The most expensive houses and condos use marble flooring, not tiles, which is considered lower in class.

Tiles are the average finishing material - practical, durable, affordable, and maintenance free.
Nowadays, 2'x2' polished porcelain tiles with marble grain is common - to imitate the marble effect. Then, there are tiles with wood grain finish, to imitate timber.

Marble needs care since it is easily scratched and stained. Being natural, no two pieces are the same.
It feels good to step on marble surface especially in our tropical climate. Tiles does have the 'sticky' feel, being non-porous. Marble breathes and absorbs moisture.

Comparing marble and tile is like comparing natural timber floor finish and engineered wood planks eg. Inovar. The feel is very different.

Ipoh Pink marble (some call it 'pig lung marble' in cantonese) tend to have a lot of fissures/fine cracks. Matching marble slabs is one big hassle as the colour and grain can be very incosistent.

This post has been edited by tehtmc: Jul 16 2012, 05:42 PM

engineered boards = laminated flooring

Between 1'x2' marble and 2'x2' polished tiles, I would prefer the latter for looks la. Of course, the 'feel' is another matter. 1'x2' marble is great for rooms though(I use 1'x2' Ipoh Pink for a bedroom), but bit small for living area.
Ipoh White is easier colour to match with than Pink.

This post has been edited by tehtmc: Jul 17 2012, 03:51 PM