Originally Posted by
acinpdx
If you're in the tile shop, they should be able to identify tile appropriate for floors.
If you're not shopping someplace with professional help, some thoughts:
Floor tile can be installed on the wall; do not install wall tile on the floor!
Use small sizes of glossy tile for flooring, often called mosaic -- glass, stone, etc...floor rated ceramic mosaic will likely not be glossy. Grip comes from the many pieces & the grout lines. Mosaics are usually 2"x2" and smaller. Glass tile needs to be floor rated.
For larger tile on the floor, you want some tooth to the material for some kind of grip, so think about the non-polished stone or porcelain tile.
Stone, concrete & grout is generally porous. you need to seal it on the regular, like every year. No one does, but expect to do a fairly intense cleaning if you let it go a bunch of years. When your tile is sealed it generally cleans up better during routine cleaning. Sealing is pretty easy to do.
Electric floor heat has improved a ton in the last 10 years. It used to be unrepairable; you'd be SOL if it got nicked by a nail or installed a bad section or have a section go out over time. Now, many systems are able to do spot repairs and not have to tear out whole floors. Floor heat is one of those things that once you have it, you wonder how you ever lived without it. Timers can be set to come on 30mins before you get up in the morning.
Cork is pretty awesome but, like any other natural material, needs some care. Tile is the likely format for bathroom use (not plank or engineered). It is generally mold resistant, but, in a constantly moist environment (ie, never really dries out), it can get overwhelmed. with all its nooks/crannies, it can get nasty if this happens. Cork isn't great with claws, so have your family declawed. Some kind of underlayment to isolate the subfloor is generally recommended. Check with the manufacturer's recommended installation instructions.
Carpet is not recommended for a shit ton of reasons, but, if you like it, have at it!