Bathroom décor consists of several elements including the bath fittings and sanitaryware. But all this art is perched on a canvas made up of the wall and floor surfaces of the room. Covering your bathroom floor and walls add not just to the aesthetics and looks of the place but also to the safety of the user and structure alike.
So, understand the types of tiles you can use and then explore the design ideas for your bathroom.
Which Types of Tiles to Use in the Bathroom?
Before we begin talking about the tile designs for the bathroom, you should understand that the bathroom restricts your choices due to the special use of the room. Install the correct types of tiles to make maintenance, cleaning and safety of the place easier for the users. Incorrect tiles, however, will trouble you almost every day.
You can install tiles in three different places in your bathroom – floor, walls, and counter. All three places use a different type of tile:
1. Bathroom Floor
Tiles with anti-skid surface, low water absorption,
2. Bathroom Walls
Prefer glossy, polished or satin matte finish, avoid 3D elevation or matte finish wall tiles in small bathrooms
3. Countertop
Polished GVTs or full-body vitrified tiles are preferable
Bathroom size plays a significant role in the choice of tile sizes, types and designs. Larger bathrooms can use larger tiles, thus, getting a bigger design portfolio to choose from.
Bathroom layout is another factor you should consider before selecting tiles. For instance, whether you have a shower enclosure, floor or wall-mounted fixtures, etc.
Tile Design for Bathroom – Concepts
Whether you are building a new bathroom or renovating an old one, following a holistic theme for the interior helps. A theme will make selecting tile designs for bathrooms easy and make your home appear coherent.
Here are five interior themes and tile colours for the bathroom you can consider:
1. Plain Monochrome Looks
Plain solid tile colours for the bathroom bring in the boldness of simplicity in your interior designs. The matte finish tiles offer adequate grip on the wet floor, and the solid colour finishes the uniformity of a disciplined life.
H&R Johnson’s Vanta Black and Super White tiles from the Elite full-body vitrified tiles allow you the extreme ends of the bold solid colour spectrum. Fuse them for a bathroom with a statement. These tiles are fully vitrified and available in both polished (glossy) and matte finishes.
So, you can use the Vanta Black and Super Whites for the vanity counter as well. If these tiles are too large for your bathroom, you can also find several smaller versions for the monochrome design.
Other popular colours in this theme include concrete, ocean blue, beige, and purple salt and pepper styles.
2. Natural Surfaces (Marble, Wood – Planks and Lumbar, Granite)
Natural materials like marble, granite, wood, etc., have always been a popular choice for home interiors including bathrooms. Marble, stone and wood tile designs for bathrooms are some of the evergreen choices, especially in the stressful urban environment.
These materials automatically help to calm your mind and relax, a feeling you’d always want in your bathroom. Using marble and wood-like tiles, you can achieve this setting quite comfortably.
3. Mix Décor
Mixing decorative tile designs for the bathroom can create mesmerising and beautiful patterns with geometric designs. Most of the mixing and creativity goes into the walls, as you have more freedom to choose the type and size of the tiles. So, select the wall tiles first and then go on to select matching rough tiles for the bathroom floor. This decorative tile section consists of plenty of popup tile colours for bathroom walls.
These randomised and flashy colour patterns add eccentricity to your bathroom interior.
4. Digital Coordinated Tile Concepts
Digital coordinated tiles are some of the most popular concepts for bathroom tiling. The tiles pack consists of a theme that includes a combination of wall tiles and floor tiles. So using digitally coordinated tiles eliminates your need for exploring the best tile designs for your bathroom. Digital coordinated tiles are a piece of a larger creative theme that could be a photograph, painting, or simply a design with a combination of elements. These tiles turn your bathroom interior into a large canvas.
You can also consider digital coordinated tiles for the smaller bathrooms as these tiles are usually available in smaller sizes like 30x60cm, 30x45cm, and 37x25cm sizes.
5. Accent Wall & Vanity Concepts
If you are adding a vanity to your bathroom, you can also consider adding an accent wall, either for the vanity or separately. The point of the accent wall is to build a focal point in a homogeneous interior.
While you could simply use tiles with contrasting colour schemes, consider adding some texture to the wall with 3D elevation tiles. Two types of 3D elevation tiles are available:
1. Embossed design with glossy surface finish
2. 3D Elevation with rough texture (matte or rocker matte finish)
Embossed glossy elevation tiles are better for the bathroom, as they are easy to clean and keep the place hygienic.
Special Tile Ideas for Small Bathrooms
The majority of residential bathrooms are small in India. So, using large tiles like 60x120cm and even planks is not easy for these bathrooms and can create functional problems, like water logging. This is why you need to bank on a different creative portfolio for the perfect tile designs for the bathroom.
You can Use the Following Tile Designs for Smaller Bathrooms
1. Wall Tile Designs
Smaller bathrooms can use high gloss 30x45cm tiles on the walls. You can find digital coordinated and solid colour designs for this collection. These ceramic tiles can give a style and innovative appearance to your bathroom. Choose your colours for a bold statement.
The mirror effect of these tiles also makes the bathroom appear spacious and utilises the available light well.
2. Floor Tile Designs
Smaller bathrooms are notorious for their limited walking space. This leads to the tiles in a few places receiving more abuse than the tiles in the other not-so-accessible areas. This is why scratch and stain-resistant tiles are recommended for small bathrooms. Also called SSR tiles, they are usually available in 60x60cm size.
Alternatively, you can also use 30x30cm high-definition (HD) matt finish tiles. Available with solid colours or intricate patterns these ceramic tiles offer sturdiness and aesthetics for the bathroom floor.
Use Recommended Adhesive and Grouts Only
Brands like H&R Johnson offer pre & after-sale support and service to their consumers. However, the support is dependent on the factors and conditions of usage. So, always check if the tile is recommended for the intended use.
Install the tiles as per the instructions from the manufacturer using the recommended adhesive and then seal them with the recommended grout. You can also consult the experts at the manufacturer to select the correct tiles as per your needs.
Also read: Finding The Perfect Glass Mosaic Tiles for Your Bathroom
