How to make a statement with bold bathroom tiles
BY Cassie Pryce
1st Jan 2015 Home & Garden
Make a statement with your tiling choices and be daring with colour and pattern to create a Pinterest-worthy bathroom with plenty of character.
Due to the practical constraints of bathrooms, remodelling this particular room can be a challenge in some properties. So often bathrooms are overlooked when it comes to interior design and aren’t treated in the same way as other spaces.
Choosing the right look for your bathroom ultimately comes down to personal taste, and paint and tiles are key to injecting personality into the room. They are often the focal point and a way to introduce colour and pattern if desired, as well as serving a practical purpose too.
Colour combos
Galena floor tiles, £32.95 per square metre, Walls and Floors
No matter which room in the house you’re decorating, choosing your colour palette is one of the first points of call, and bathrooms are no different.
Start by compiling a mood board using pictures from magazines and the internet to gather inspiration for the overall look you want to achieve—bathroom catalogues are a good place to start if you find it hard to visualise the outcome, as they present ready-formed ideas for you to see.
Decide on a base colour first and then add one or two accent colours to give the space depth and character. Common colour choices for bathrooms are white, grey, or neutral stone shades and these all work well as timeless bases for building up your finished look.
Depending on how bold you’re feeling, you can add as much or as little colour to your bathroom as desired—fully tiled or painted walls in a daring shade will make a striking impact, or pare it back by using smaller areas of colour, such as a splashback or mosaic trim around the walls.
Size matters
Royal Blue half field tiles, £89.95 per square metre, Original Style
Depending on the size and layout of your bathroom, think carefully about the dimensions of the tiles you want to lay, both on the floor and walls. Large-scale tiles can help smaller rooms feel more spacious when used in a light colour, whereas a design with lots of small tiles can sometimes make the area appear more cramped due to having lots of grout lines.
One way to overcome this problem is to use a grout that blends in with the colour of the tiles, so the lines are less prominent and the eye is drawn to the tiles rather than the divisions.
Order samples of tiles you like before purchasing them, so you can lay them out in the bathroom and get a good idea of the final look and layout.
Pattern hit
Country Cottage Metro tiles, £43.95 per square metre, Walls and Floors
The word "pattern" can seem scary to some people and many shy away from it for fear of not knowing how to use it correctly. However, the truth is, there is no right and wrong—design is personal so you should choose something that draws your eye in and fits in with your taste.
Patterned tiles in a bathroom, whether on the floor, walls or both, will instantly add some wow-factor to your scheme and give the room a focal point. Moroccan designs are hugely popular at the moment and can create a spa-inspired feel when combined with natural tones and textures.
Alternatively, opt for a more modern feel by using geometric or illusion tiles in a cool monochrome scheme. Floral tiles look the part in a country cottage and are particularly effective when used as a feature such as a border or sink splashback, teamed with plainer tiles to allow them to really stand out.
If patterned tiles still seem a little brave, consider using plain tiles to create patterns with their layout instead. Ask your tiler to lay them in a diagonal or herringbone pattern and then highlight the design using the grout lines. Metro-style tiles can be laid in a brick formation to add interest, or why not get creative with shaped tiles such as hexagons or diamonds for a more daring composition?
Read more: How to tile around corners
Design decisions
3D offset hexagon tiles in white, £134 per square metre, The Baked Tile Company
When it comes to laying tiles, don’t feel you have to cover every inch of space to make an impact. Consider tiling the inside of a shower unit in a bold, patterned design and then keeping the rest of the walls more pared back to show the contrast.
Splashbacks behind sinks or around baths are another good spot to add a pop of colour, or tile in the inside of alcoves or recesses in a patterned design to make them stand out. Using a patterned border or trim of tiles can add interest to plain walls and is a good option if you want to keep the cost down and limit the number of patterned tiles used.
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