Bathroom tiles: tips for choosing, types, shapes, colors, design, finishing areas

How interesting the design of the tiles in the bathroom will be depends not only on the taste of the owners, but also on the compliance of the interior with trends. From year to year, traditions for decorating bath rooms change. If you are planning to make repairs, it is worth considering the most non-standard tile options and the features of its laying.


Relief tiles for the bathroom in a minimalist style Source csempeweb.hu


Bright light green tiles for a high-tech style bathroom Source tubadzin.pl


Gray tiles with mosaic elements Source dekor.expert


High-tech bathroom with imitation stone pavement Source yandex.by

Types of tiles

There are several options that have certain manufacturing technologies and practical properties:

  • Tiled. Contains sand, clay and minerals, is made by firing and then glazed. Ceramic tiles come in many different colors and are a fairly cheap material.
  • Porcelain tiles. Durable and durable porcelain stoneware, especially common in floor finishing. It has a non-slip surface and can easily withstand mechanical stress.
  • Quartz vinyl. It is resistant to scratches, moisture and mold. In addition, this cladding has good sound-absorbing properties.
  • Glass. This finishing material is glass, characterized by increased strength, which always looks quite stylish and unusual.

The photo shows an English-style bathroom with burgundy floor and wall tiles.

Requirements for bathroom cladding

Most often, bathrooms and toilet rooms are small in size, which has a positive effect on the amount of building materials required for its finishing.

But the quality of ceramic tiles for toilets must meet the specific operating conditions. The finish must be durable and easily subject to regular maintenance of its surface, since the bathroom needs an environment close to sterility.

When choosing colorful ceramic tiles, you should pay special attention to their quality. A good material for covering walls and floors in a bathroom will help you save not only on quick installation, but also on long-term use.

Tile shapes and sizes

Modules in small squares represent the most convenient and classic option, which does not present difficulties in installation.

Quite a trendy solution are curly models made with honeycombs or diamonds. They can have both a bright glossy and a more discreet matte finish.

The photo shows multi-colored hexagonal tiles in the shape of a honeycomb on the wall in the bathroom.

How to choose material?

It has already been said earlier that ceramic tiles are the most famous material for finishing a bathroom. There are very specific requirements for the bathroom space, therefore, before laying tiles in the bathroom, it is necessary to select the material for cladding as rationally as possible . To do this, you should pay attention to its technical indicators:

  • level of moisture absorption;
  • degree of resistance to chemical cleaning agents;
  • resistance to mechanical stress;
  • resistance to elevated temperatures and vaporization;
  • Bathroom floor tiles must be abrasion-resistant, resistant to bending and abrasive materials.

tiling bathroom walls with artificial stone tiles

When choosing a material, you need to focus, first of all, on the quality of the tile. Ceramics, according to existing standards, come in three types, which are marked in a separate color tone. First grade tiles are marked with a red marking. These are high quality and durable tiles. Second grade ceramics may contain up to 5% defective. It is marked with blue or light blue markings. The third grade is marked with green markings.

Ceramic tiles are divided by resistance class. There are five of them; the stability class is marked using Roman numerals. For a living room, it is recommended to use tiles with wear resistance of no more than class III; for the bathroom, you can use class I tiles. Since it is quite difficult to decorate a bathtub with tiles, you need to correctly determine the amount of material - it is better to buy tiles with a margin of about 15% to adjust the material. Not the last place when buying tiles is given to the design of the finish - after all, everyone wants the bathroom covering to be functional, comfortable, and also beautiful. A large selection of finishing materials is a guarantee that you will very easily choose your personal cladding method.

laying tiles of non-standard sizes above the sink

Bathroom decorating ideas in different styles

Options for using tile cladding in popular interior styles.

Shabby chic tiles in the bathroom interior

In this direction, tiles involve imitation of various materials with patina, unobtrusive openwork patterns or floral patterns. Shabby chic is characterized by softer shades of blue, pink, smoky white, lilac, beige or cream.

Quite often when tiling the floor, uneven masonry is used to create the effect of an aged coating.

The photo shows beige tiles in a shabby chic style bathroom.

Also, the floor plane is tiled with tiles imitating light wood, which create the most comfortable interior.

Provence style tiles

Models with an abundance of plant patterns, made in faded shades, are appropriate here. For a romantic, rustic and calm Provence, choose white, blue, delicate olive, turquoise or beige colors. In the design of the floor, simple textured models are used that will imitate a wooden covering.

The photo shows tiled cladding in the interior of a small bathroom in Provence style.

Marine theme

In this style, a very effective solution is pebbles, striped models, photo tiles with various thematic illustrations of marine fauna, mosaic decoration with a cold ocean color scheme, or products in blue, green or even sand colors.

Classic

Classic design is characterized by the use of tile cladding with imitation marble, expensive wood or products with a carriage screed design. The interior is distinguished by a light color palette and sometimes the presence of unobtrusive floral motifs.

Scandinavian

For a bathroom decorated in a Scandinavian style, they prefer tiles that reproduce the textures of natural materials such as wood or stone. Also in Nordic design, cladding in white, milky and cold light colors is used.

Oriental

An elegant and charming ethnic theme involves finishing materials with colorful, expressive patterns and oriental ornaments, which are a rather extravagant solution that will undoubtedly attract attention.

The photo shows a Moroccan-style bathroom with walls decorated with white and patterned tiles.

Modern

In the modern high-tech direction, glossy tiled, mirror models, and metal-look products are used, which can create a different game of contrasts. The urban loft style is characterized by finishing in cool colors, with a rougher texture or imitation of leather or brick. For a bathroom designed in the direction of minimalism, choose cladding in one or maximum two colors, characterized by simple and strict shapes.

Design project for a small bathroom

Professional layouts dispel the prevailing opinion that large tiles cannot be used to decorate small spaces.

If positioned correctly, you can visually add volume to a miniature room. Just don’t need to decorate all its edges.

  • It is believed that correctly selected dimensions and shape give the clearest effect of revealing space than the color scheme.
  • The optimal size of ceramics for a rectangular bathroom is 20x30 cm, and for a square one - 20x20 cm.
  • Modern tiles also come in a variety of textures. Tile can be intended only for walls or floors, or it can be universal, suitable for facing both surfaces.


Surfaces can be glossy or not, matte, glass, mirrored; shiny tones are more suitable for modest spaces. Gloss helps to visually expand the space. Such samples are easy to clean, wash and look very impressive.

Glass and mirror products will require more care, but in combination with other materials they will add lightness, airiness and spaciousness.

Photo of tiles in the bathroom interior

Quite often in bathroom design you can find tiles with marine motifs, floral patterns, geometric patterns, abstraction and other fantasy designs. To create a bright and unusual interior of a room, they prefer cladding of an interesting shape with an original color scheme.

The photo shows a mirrored rectangular brown tile on the wall in the bathroom.

In the design of a children's bathroom, there are decorations with expressive photo printing and drawings in the form of cartoon characters or funny animals. Porcelain tiles stylized as safari with striped zebras and giraffes or tiles with inserts with flowers, hearts or other decor look especially original.

The photo shows a children's bathroom, decorated with multi-colored white and yellow tiles with drawings.

For a large bathroom

When finishing a spacious bathroom, any colors that suit the customer are used.

If you want to highlight a large space, choose pastel colors and soft shades.

If you want the interior of the room to relieve loneliness, it will be perceived as expensive and elegant, then you should consider colors such as dark chocolate and mysterious indigo.

Examples of finishing a combined bathroom

Here, using tiles of different colors, patterns or textures, it is possible to achieve visual zoning of the combined space into separate functional areas.

The photo shows tiles in the design of a combined bathroom.

If this room has a small area, you should not use too small tile fragments, but in a spacious bathroom, on the contrary, you can easily use mosaics, which can form a truly unique design

Why do we choose ceramic coating?

Let's list why the majority of people choose this particular coating for finishing the “wet” area.

  • It is easy to care for and easiest to wash. It’s enough to take a rag and walk with water - the dust and dirt will definitely be washed away. You can also use detergents, but without abrasives and not too aggressive.
  • Modern materials are environmentally friendly. Ceramics, granite are natural raw materials that form the basis of porcelain stoneware and will not harm your health.
  • The coating will last a long time - on average, tiles require replacement after 10-15 years, depending on its original characteristics and correct installation.
  • Durability - you can safely install plumbing fixtures or furniture - for example, in a spacious toilet a sink would not hurt.
  • Resistance to water is an extremely important indicator for “wet” rooms. The tiles do not absorb water and will not become moldy. But you need to watch the seams.


Instagram bath_idea


Instagram bath_idea

  • Decoration Materials

    How to choose tiles for the bathroom: comparing sizes, colors and designs

Finishing a small toilet with textured tiles

Recently, sculptural tiles with convex surfaces have become quite popular. Thanks to it, you can provide the room with not only color, but also texture variety. The price of such material is higher than ordinary ceramic tiles. However, the effect obtained after such cladding is worth the money spent.

To save a little money, you can use a textured tile model for only one accent wall. It is enough to cover adjacent surfaces with plain wallpaper or paint them in the desired color.

Glossy textured multifaceted tiles used to decorate an accent wall allow you to add special color and brightness to the room and raise the overall level of the bathroom.

When decorating a toilet in baroque or classic style, use original mother-of-pearl wall cladding. Dark wood furniture will add a noble color to textured tiles.

Decoration of the technical room

Designer imagination helps to hide defects and communication structures in the bathroom interior using a universal cladding coating.

In addition, with the right color scheme, you can change not only the appearance, but also the visual atmosphere of the bathroom.

  • Dividing the walls in half with light and dark tiles in height is not suitable for a small room.
  • Large horizontal stripes of contrasting or similar-colored tiles will visually expand the walls.
  • When choosing the texture of ceramic tiles for the toilet room, you must take into account that imitation wood may not be suitable for decorating the interior of any bathroom.


If there is a small source of lighting in the toilet and there are no windows, you should choose the lightest, warmest colors for wall cladding. It is better not to use tiles for laying on the bathroom floor in the form of a bright mosaic pattern, as such a coating will cause uncertainty and distort the shape of the space.

Recommendations for choosing tiles for a small toilet

To visually expand a modest-sized room, you can use several effective techniques:

  • decorate individual zones with mosaics or create panels from them;
  • lay tiles diagonally;
  • choose facing materials in cool shades;
  • use tiles with a mirror surface;
  • choose decor of abstract forms.

Very often, when decorating small bathrooms, designers divide the wall with a border horizontally. The shade of the upper part of the wall should be much lighter than the lower one. If you plan to use a decorative border, it is best to place it at eye level.

The optimal size of tiles that are planned to be used to decorate the wall in a small toilet is considered to be 10*10 and 15*15. The smaller the size of the material, the more it will be needed to decorate the room, and the wider the room will look.

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