Installing new tile might not be the easiest way to refresh your bathroom, but it can be the most effective.
Patterned tile isn’t the only way to add drama to a bathroom: By combining muted-color tiles in two shapes — hexagonal and rectangular creates a Zen-like space with visual interest.
To update a bathroom, you could swap out the cabinet pulls and switch the faucet. But if you're ready for a big change, almost nothing is more effective then new tile.
Replacing tiles that are damaged, stained, outdated or just not to your liking is an opportunity not just to refresh a bathroom, but to give it a whole new style. And with all of the materials, shapes and colors currently available, you have the chance to create something extraordinary.
But that's also the problem: With all those choices, how do you know you've made the best one?
First, Choose Your Material
Ceramic is the most common material for bathroom tiles, but there are several other popular options, including natural stone, glass and cement. Each offers a decidedly different look and feel. I prefer cement tiles if you want a graphic punch. They often come in vibrant colors and patterns. If you prefer a Zen-like environment that’s a little more colorful, I suggest using ceramic tiles in subdued hues or glass tiles in blues and greens.
Then Follow Its Lead
Whatever you choose, it will set the design direction for the room — especially if the tile has a graphic pattern or bold colors.
When you’re driven by a specific color or pattern, it really informs all the other decisions.
As long as you can unify the pieces you’re using through color or shape, it can work.
The square tiles have different geometric patterns could be combined to form a cohesive whole. Need to spend time laying out the pattern and numbering all the tiles to make sure they work together in the pattern as long as you can unify the pieces you’re using through color or shape, it can work.
Vary the Shapes
Using patterned tile is just one way to add drama to a bathroom. The shapes of the tiles can also add visual interest, especially when you use different forms on different surfaces.
For instance, you might do one wall of a walk-in shower in a particular shape, like hexagons then you could use a rectangular subway tile on the other walls.
Change the Installation Pattern
If all that feels like a little too much drama, there is a subtler way to introduce visual interest to a bathroom: Instead of choosing a vividly patterned tile, focus on the installation pattern.
Simple square and rectangular tiles don’t have to be installed in a grid. In fact, while a grid, or straight stack, looks modern and clean, it can also feel cold or institutional. A common option is an alternating, or running bond, pattern that staggers tiles like bricks in a wall.
Or if you’re using rectangular tiles, “you can do what is called soldier stack, which is where you set the tile on its short end. Especially in a low-ceilinged environment, it gives you verticality. Or you could do herringbone to introduce something a little different that’s still classic.
Some designers prefer to mix tiles with the same finish and varying proportions, for a less symmetrical installation.
Remember the Grout
With all those colors and shapes to play with, it’s easy to forget about the humble material that holds it all together: grout. But the color of the grout and the width of the grout lines have a big effect on how your bathroom is going to look.
Matching the grout as closely as possible to the tile color and using thin lines will make the grout almost disappear. A contrasting color and thicker lines will make individual tiles visually pop, and can be used to give budget tiles a stylish lift.
For tiles with slight irregularities, thicker grout lines are a better choice.
Consider the Extras
Because most tiles are unfinished on the sides, installations that don’t run wall-to-wall and floor-to-ceiling usually require some sort of trim at the edges for a clean, finished look.
Some ceramic tile and stone manufacturers make special trim pieces, or tiles with bullnose edges, for this purpose. Other options include thin metal strips, available in a variety of finishes or even simple wood trim that can be painted to match the wall.
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