How to decorate a bathroom with ceramic tiles? We have brought together fresh ideas and proven classics.
The best material for decorating walls and floors in the bathroom is ceramic tiles. In terms of its consumer qualities, it bypasses all other materials. It is versatile, environmentally friendly, durable, and strong. A large selection of shapes and colors provides an opportunity to create a unique image that will fit into the design of any apartment. We will tell you how to choose the right tile for the bathroom and show photos of successful interiors.
Options for choosing a good bathroom tile
Standard specifications include strength, thickness, water resistance, wear resistance, and light resistance. They are decisive and affect the cost.
Before making a choice, consider:
- The area of the bathroom – in a small one it is more economical to take ceramics of small sizes since large formats give an increased percentage of waste when cutting.
- The location of plumbing items – the laying scheme depends on this.
- Design elements – sometimes unusual decor items (for example, stylish lamps ) can set the key idea for the entire design.
Distinguish floor and wall plates. Manufacturers make it easier for customers to choose by releasing a bathroom set that includes both types, made in the same style and color palette. But most often, for each repair, an individual combination of materials is selected separately.
Wall-mounted is indicated on the package with a palm icon. As a rule, it is thinner than the floor, so it is categorically not recommended to lay it on the floor. The floor is stronger due to its thickness and has a non-slip surface. It is indicated on the packaging with a footprint icon.
The surface of the finishing material is glossy or matte. Glossy is covered with glaze, so splashes of water, drying, leave noticeable marks on it, but it is easier to wash. On a matte, due to the porous, non-shiny surface, dirt is not so visible, but it is much more difficult to wash them.
When choosing a tile, you need to know that, depending on the raw material, it differs by type.
- Ceramics is a mixture of clay, sand, and quartz. It has good strength, and a variety of shades makes it the most popular finishing material.
- Clinker is a mixture of clay and mineral oxides. Differs in the increased durability and waterproofing. In appearance, it repeats the outlines of a brick, the color scheme is also represented by brick shades.
- Porcelain tile is a hit in recent years. Consists of clay, kaolin, and sand. Contrary to the name, it does not contain granite, but it is similar in all characteristics. Has the lowest percentage of water absorption, resistant to abrasion. In addition to standard colors, there are options that imitate wood, natural stone, and sandstone.
All varieties are both glossy and matte.
Size
Thanks to a large number of manufacturers and a huge range of their products, ceramic finishes of almost any size can be found on sale. To simplify the search, you can select groups that claim the title of standards.
Small squares
Their parameters are 60, 90, and 120 mm. Thickness 7 – 10 mm. Used for both floor and wall decoration. The bathroom finished with their help, looks elegant.
Medium and large squares
Their parameters are 180, 200, 240, 300, 400, and 600 mm. The larger the square, the thicker. This ensures fracture toughness. The thickness of these models ranges from 10 to 15 mm.
Narrow little rectangles
With their help, a brickwork pattern can be achieved. For walls, a glazed shiny variety is chosen, and for the floor – a rough, reminiscent of real brick. Another popular pattern is herringbone.
Large rectangles
Their size starts from 200×800 mm and above. Such ceramics are laid on a special seamless technology, edge to edge. Thanks to this, the surface looks monolithic.
Brilliant gloss reflects color, so even dark colors look noble.
When choosing a size, they are guided by the area of the room. Large tiles are better to take for spacious rooms. There you can most fully appreciate its format. In this case, you need to remember about the big weight. For floor models, this is not critical, but for wall models, it is of great importance. For them, you need to choose an adhesive with enhanced adhesive characteristics, which will provide a tighter grip on the surface.
What size tiles to choose for a small bathroom depends on the taste preferences of the owners. In small bathrooms, ceramics of small sizes will harmoniously look.
You can combine them – make the main drawing using an average model and dilute it with inserts from small fragments.
A mosaic would be appropriate here. A variant of its use is to decorate part of the main panel and lay out the side parts in larger squares. The main thing is that the tile is combined in color and style.
How to choose the shape of bathroom tiles
Square
A time-tested classic. It can be laid out in a checkerboard pattern, turned at an angle, and made into a pattern of rhombuses.
Patchwork squares and oriental ornament look beautiful.
Rectangle
The most common variety. Thanks to different laying methods, the rectangle can visually change the geometry of the room. Vertically positioned tiles raise the ceiling, while horizontal tiles expand the space, which is important for small bathrooms.
Hexagons
Enjoy the special love of designers. Reminiscent of a honeycomb, they smooth out the sharp rectangular lines of the room, create coziness and give the interior originality. The hexagon adorns not only the floor but also the walls. The unusual shape gives a wide scope for creativity. The pattern laid out in the middle of the wall looks stylish.
In addition to these varieties, models of unusual silhouettes began to appear: rhombuses, ovals, and circles in a set with elements that fill empty gaps. For wall covering, you can choose convex options.
Which tile is best for the bathroom: choose a design
There is such a variety of textures and shades in the building materials market that it becomes a problem to choose one type. To systematize, it is customary to divide them by type of design.
Mosaic
The most interesting in terms of design possibilities. It can lay out a specific pattern. And if you choose the right neighboring shades, you can achieve a rich deep color finish.
Patchwork
Suitable for decorating wall panels and floors. Most often it has a square shape and a non-repeating color pattern of a common theme. It is not recommended to completely finish all surfaces with a patchwork – it will look too colorful. It is better to make an accent wall. But laid out on the floor, it creates the feeling of a cozy patchwork carpet.
Monocolor
The tile has an evenly painted surface without transitions. Despite the simplicity, with the help of such squares, you can lay out a juicy pattern by choosing contrasting shades. Or find suitable colors and make a gradient out of them.
It is important to choose models that are the same in shape and size.
Nature theme
This includes drawings in the form of flowers, leaves, and tree branches. The accent wall, decorated with a floral pattern, looks original. For greater effect, choose a convex relief pattern.
The nautical theme suits the bathroom better than others. Appropriate drawings will help create the right mood, as well as the entire color palette from pale blue to turquoise.
Stone texture
The stone finish looks natural, it almost does not differ from the original. Imitation of marble, granite, travertine, and onyx is especially popular. This finish goes well with imitation wood.
Wood texture
The bathroom, finished in wood, looks luxurious. Manufacturers produce models that imitate not only the shade and pattern but also the structure of wood. There are options that repeat both the longitudinal and transverse sections. It is good to combine such models with warm floors, then the visual effect will be complemented by a tactile one.
Brickwork
The classic look of a brick wall is relevant at all times. This design is versatile. It suits different styles due to its simplicity, rigor, and variety of color schemes. The sizes of bricks vary – from small ones for small bathrooms to large canvases for spacious rooms.
3D tiles
A great way to decorate a room, as well as the ability to visually enlarge the space. Large images are best chosen for large rooms because they visually reduce the room. In small ones, pictures with a perspective going into the distance will look good.
From hexagons, you can add a three-dimensional pattern.
Among the voluminous static drawings, unusual models appeared: colored gel ones with a shade that changes when pressed.
This option is suitable for decorating the floor and horizontal surfaces.
A tile with a phosphor accumulates a charge of light and then gives it back in the dark. It will look great on the walls and on the floor.
How to choose bathroom and toilet tiles: combination rules
It happens that the material is good, but in a particular interior, in combination with other types of finishes, it looks ugly. In order for the result of the repair to meet the expectations and the investment, it is better to think over in advance about how to combine colors.
- Smooth transitions. Here you can choose several shades of the same color. They flow from one to another or are delimited by a border. In this case, the dark shade should be at the bottom. The floor covering repeats it or is slightly different.
- Contrast. Here they take colors that look good together. Classic pairs: black-red, white-black, red-gold, blue-white, sand-brown. With this method, it is good to zone the room.
A variety of models allows you to create an original, different interior. Applying proven schemes and supplementing them with your own ideas, you can make your dream bathroom a reality.
The most important thing about our X that it is for
those who are in a hurry
