20 Bathroom Tiles Ideas to Color-up Your Refreshing Activities

As a place to refresh your body, the bathroom should be a place that reflects the energy recharge and your personality.

Among all of the materials in the bathroom usually available, tiles are always a versatile and decisive material to match your personality or your sense of style. Thus, getting inspiring bathroom tiles ideas are really required.

No matter how big or small, how quaint or modern your taste is, designing tiles is an important point on how you reflect yourself in the bathroom.

Maybe you’re going to be a bit confused on which bathroom tiles ideas style to choose since there are thousands of ways. In here, we compile 20 ideas that we hope one (or some of them) can fit your styles and sparks inspiration on you!

1. Let the Lights Going in

If you just got a bathroom with dark color and a bit small window, but you wish to freshen it up, try to use the white tiles. The white color of the tiles with the glossy material can bring your bathroom brighter despite the relatively small window available because the color and the material is simply fit to reflect the natural light.

You can just go with the old-but-gold white subway tiles with black grout for your walls. We recommend using all the wall space available with tiling to boost up the light. If you afraid to be too much glare, you can make the tiles into wainscoting with the brightly painted wall for the half top. But remember, try to keep the shower area fully tiled.

Aside from the white subway tiles for the wall, you can use hexagonal tiles to enhance your floor appearance and unite with your bathroom’s color scheme. The basic concept for an impressive look!

2. Shady Bathroom Tiles Ideas

If you feel bored with the single tile color, try to bring impressive shade into the bathroom. This will give the lively feeling of the bathroom since there is a various shade of color that will also play with shading in the bathroom, creating a room with the unlimited experiences of color is definitely possible!

There are two colors of shade we can recommend for you to try if you use the small tiles for your bathroom: green or blue.

• Green can be varied from the darker shade color such as Forest Green to Lime Green for the lighter shade. You can combine it with a bit of Fern or Olive Green to give some light brown accent.
• For the blue color, we recommend using Sapphire Blue as the dark shade and Steel Blue for the brighter palette. Use a bit grey and green accent from the Turkish Blue.

3. How to Do with Mosaic

Try to bring the contemporary element into the list of your bathroom tiles ideas by applying the mosaic pattern to the wall. Here are our recommendations for applying the tiles:

• You can install random mosaic pattern to make certain areas in your bathroom more stood out. This installment mainly goes to the wet areas.
• Another way is to make your mosaic graded. For example, apply lighter shades of blue on the top wall then slowly apply the darker shades on the area closer to the floor. You can also give a splash of light brown on it.

The play of color of mosaic tiles must be well considered. If you’re going with dark shade for the mosaic, you can apply the bright and less playful color such as white or light grey.

4. Wainscoting for Your Bathroom Tiles Ideas

Want some classic flair in your bathroom yet don’t want it to be too quaint? Or do you have this old classic bathroom layout and wish to remodel it? You can mix it up with a contemporary flair! By combining these two styles, your bathroom will be amazing with this unique style.

Using wainscoting can be the answer for inserting the classic flair to your bathroom. But on this more contemporary style, create the wainscoting by applying the white-grouted white subway tiles on the half of the wall on the dry area and give the wainscoting cap on the top of the tiles.

Another thing you can do is creating “border” by applying the mosaic tiles on your fully-tiled wet area as if to continue the wainscoting border. Apply the same shades for your upper half wall and mosaic tiles. For another classical flair, apply small hexagonal tiles for the flooring.

5. Sweet Honeycomb Tiles

Recent trend shows the rising of the geometric shape of hexagonal or we can call it as honeycomb. It shows the timelessness (since it also used on the classic theme) and can be fitted in almost every room in your house, mainly in bathroom or kitchen. Honeycomb shape was popular due to its durability and its water-resistant material.

In recent bathroom décor styles, this shape usually comes with the rigid shape of tiles, or with darker color shade to mix it with neutral-colored tiles in the room to show the character and identity. For example, apply the beige or white colored tile for your dry areas and apply dark grey honeycomb for your wet areas wall and flooring.

This particular shape of tiles comes in various sizes. If you would like to install the mosaic honeycomb, you should hire a professional to do it since it’s a meticulous job to do.

6. Playing with Materials

To show the main feature of the bathroom, or to just separate the dry area and the wet area, you can use a different material with distinct texture. You can play with the material’s surface to differentiate which one’s for vanity and which one is for showering. You can play the textures by combining the large with small or smooth with the hard surface.

Since the wet area needs to be not slippery, you can apply materials with rough surfaces to increase friction. On the wet area, we recommend installing mosaic tiles (or tiles with a pattern, if you’re on a budget) on the wall and the floor. For a rougher surface, you can use the stone tile for the wall as well as the floor.

7. Something More Shiny and Elegant: Copper!

Looking for brown shades but feels it’s too dark and it would be too dull? Give a bit of shine to those brown by adding copper to your bathroom tiles ideas!

Applying copper colored tiles for your bathroom can give you some modern twist with a bit of glamour. You can combine it with another material to create beautiful yet dramatic effects!

Additionally, copper-colored tiles usually come in small items such as small mosaic tiles. You can apply this tiles to the floor, or on some vertical accent on the wall to mark out different areas in the bathroom.

For your information, this copper material is also available, mostly online, in the form of sheets, which can be cut and shaped into anything as decorative art for your bathroom. Which also means: unlimited possibilities! Check this out: Master bathroom ideas to make your master bedroom more elegant.

8. From Spain with Love

Want to insert some Spanish Mediterranean feeling into your bathroom? Try this Spanish Colonial style. This style is roughly a mix of Spanish Baroque and Moorish Revival. That’s why this particular style has some similarities with Tuscan or Moroccan style.

Classical Spanish style used to go with brown shade. But in this mix, you can give some splash of bright colors, such as blue or peach.

On the dry area, tile installment in this style is usually in half bottom of the bathroom wall and the top tile comes with subway tile size with hand-painted finishing.

For the wet area, you can use the tile all over the wall and continue the subway tile border from dry area. While the top half, you can have a different pattern, such as the square tile that placed diagonally with white grouting.  The last, use Moorish star-and-cross or hexagonal peach tile for the flooring.

9. Beach for Your Bathroom Tiles Ideas

If you wish to totally remodel your bathroom tiles into a fully beach-themed bathroom, you got your answer here! With the right color scheme and tiles, you can upgrade your relaxing and refreshing activities.

• If you’re on a budget, you can simply apply medium tiles with the shades of sandy brown for the flooring. For the wall, you can apply light blue, azure, and teal gradation play. For the dry area, apply only half of it and make the glass conch blue tile as the border. Install for the whole wall in the wet area.
• For total ambiance, apply smaller tiles and create a mosaic allover for floor and wall as well, to create a gradation of sand-sea-sky on your bathroom. Start with sand brown shades for floor and third bottom part of the wall, then continue with light blue to azure and a bit of indigo for the remaining wall space.

10. Vintage Palette for Your Bathroom Tiles Ideas

If you wish to remodel your 1940s style and want to return its glory, then this recommendation will fit for you. Houses from that era maybe required some revamp or even total remodel by using newer material that has the mid-century modern characteristic.

A single beige palette for your wall tiles would be the best choice. The palette fit for your wall tiles can be varied, such as pastel, or even white! Give some contrast color such as the darker shade of your choice or just go simply black.

For the shape, you can apply 4×4 size or goes with subway tiles if you choose to go with white. Apply half of your room with the tile and create black bullnose border on the top and black base tiles as well and let the usual to be finished with pastel paint. Apply all over tiles for the wet area and small hexagonal tiles for flooring.

11. Marble or Porcelain?

To achieve the white color environment and show the ambiance of elegance, luxury, softness, uniformity, and classic, marble tends to be more suitable material to bring those effects.

It’s soft characteristic make marbles easier to shape. But due to its softness as well, it’s very absorbent and has a high risk of rusting.

Marble needs high maintenance, which requires adequate sealing and regular cleaning. Since it’s very absorbent, try to avoid the installment in the wet area, such as shower. The other great choice is to complement it with good quality porcelain (mostly for the wet area).

You can apply half-and-half for dry area’s material and full porcelain for your wet area. The whiteness of marbles can be balanced with a bit of contrast from dark grey porcelain.

12. Contrast and Geometric Bathroom Tiles Ideas

Bring some geometric style into your bathroom by installing cubic tiles on the wall. Recently this particular cubical shape became more popular and they can be mixed with another shape.

Colors that they usually bring is rather a bit contrasting on each side of the cube. This will create the 3D effect on the tile. For example, the most simple color palette on this cube is white to black with grey on one of the side.

These geometric cube tiles are available as fabricated or handmade, depends on your needs. For further shapes to be mixed, you can match horizontal cubic pattern with hexagonal shaped tile to mark out some areas such as showering area.

For flooring, you can continue the cubic tile pattern, or just go with hexagonal one to end the continuity but keeping the characteristic. Or, go to bathroom wall decor to find out more about the creative bathroom decoration that fits your character!

13. Vertical Stripes Ideas

If you have a low ceiling problem for your bathroom, you should try this bathroom tiles ideas. This style will freshen up the bathroom with its soft and cool color and make the bathroom looks taller. It also shows the uniqueness, modernity, and unified look.

Any shades of color will work, but we recommend you to choose the more natural shades, such as green, blue, or brown. For example, use two or three green shade vertical tiles to keep the simplicity. Add white and black tiles to the contrasting tiles.

Tile pattern should be continuous and uniform. For example, you can arrange three tiles of lime green and then one tile of moss green, then another lime green tiles, and so on. And between them, add two white tiles with one thin black tile in the middle.

14. Mountainous Adventure of Bathroom Tiles Ideas

We say mountainous because of it’s one of the main ideas of delivering rustic style as the bathroom tiles ideas. This styles can bring the ambiance of natural, adventurous, and outdoor environment feeling.

In the bathroom, the main attention for this style is the tiles. Tiles for this particular style it should be gone with rough textures that come from wood or stones.

For the cheap options, you can purchase regular tiles with the look of real woods or stones. Apply the wood-like tiles (which should be shaped like a wood plank) for the flooring and stone-brick-like tiles for shower or half of your dry area.

For the “real” experience, install outdoor stone tile for your shower area to stand out the texture, also install pebble tile for the flooring. For dry area wall, you can use wood plank tile on half of it. Use stone tile for flooring.

15. Try the Herringbone!

If you feel all of those bathroom tiles ideas are too geometric and rigid, then try this shape. Herringbone consists of two rectangular tiles touching ends in a “V” formation. Repeat it again and again, it will create a zigzag pattern. It’s recently popular in America, but now starting to spread across the globe.

Herringbone is versatile and can be used as the wall, or just install it for your flooring purposes.

For the color palette, herringbone pattern usually comes with the single color tone with different finishing on grouting. But there is also some arrangement that makes the tile amazing such as various shades of tiles and creates a mosaic pattern or matte and glossy tile arrangement.

Textures also can take a role in this style. By using rough surface tiles, you also can create a contemporary rustic arrangement.

16. Mixing and Matching Tiles

Spice up your bathroom with these patchwork bathroom tiles ideas, which is now trending! This particular style is unlimited.

You can mix and match any blends of colors and motifs you want and there is no limit for you to be creative. With great planning and design, your bathroom will be lively and expressive.

Here are our recommendations for designing one:

• You can simply purchase the patchworks and retile your bathroom to be an exciting splash of color to your room. A lot of online seller offering this product so the choice for you is unlimited!
• Do you feel retiling is too expensive and messy? Try to make it yourself! Paint your existing tile using the tile stamps that fit your existing tile. There are a lot of tile-stamps that you can choose. It may result a bit monochromatic but it sure will liven up your bathroom.

17. Something Reflecting

This may look unconventional, but it’s not wrong if you try to use this particular material: mirror tiles. Of course, this tile will be perfect for walls, rather than floors. This particular tiles will be more helpful in a small bathroom since the tiles will create an illusion of a larger room.

There are a lot of options on how would you like your mirror tile to be. Either you want a full reflection, or you want it to be more opaque. Also, not only the usual rectangular tile but also there are some customized mirror tile you can use to suit your taste!

18. “Expand” Your Space!

Don’t worry if you got a small bathroom! Here are some tips for choosing the right tiles for your small space to make it relaxing and looks spacious!

• Make your floor with the diagonal pattern to create an illusion that your bathroom looks bigger, but take some attention to installing it since it will be difficult to shape it that way.
• Use large tiles (either wall or floor), which usually comes to fewer grout lines, so it won’t create an impression of a cramped bathroom.
• Use vertical tiles to make an impression of the taller bathroom.
• Choose porcelain tiles for the tile material, as they have the low absorption rate.
• In general, try to keep the same tone for your bathroom wall, floor, and furniture to create continuity.

Asking more solutions to your tiny bathroom? Here are small bathroom ideas that will totally inspire you so much!

19. Where Atlantic Sea and Cadiz Bay Meets

Greetings from Portugal! This particular style, Azulejos, are distinctively beautiful with its color blue-white color and its decorative usage widely in Portugal. Try this out in your bathroom and it will enhance the classical ambiance.

Installment of azulejos are various, either you can use it as half of your wall’s pattern, or if you wish to have a larger artwork from the tiles as the decorative of your full wall. It is great for your flooring as well!

Azulejos usually come in hand-painted products, so it may a bit expensive. But the flair of antiquity you got by this traditional tiles would be totally worth it! Alternatively, you also can purchase some tile stamps and give the dark blue color to imitate original design.

20. Masculinity and its Texture

The flair of masculinity usually comes with the dark color and more “honest” material. If we’re talking about bathroom tiles, here are our recommendation for it:

• Don’t let the wall becomes only consisted of exposed concrete. Try to be more adventurous with the great choice of tiles. Try to use black cubic or hexagonal with rough textures and different shades. It will make your bathroom less dull, yet not too crowded.
• Choose a matte black granite tile for the flooring. Along with the wall pattern we’ve already mentioned, large floor with general grouting will be a perfect match
• In general, try to bring more woody elements to spark the color a bit.

From dark and masculine to white and transparent, from usual rectangle to hexagonal, from expensive marble to cheaper porcelain, those are our suggestions of bathroom tiles ideas on how to create your bathroom more meaningful by creating beautiful and amazing tiles.

This should be a great starting point for you to design what type of bathroom you want, and what kind of tiles you want to have, in order to create a pleasing refreshing experience for you.

Either you want to strictly follow our suggestions, or mix it up, the very end decision of designing your dream bathroom is all yours!

Have a great day and stay creative!