How to Choose Designer Tiles for Bathrooms?
Who doesn’t want a bathroom which makes you feel elated and rejuvenated? Bathrooms nowadays are expected to provide much more than just sanitation facilities. Bathrooms need to be a place for relaxing and spending some time. That means the place must have the best interior for the look, feel and usage.
Tiles make it easier to create a bathroom with all the qualities, and bathroom tile designs add features of aesthetics.
Bathroom Tile Designs
You can use several popular materials, designs, and patterns for your bathroom floor and walls. A variety of ceramic tiles also present a sizable portfolio of choices. However, the best tile option is a mix of various factors and your budget.
For instance, if your budget allows, you can put Italian marble on your bathroom floor and walls. It looks great and gives a luxurious feel to your bath. But, when you realise the level of maintenance and other issues with such a material, you will want an alternative.
So, what factors help you narrow down your choices for bathroom tiles? Here’s a list:
Decide on a Style
Even before you start looking for tiles, you must decide what style of bathroom you want. You can find bathroom tiles in every colour, design, pattern, and finish. So, just start by imagining what your bathroom should look like. You can go with one of these styles:
Neutral Bathrooms: Neutral bathrooms feature minimal designs and sober looks. Plain tiles in black, white, grey, or other neutral colours are a good choice to achieve such a bathroom look.
Geometric Bathrooms: These bathrooms are designed using printed tiles with geometric patterns. Geometric bathrooms look unique, modern, and very attractive.
Decorative Bathrooms: Decorative-style bathrooms are where you can experiment with colours and designs. For such a look, you can choose bright colours with cheerful designs.
Natural Bathrooms: Natural bathrooms are in trend nowadays. Tiles with wooden or natural stone finish can be used to give a natural look to your bathroom.
Right Material
Ceramic (non-vitrified) and glazed vitrified tiles are the most popular materials when it comes to bathroom tiles. Ceramic and vitrified tiles are a cost-effective alternative to natural materials and offer better durability and safety features. However, several factors make vitrified tiles more advantageous. Along with providing a sleek modern look to your bathroom, vitrified tiles have several other benefits as listed below:
Less water absorption
Resistant to bacteria and germs
Easy to clean and maintain
Available in a variety of colours and designs
For example, H&R Johnson’s Marbonite series tiles consist of double-charged vitrified tiles. These tiles have a tough glaze on the top surface and offer an alternative to Italian marble. The double-charged tiles are a perfect replica of natural marble with several unique variations. You can also select designs with a randomness feature where two tiles will never have the same pattern.
Select a Suitable Size
You can find bathroom tiles in large as well as small sizes. You may want to minimise the grout lines in your bathroom floor to avoid moisture seeping through the floor. However, that does not mean you can install large-format tiles in all bathrooms.
The bathroom tile size for the floor must help you strike a balance between the following:
Grout lines
The slope of the floor Pattern or design
The most popular size for bathroom floor tiles is 30x30cm in India. This size is suitable for most medium and small bathrooms. However, you can go for smaller and larger tiles based on the tiling expert’s skills and the bathroom’s design requirements.
Large-size tiles have the advantage of designs over smaller tiles. Larger tiles offer more design options like marble, wood, granite, and other unique patterns.
Rectified Bathroom Tiles Design
You can also consider rectified tiles for the bathroom floor. Rectified tiles are ceramic or vitrified tiles that are precisely cut to size. This allows the tiles to have error-free edges and minimise the gap between the tiles during installation.
You can have the grout lines as sleek as 1/8” wide compared to 1/3 to 1/2” wide grout lines for other tiles.
Bathroom Wall Tile Size
For bathroom walls, you can opt for larger tiles. However, they should also consider the wall area. You should try to have a tile size that minimises the cutting of tiles. For example, if you have a 300x250cm wall, 30x25cm wall tiles will do better and minimise wastage.
You can also install larger tiles on the walls as bathroom walls do not have the constraint of sloping.
The Right Colour and Finish
The colour of your bathroom tiles is a defining feature of the tile design and of the bathroom as well. Consider wood-look alike flooring for a natural and soothing appearance for your bathroom. You can add both white and black colour wall tiles with wooden flooring in your bathroom.
It is okay to choose multiple tiles and combine them to give a particular style to your bathroom. But you should never mix more than three different types of tile designs.
Bathroom Floor Tile Finish
Tile surface finish is a critical factor to consider for bathroom flooring. The bathroom floor is prone to water and soap slush, which makes it slippery and unsafe for users. This is why you need matt or sugar finish tiles for the floor.
Bathroom Wall Tile Finish
Bathroom wall tiles do not suffer the constraints of the floor tiles. So, you can use high-gloss or polished tiles on the walls. Choose a finish based on your bathroom style preference. For example, tiles in a glossy finish are best for hotel-style bathrooms, whereas, for a natural style, you should choose matte finish tiles.
Consider Hygiene & Maintenance
Bathrooms and hygiene must walk hand in hand for modern homes and commercial spaces. A few bathroom tile designs can help you maintain superior hygiene in this place. Germ-free ceramic tiles can help you achieve better hygiene. These tiles are equipped with a unique glaze that resists the formation of mould and bacteria.
Germ-free tiles will help you maintain a healthy and odour-free bathroom and minimise the use of sanitising chemicals. Ceramic and vitrified tiles rank higher in this factor as germ-free quality is often difficult to achieve with natural materials.
Also, maintaining ceramic and vitrified tiles is easier due to high surface durability and low porosity. Low porosity makes ceramic and vitrified tiles impervious to stains and water damage. So, you can simply wipe the tiles clean to remove any stains.
You should use mild chemicals like vinegar and baking soda mix to remove tough and water stains from the tile’s surface.
Bathroom Tile Designs for Elegance & Safety
With the right approach, you can select the perfect bathroom tile designs to make the place safe, hygienic, and elegant. Also, pay attention to the installation of the tiles and use only recommended adhesive and grout for the tiles.
Most Indian bathrooms are prone to water spillage. That is why you need grouting that can withstand water and bathroom chemicals. Epoxy grout is considered the best option as it is impervious to water and moisture damage. Epoxy grout can also handle chemical exposure better than other grout options, though it can be more expensive.