Types of bathroom tiles

Choose ceramic tile, porcelain tile, or quarry tile, which are all part of the ceramic tile family and are ideal for areas exposed to water. This sounds obvious — of course, you want your shower and bathroom to be waterproof.

Vinyl Floor Tiles

Vinyl is the most popular bathroom flooring material, because of its low cost and practicality. It offers safety, comfort, and ease of maintenance, and is available in a variety of looks. Vinyl tiles are also easy to install; many are self-adhesive and can be cut to size with a utility knife.

Do Set Tiles in a Diagonal Pattern

Here’s another optical illusion that can work in your favor: Tiles set in a diagonal pattern across the floor can help a small bathroom be perceived as larger than its actual size.

Use large plain-coloured floor tiles

It’s a common mistake to use smaller floor tiles in a small bathroom. This actually makes the room look smaller as it creates more dividing lines between the tiles. Choosing a large, plain-coloured tile will give the impression of more floor space and a cleaner, less cluttered look.

The classic design feature is usually between 34 and 54″ high, with 36″ being the average height. A classic offset or straight set pattern in a standard field size tile works best for this wall height. For a truly classic look, finish the top with a decorative trim or a bullnosed edge.

A small bathroom can actually benefit from a large tile. Using smaller tiles, such as mosaics, will give you lots of grout lines, which can give the bathroom walls a grid-like appearance that can promote the feeling of being boxed in – making your bathroom feel smaller still.

“Oftentimes I like to paint small bathrooms [typically windowless rooms] a dark color, like black. It gives depth and creates an illusion of a larger space,” says Jenny Wolf of Jenny Wolf Interiors. “Go with a high-gloss in a super dark color,” advises Fleming James of Oliver Street Designs.

Floor tiles and wall tiles can match, but certainly do not have to. Most importantly, floor and wall tiles should create a cohesive look by either combining monochromatic colors, coordinating patterns with colors, or pairing complementary solid colors together for an aesthetically pleasing result.

Tiling illusion

To create the illusion of a larger floor space, plain-coloured floor tiles are the ideal solution. It’s commonly thought that small tiles in a small bathroom work best to make the space appear larger, however, the numerous grouting lines can, in fact, make the space seem much smaller.