Creative ideas for BATHROOM TILES

From walls to floors, to showers and sinks, add impact to your bathroom with these tile ideas

Create an ombre effect

Try this imaginative idea to create a sunset effect. Mixing soft apricots and sunny yellows, blush pinks and berry tone tiles adds colour and warmth. ‘I love sunsets, who doesn’t?’ says founder of Otto Tiles & Design, Damla Turgut. ‘I wanted to recreate the mix of vibrant colours and show how they blend together using tiles. The idea is simple yet striking.’

Take it from the floor

Beautifully simple floor tiles often get, for lack of a better phrase, swept under the rug. Make more of an impression by taking the same tiles right up onto the walls. This mid-height trick works well when using a busy tile; just stick to a neutral paint shade for the top half of the wall, so as not to draw too much attention away from the tiles below.

‘PLAIN,COLOURED TILES, EITHER ON THE FLOOR OR WALLS, LOOK CHIC AND SOPHISTICATED, WHILE PATTERNED TILES ADD CHARACTER’

THEA BABINGTON-STITT, Content Editor

Create interest with contrasting tiles

Can’t decide on one tile? Mix things up to add interest and texture. Use a different but coordinating tile throughout the space. Hexagonal tiles add a fresh, modern feel – or allow a larger hexagonal tile to take centre stage on a focal wall. When mixing tiles stick to a neutral colour palette such as white, pale grey and soft neutrals to prevent them from jarring.

Define zones

Let tiles determine different zones. Use a tiled wall to signify the basin area, like here where the black herringbone tiles create a floor-toceiling feature wall. This works well as a small bathroom idea because it helps to create a sense of space, giving each zone more presence.

Match floors and walls with patchwork

Balance the look of statement floor tiles with a feature wall of matching patterned tiles. Rather than using them all over, which could be overwhelming, use as a decorative panel within a shower area, surrounded by plain white tiles.

Tile the bath

Incorporate a bath surround into your tiling scheme. Barrie Cutchie, design director at BC Designs, says, ‘Use specialist tile backing board which won’t warp – it requires a bit more effort than using standard bath panels, but it is worth it.’

Break the mould with a unique layout

There are no rules that just because you have a tiled floor it has to be the whole floor. Likewise, if using tiles on the wall you have the freedom to carve out your own style – consider using the placement of the tiles to zone the different areas within the space.

‘MAKE SURE THAT YOU CHOOSE TWO TILES WITH QUITE DISTINCT SIZE DIFFERENCES FOR THE BIGGEST IMPACT’

STEPHANIE DURRANT, Deputy Editor

Play with scale

A great way to add interest with tiles in even the smallest of bathrooms is to mix and match with scale. Take whatever shape of tile you’re using on the floor and repeat in a smaller scale as a splashback. Switch up colours, too, but keep it cohesive by having the two areas in the same general sector of the colour wheel.

Drench with colour

Colour drenching is the go-to term right now for decorating rooms. Use colourful tiles to cover almost every surface. Don’t go too small though, as a multitude of tiny tiles in a bright colour can be overwhelming. Keep a section of the wall bare to paint in a complementary shade.