Designing a bathroom involves choosing fixtures and finishes that are both functional and stylish. These bathroom tile ideas provide a perfect solution for covering your floors, walls, and shower stalls. With a wide variety of tile shapes, colors, and materials available, you can easily find a match that suits your style. Whether you’re aiming for a spa-like atmosphere with sage tiles, a glamorous space with glossy options, or a moody retreat with a black-and-white combination, tiles can add personality to your bathroom.
Go beyond the standard white subway tile and explore these inspiring bathroom tile ideas. Create a luxurious ambiance with floor-to-ceiling marble, or embrace the maximalist trend with bold colors and celestial patterns. Tile is an excellent choice for bathroom surfaces due to its ease of cleaning and sanitizing, versatile style options, and timeless appeal. Whether you’re planning a complete bathroom renovation or just a refresh, consider these 65 designer-approved bathroom tile ideas to elevate your space.
Tile: Form Meets Function
Photo: Tessa Neudstadt
Tile is a staple material in bathroom design due to its durability, waterproof nature, and resistance to mold, germs, and bacteria. Common choices include glazed tiles such as ceramic and porcelain, encaustic tiles like cement, and natural stone tiles.
These options offer both beauty and functionality for bathroom flooring, walls, and shower surrounds.
2. Focus on the Floor
Photo: Carmel Brantley. From: HGTV Magazine.
Incorporating a unique floor tile can significantly enhance your bathroom’s aesthetics. For instance, a bath with a black-and-white theme can be transformed by a cement tile floor featuring a kaleidoscopic pattern in shades of blue, adding a vibrant touch to the space.
3. Create Subtle Color Variations
Photo: David Tsay. From: HGTV Magazine.
Achieve a spa-like atmosphere with luxurious materials and patterns. A main bath with a Carrara marble herringbone floor and a glossy glass tile backsplash can exude elegance. Mosaic tiles in a basketweave pattern with subtle color shifts, ranging from watery blues and greens to grays and creams, add to the serene environment.
4. Embrace Your Flair for Dramatic
Photo: Alise O’Brien Photography
For a bold statement, consider deep, rich colors. Emerald green walls in a main bath create a dramatic backdrop for a Calacatta marble vanity and a basketweave marble tile floor. Brass accents add a touch of golden glamour, enhancing the luxurious feel.
5. The Stars Have It
Photo: Lisa Romerein. From: HGTV Magazine.
Incorporate trendy elements with classic appeal by using cement tiles, also known as encaustic tiles. These tiles feature petite cream and gray star patterns, blending modern trends with traditional bathroom design. Cement tiles are ideal for wet spaces due to their non-glazed, non-slippery surface.
6. Customize for Kids
Photo: David Tsay. From: HGTV Magazine.
Kids’ bathrooms offer an opportunity to experiment with playful patterns and colors.
7. Carrara Tile
Carrara marble tiles, known for their subtle veining, offer a simple yet elegant look that can enhance any bathroom. When arranged in a herringbone pattern, they add a touch of visual interest.
8. Unique Details
Hexagon tiles with contrasting black tiles create flower details, adding an intriguing element that complements the bathroom’s black paint.
9. Subway Tiles
Oversized white subway tiles are a versatile choice for bathrooms and other areas of the home. In this example, they are paired with smaller, darker floor tiles for a cohesive look.
10. Zellige
Zellige tiles, handmade and unique, originate from Morocco. Each tile varies slightly in shape and color, creating a lively and beautiful surface.
11. Blue And White
Blue and green accents enhance this white bathroom, giving it a larger appearance with vertical boards and a painted ceiling. The classic blue and white color combination is consistently stunning, extending from paint and linens to tiles.
12. Border
A consistent tile design throughout a space can be elevated with a designated border, transforming a white-tiled floor into a striking feature.
13. Multiple Sizes
There is no rule that restricts using just one tile size. Mixing different sizes can add variety and interest to a bathroom design.
14. Same Colors, Different Pattern
This bathroom features white and greige rectangular tiles arranged in stripes on the wall, with the floor complementing this design in a basketweave pattern.
15. Speckle Effect
Using tiles of various shades within the same color palette can create a nature-inspired and cohesive look, allowing the floor to blend with multiple brown tones in the room.
16. Mandala Patterns
A delicate blue mandala pattern adds a touch of spice to an otherwise simple bathroom, creating an eye-catching feature.
17. Match Shades
Choosing your tile first makes it easier to select coordinating paint and other details. Matching shades ensures a harmonious design.
18. Contrasting Grout
Dark tiles paired with light grout create a visually interesting floor. The light grout prevents the floor from appearing too dark and disconnected from the rest of the space.
19. Hexagons
20. Tile All Over
Covering a large space entirely in tile is a simple yet effective design strategy. Whether using the same tile or different ones for the floor, walls, and ceiling, the result can be stunning.
21. Stripes
Tiles can form patterns not only through their arrangement but also through the use of alternating colors, creating unique designs like stripes.
22. Statement Color
Incorporating colorful tiles into a neutral room can create a striking focal point. For a versatile approach, consider following Feldman’s advice: repaint the tiles in a new shade whenever you wish to refresh the look.
23. Quilted Colors
By weaving different hues of square tiles together, this bathroom floor achieves a quilted effect. This enduring pattern is one that homeowners are unlikely to tire of soon.
24. Oversized Tile
This bathroom features large tiles, further enhanced by even bigger slabs. These larger pieces allow the beauty of the marble to truly shine.
25. Herringbone Layout
Tiles can be arranged in numerous ways depending on their shape and size. A herringbone pattern, created by zig-zagging rectangles, is a classic and appealing choice.
26. Stone Tiles
Stone tiles, whether glossy or natural, showcase the material’s natural veins and color variations, grounding the room in a pleasant way. Select a stone that complements your bathroom’s color palette and suits your maintenance preferences.
27. Composite Tiles
Instead of sticking to traditional shapes like rectangles, squares, or hexagons, consider a composite format using multiple shapes or sizes of tiles. For example, combining rectangles with small squares can create a woven pattern effect.
28. Abstract
When using patterned or multi-colored tiles, geometric formations are a common choice. However, this homeowner opted for a more abstract approach, yielding remarkable results.
29. Tile Panels
For a layered and dynamic bathroom design, consider alternating tile with other materials. In this example, tile panels are paired with a variety of textures, such as the rope on the mirror and woven shades, creating a rich and diverse aesthetic.
30. Glossy Tiles
Tiles come in various finishes, each adding a unique touch to your space. Glossy black tiles, for instance, offer a sleek and shiny surface that looks particularly striking when clean.
31. Pebble Tiles
On the floor, tiny oval-shaped tiles are used to create a pebble-like effect, adding an interesting texture beneath blue rectangular tiles laid in a brick pattern. This combination brings a natural, elegant touch to the bathroom.
32. Mediteranean
Inspired by the vibrant, historical patterns found in Mediterranean regions, these tiles bring a touch of global flair to your bathroom. Drawing inspiration from your favorite travel destinations can help you create a unique and captivating design.