For tile in rentals, I only buy through body porcelain.

If the house is on a concrete slab (as in Oklahoma/Texas), I would not install anything for flooring, and instead look into getting the concrete floor stained/epoxy coated.My next option is porcelain tile using a modern rectangular tile instead of square.

I use either subway tiles or porcelain tiles that look like marble in the bathrooms.

@Randall JacobsIf you are going tile for the long haul, then porcelain or slate may be better choices ... if they are chipped, the colour goes all the way through.That said, large areas of tile are not terrible popular in areas where there are *real*, prolonged winters as it is uncomfortably cold underfoot.

flooring : solid all the way through porcelain tile.