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Design Basics with DKOR: Bathroom Tile Trends and Tips

If you have followed this bathroom blog series, you are ready to select your bathroom materials. In our previous posts, we reviewed a few current bathroom design trends that we see currently. But the one material that everyone thinks about when “talking bathroom” is tile! So let’s talk about bathroom tile trends!

Bathroom tiles come in all sizes, shapes, colors and of course… price. Make sure you shop around and compare pricing when choosing bathroom tiles. It is worth the time, believe us! A few local bathroom tile stores we like to take our clients to are Prosein, Porcelanosa, Italgres, Ann Sacks, D&B Tile and Bedrosians. They have plenty of bathroom tiles options, but most importantly they have great customer service!

First, let’s explore the current bathroom tile trends and then we’ll go into technical element related to bathroom tiles:

 

Bathroom Tile Trends

#1 The Wood Look

 

Bathroom design by DKOR Interiors - Wood Look Tile
Lago-a-Lago Palm Beach Contemporary – Bathroom Design

 

Tile that looks like wood has been SO popular in the last years. What is new, is the playful way we see it installed. Manufacturers also have more wood look tile choices when it comes to sizes, shapes and wood tones.

 

Trend #2 | Miniature Mosaics

 

Bathroom Tile Trends - Miniature Mosaics
Bathroom designs by DKOR Interiors

 

Ancient civilizations already used mosaics to adorn not only their bathrooms but also common areas. This bathroom tile trend has evolved through time and companies like Bisazza or Sicis have popularized glass mosaics during the last decade. But what is exciting today, are the new matte mosaics. Mosaic bathroom tiles come in fun shapes and manufacturers often showcase contrasting grout tones to add drama!

 

Trend #3 | The Larger, The Better

 

Bathroom Tile Trends 2018
Image Source

 

Grout lines can sometimes be a frustration for us interior designers. But with this new bathroom tile trend, you can say goodbye to most of your grout lines! Porcelain slabs are the new way of introducing a stone slab look to your bathroom. The prints have become better every year, and more than once a collection will include several prints so that it truly looks like a natural stone.

 

Trend #4 | Patterned Bathroom Floor Tiles

 

ANNSACKS Collection - Tile Trends
Liaison by Kelly Wearstler – ANN SACKS Collection

 

All types of fun patterns have been introduced into bathroom tile designs by manufacturers this year. We’ve seen some bold geometric patterns in mosaic tiles. But also cement tiles with a touch of that traditional Spanish tile pattern have been more and more popular. Imagine any of these on the floor of your bathroom as the main accent tile and a simple white tile on all walls: you have yourself a beautiful design feature. Just type “cement tile modern bathroom” on Pinterest and you’ll find endless inspiration!

After sharing with you the latest bathroom tile trends we see out there lately, let’s talk about a few quick technical aspects of bathroom tiles. We want to try and help you avoid mishaps or costly mistakes, if we can!

 

Tile Tips

#1 | Check the Specs

It is important to check your tile specs before purchasing. Make sure the manufacturer says you can use it in bathrooms. One of the typical mistakes is to think all tiles can be used on walls and floors interchangeably. Bathroom tiles you can use on floors will have a little bit of texture to avoid being hazards when wet! Also, using smaller mosaic tiles are often a good choice for floors. Having a lot of grout line creates grip.

 

Tile Tip #2 | Installation Details

 

Bathroom tile installation tips
Image Source

Review with your tile installer the tile layout you want for each wall and floor. Otherwise, you might end up with a grout line right where you don’t want it! Also check with him the junction between tile at corners (wall corner, but also shower niches and benches corners!). We always try to have mitered corners when two tile surfaces meet at a corner. This detail can be costly, as it means more labor for your installer. A nice alternative is to use a Schluter (also called trim) piece. It will hide the side of tiles you don’t want to have exposed.

 

Tile Tip #3 | Choosing Grout

 

Installation Tips - grout selection
(image from Fireclay Tile’s blog post on grout, where they discuss the different grout materials out there)

Speak with your tile installer and ask him what are your grout options. We recommend trying to stay away from white grout when you can… It will always eventually turn grey! And having a darker grout than your tile, in some cases, can make for a great design feature too. When looking at the color palette for grouts, we always choose a darker color either way. In our experience as residential interior designers, the grout will always look a little lighter than what is shown in the palette.

And that’s a wrap! We hope the bathroom tile trends and tips we shared with you in this post will inspire you to create your dream bathroom. Don’t forget to read, if you missed them, the other posts part of our bathroom design series where you can learn about the key elements of bathroom design and/or bathroom basic dimensions.

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