You can transform your bathroom into a stylish and interesting room with these creative bathroom tile ideas. New tile ideas are worth exploring, whether you are planning a complete bathroom overhaul or a simple refresh. There are bathroom tiles to suit every taste and budget, from sleek modern styles to traditional European looks. Explore these unique bathroom tile ideas with us as we consider exciting tile patterns, textures, colors, and layouts to elevate your home’s sanctuary.
Bathroom Tile Ideas That Will Inspire You
These are innovative bathroom tile ideas from artists and manufacturers to help you discover new tiles and techniques to give your bathroom a one-of-a-kind look.
Picturesque Mosaic Tiles
The arrangement of mosaic tiles is an ancient and intricate art form. Mosaic tiles are a decorative tile pattern composed of tiny, individual tiles known as tesserae that work together to form an image or shape arrangement. Mosaic artists use a variety of materials, including glass, ceramic, porcelain, metal, and natural stones. Because mosaic tiles are small in size, the shapes that emerge are intricate and eye-catching.
This mosaic design of an autumnal tree was created by the Polish company Glasspoint with artist Marcin Krzemień.
Metallic Ridged Tiles
Metallic ridged tiles are a type of tile that combines a metallic finish with a ridged or textured surface. This technique creates incredible three-dimensional depth and visual interest in the tiles. These metallic tiles are created by artists using materials such as aluminum, stainless steel, and other metal alloys. Metallic finishes give these tiles a modern and contemporary appearance. The shimmery texture is ideal for creating a luxurious and upscale bathroom.
The company DeCastelli creates these exquisite metallic-textured tiles. They have an Art Deco pattern and a monochrome color palette in varying hues that add depth and subtle interest to the tiles.
Textured and Painted Ceramic Tiles
Textured and painted ceramic tiles are a stunning way to add an artisanal touch to your bathroom. Textured ceramic tiles can have subtle patterns or more prominent textural designs. This not only gives the tiles a distinct appearance, but it also makes them more appealing to the touch.
Painting ceramic tiles allows them to feature a broad range of colors and designs. Painted ceramic tiles are sometimes handpainted and glazed, giving them a traditional and old-world appearance. The paint gives the tiles a vibrant color and creates intricate patterns that define the style of the room. Painting tiles is not just aesthetic; it gives them a protective finish that allows them to resist wear and moisture.
Gold Highlighted Tiles
For painted tiles with a more subtle design, look for tiles that are highlighted with gold-painted patterns. These tiles are not just unique; they add a look of luxury and sophistication to your bathroom space. Gold-highlighted tiles are made of ceramic, porcelain, or terracotta and are decorated with gold patterns.
Gold designs can take various forms, such as gold glazes, gold leaf, and gold painting. These tiles are also appropriate for a wide range of bathroom styles, from modern to historic. These gold-painted tiles from DeCastelli would be an excellent addition to an Art Deco-style bathroom.
Watercolor-Style Painted Tiles
These stunning Italian tiles come from the MADE + 39 studio. This studio is well-known for its collaborations with artists who embody traditional Italian fashion and design techniques. These painted porcelain tiles are from the Aquerello collection. They have a cool tone color line that is blue and a warm color line that is orange. These tiles feature the painter’s limited color palette, but each has a distinct design that complements the surrounding tiles beautifully. These tiles are the creation of artist Annika Cova.
Textured Geometric Tiles
Textured geometric tiles bring together two visually appealing ideas: a textured surface and intricate shapes. The geometric shapes of the tiles are made up of circles, squares, triangles, and other unusual shapes. You can arrange them to create visually appealing and well-structured designs for your bathroom walls. Geometric designs shine in contemporary and modern bathroom designs.
The textured surface of these tiles gives them a three-dimensional appeal. You can find tiles with a range of textures, from subtle to more prominent.
Asian-Inspired Glass Mosaic
Bisazza Design Studio creates stunning mosaic designs using glass mosaic tiles. They specialize in a wide range of designs, including geometric and floral patterns as well as pop culture references. Their expertise lies in fusing cutting-edge concepts and methods with time-honored customs. They have shops all over the world, with flagship locations in New York, London, Paris, Milan, and other cities. In this design, gold glass tiles were used to create an Asian-inspired scene set against a background of square tiles.
Tiles With Stylized Wood Grain
The pattern on these painted porcelain tiles is evocative of wood’s end grain pattern. The tile has a dynamic sense of movement and texture thanks to the design’s organic-looking, flowing lines.
David Rockwell, the president and founder of the New York-based Rockwell Group, an architecture and design firm, is the creator of this tile motif.
Classic Black and White Windmill Tiles
One of the most classic tile patterns, the windmill, can be made with triangles of black and white tiles. Because of the traditional design, this tile pattern can give your bathroom a modern look while still feeling historically connected. This tile pattern also works in transitional and traditional-style bathrooms.
Tiles Featuring a Monochromatic Color Palette
The monochromatic, grayscale color scheme of these square tiles adds sophistication and style to any bathroom. These tiles come in a variety of gray tones that span from soft black to off-white. The tiles feature solid, double, and triple color patterns that you can rearrange to create a unique effect that you will not find anywhere else.
Multi-Colored Marble Tiles
Marble flooring adds an opulent yet organic aesthetic to any bathroom design. Marble is incredibly colorful, ranging from reds, pinks, and browns to green, black, white, and yellow. Marble tiles come in a wide range of shapes, but squares and hexagons are the most widely available.
Shaded Geometric Mosaic Tiles
Geometric mosaic patterns are a contemporary take on an ancient art form. You can give a geometric pattern visual depth and dimension by using tiles in contrasting and monochrome colors. This pattern uses small tile squares to create repeating patterns of squares with intersecting broad stripes. You can use this concept to make your own repeating geometric pattern. This is the ideal bathroom tile idea because it allows for creative artistic expression as well as the opportunity to create a stunning focal point that defines the room.
Nature-Inspired Mosaic Tiles
The natural world inspired artist Greg Natale, who collaborated with Bisazza to create two mosaic patterns. Green Malachite, the first design, was inspired by that natural gemstone and mineral. The vibrant green colors, as well as the intricate banding and concentric patterns, are visible, as if displaying a cross-section of the earth.
The second design, Fragment of Gold, resembles deep gold veins running through the earth. Both designs create the illusion of movement in the tiles, giving this static element a dynamic appearance.
Glazed and Painted Terracotta Tiles
Terracotta tiles are made of fireclay and then fired in kilns. Many terracotta tile designers use traditional techniques to give the tiles an organic and traditional feel, even when modern finishes are used.
Some manufacturers, like Cotto Etrusco in Perugia, Italy, use sustainable practices such as solar-powered kilns. They combine these environmentally friendly practices with traditional techniques to produce some of the most beautiful terracotta tiles in a variety of colors and shapes. No two tiles are alike due to the hand-application of the colors, glazes, and stamps.
Painted Ceramic Tiles
Painted ceramic tiles are a growing trend in bathroom design, though these modern designs are based on ancient techniques. Although not all of these tiles are handpainted today, the look evolved as a result of skilled craftsmen handpainting each tile. These tiles come in a variety of designs and colors, allowing you to match the tiles to the style and color scheme of your bathroom.
One group that specializes in hand-painted tiles, Francesco de Maio, creates painted tiles in historic and modern styles.
Fan Tiles
Fan tiles, or fish scale tiles, have a distinctive shape that looks like overlapping fans, fish tiles, or shingles. These tiles are popular for bathroom walls and shower surrounds, and even for decorative accents on floor designs. These fan tile designs were designed by Vidrepur Glass Mosaic of Castellon, Spain. You can create a variety of color effects with fish scale tiles, including monochrome, gradient colors, and contrasting colored tiles.
Mixed Metal Tile Designs
Combining different metal tiles is a subtle yet interesting way to introduce a variety of colors into your tile design. Consider this design from Cino Zucchi. It features mosaics using brass, copper, and stainless steel. The combination of metal colors adds visual texture and complexity to the bathroom, as well as a contemporary, industrial style.
Metal tiles can be used in a variety of applications. Because they have a durable coating, you can even use them in the shower enclosure or other areas that are prone to moisture and splashes.