The area of design that is likely to have the most significant influence on the overall appearance of your bathroom is the selection of ceramic tiles in the appropriate size, such as 5×7 inches. Not to mention the fact that such ceramic tiles are sold at prices that are affordable.
It’s important to know how your bathroom is laid out and how choosing the right tile size will help you create the feel you want.
The size of the bathroom tile you choose to use is directly related to the amount of available space in the bathroom as well as the area of the bathroom that will be tiled. Even in compact bathrooms, expansive designs can be made with the help of large-format tiles, while small mosaic tiles are an excellent choice for showers and backsplashes.
In this piece, I’ll guide you through the process of determining precisely what size tiles will work best in the main area of your bathroom, as well as in the walk-in shower and the space around your tub.
What Kind and Size of Tile Should You Use in Your Bathroom?
The size and layout of your bathroom will affect the size of the tile you should choose, but maybe not in the way you anticipate.
In the past, interior designers advocated the use of smaller tiles in bathrooms with a smaller footprint; however, this practice is no longer supported by the design community as a desirable ideal.
Bigger format tiles are becoming ever more popular, and as a result, producers are making tiles that are far larger than they have ever been before. However, this does not always imply that bigger tiles are optimal for every circumstance or every part of the bathroom.
Large-format tiles are anything larger than the usual 12×12 inch (30 cm x 30 cm) tile. These tiles are available in dimensions as big as 24 by 24 inches (60 centimeters by 60 centimeters) and 48 by 48 inches (120cm x 120cm).
12 inches by 12 inches is the normal size for medium tiles (30 cm x 30 cm).
The smallest tiles can be as small as 1 inch by 1 inch (3 cm x 3 cm).
When utilized appropriately, all these tile sizes may help you construct the bathroom of your dreams.
How to Select Tile for Your Bathroom
Be careful to have a clear vision and aim for your bathroom before picking your tiles.
You will need to have a clear idea of the appearance and feel you want to accomplish, as well as the aspects of your bathroom that you want to shape or emphasize, before you can choose the appropriate tiles to actualize these objectives.
A Guide to the Planning Stages of Your Bathroom Tiling Project
After you have formed an idea of the tiles that you may prefer, it is important to be certain about your decision.
When you are planning, it is helpful to consider how the tiles will fit in the area you have available and how the placement of the bathroom fixtures will affect the arrangement.
The best course of action is to get some tile samples and then use them to decorate your bathroom. However, if you are unable to get sample tiles, you may determine how the tile size will function in the area by using paper that has been cut to the same dimensions as the tiles.
You may also sketch out your tile design using the correct scaled dimensions to ensure that the size you choose will provide the desired results.
The main part of the bathroom, the space around the bathtub, and the walk-in shower are going to be treated as three independent regions for the remainder of this piece. Why? Because the instructions for each of these areas of your bathroom are different from one another.
What Kind of Tile Should I Use for My Tiny Bathroom?
For the sake of this discussion, a tiny bathroom is one that is smaller than 45 square feet (4.18 square meters) in size.
Implementing a design that gives the impression that the area is larger should most likely be your primary objective. Getting this done successfully may be facilitated by using tiles of the appropriate size.
In the past, interior designers advocated the use of smaller tiles to fit into a smaller area. Nowadays, however, the consensus is that bigger tiles and fewer grout lines are more effective in expanding the appearance of space in smaller spaces.
Your eye is more effectively steered to the room’s farthest points when fewer lines break up the space, which produces the appearance of depth and a more wide area.
On the floor, use tiles with a large format.
The use of bigger tiles on the floor gives the illusion that we are gazing at a more expansive room than we really are.
However, there is a limit to how huge of a tile you should choose for a place that is already limited in size.
If you pick tiles that are too large for the space and your installer ends up having to trim several of the tiles to fit into the room measurements and fit around your fixtures, you will undermine the attempt to make your tiny bathroom seem larger than it really is.
To achieve a visually appealing overall look in a bathroom with limited space, you must use a significant number of tiles with a large format. This will seem strange and throw off the balance of the room, for example, if your tiles are so enormous that you can only fit two of them in the space, this will seem strange and throw off the balance of the room.
A level, even surface is required for the installation of large-format tiles as well. Because of this, you may want to check with a contractor to ensure that your bathroom’s floor and walls are level enough to accommodate the installation of these tiles.
On the bathroom wall, you should use either medium or large tiles.
Consider tiling the whole space, from floor to ceiling, especially if you are using tiles of a light or neutral color. This might make a tiny bathroom seem larger than it really is.
The Challenge of Using Small Tiles in a Restroom That Is Limited in Space
When you tile the floors and walls of your tiny bathroom with little tiles, you will be drawing the space inward, which will make what was already a confined space seem much more claustrophobic.
Because our eyes see the many little tiles and grouting lines as being active, our brains understand that the object they are observing is comprehensive. Because we equate “full” with a lack of space, we perceive a bathroom that is covered with little tiles to be cramped, even if that may not really be the case.
Tiles that are too small and have an excessive amount of grout lines disrupt the visual flow of a room, which may make the space seem congested and cause a sense of being hemmed in.
When tiling the shower floor of a little bathroom shower, go for smaller tiles.
The shower floor should be tiled with little tiles measuring one inch by one inch (or three centimeters by three centimeters), and this recommendation holds true regardless of the size of the bathroom in question. This provides the installer with assistance in establishing a gradient that will direct water toward the shower drain. When the tiles are smaller, there is more grout between them, which creates a better basis for grip.
You should consider tiling the shower walls with either small or medium tiles in a bathroom with limited space.
A smaller shower allows you to get away with utilizing a tile that is one size smaller on the walls of the shower. A mosaic of 1 inch by 1 inch may do the trick. The smaller tile will appear proportional to the smaller space, and since it will cover a lower total surface area, it will not seem to be as overpowering to the viewer.
Consider tiling the whole space, from floor to ceiling, especially if you are using tiles with a light or neutral color.
On the walls of the shower, you may use tiles that are as tiny as 4 inches by 4 inches (10 cm by 10 cm).
Choose a narrow grout line regardless of the size of the tile you install. If you are going with a tile that has a neutral tone, you should look for grout in the same hue. This creates the illusion that the grout is fading into the backdrop.
What Kind and Size of Tiles Should I Use in a Big Bathroom?
If you are lucky enough to have a large bathroom (one that is more than 45 square feet or 4.18 square meters), you should choose designs that add to the grandeur of the space rather than those that reduce it.
Utilize Tiles with a Large Format Both on the Floor and the Walls
The work may be done with a tile that is a conventional 12 by 12 inches, but bigger format tiles add a contemporary edge that these original size tiles do not have.
If you choose little tiles on the floor of a big bathroom, it is likely to give the impression that the space is cluttered and disorganized.
In addition to bringing the bigger format tile up onto the wall, which will make the space seem even larger, another alternative is to contrast the large format floor tiles with the smaller wall tiles in order to provide aesthetic appeal. This may be done by alternating the two types of tiles.
On the other hand, it is not a good idea for the tiles on your walls to be bigger than the tiles on your floors. Tiles with a larger surface area will give the impression that the room is disproportionate, producing an Alice in Wonderland appearance.
Use smaller tiles to make accents in other areas of the room.
The arrangement of your fixtures and the materials you choose for them may, of course, be of assistance with this; but, the tactical placement of smaller tiles can also come into play.
Smaller tiles, whether of an exquisite or whimsical design, provide you the opportunity to personalize the appearance of your bathroom area.
Your bathroom will have more personality and flow if you use smaller tiles around the bathtub, as a vanity backsplash, on the wall between double sinks, behind the toilet, or in your shower. Other places where these tiles might be used include behind the toilet.
Even though they are smaller, subway tiles function in a size ratio of 1:2, which lengthens and elongates spaces. This makes subway tiles an excellent alternative for flooring.
If you want the ceiling of your bathroom to seem like it is floating in the sky, you can achieve this effect by having these tiles set in a herringbone bow pattern, which is a diagonal pattern. Then you can watch as your walls fly.
Because of the slanted design, your attention is drawn to the extreme ends of the room, which leads your brain to believe the available area is far larger than it really is. In a similar vein, it will also give the impression that the space is larger.
When tiling the shower floor of a spacious walk-in shower, go for smaller tiles.
Small tiles measuring approximately 1 by 1 inches (3 cm x 3 cm) are the best option for the floor of any shower, regardless of the size of your shower.
With the help of these little tiles, the installer may create an appropriate gradient that slopes in the direction of the drain.
When the tiles are smaller, there is more grout between them, which creates a better basis for grip.
Because of the volume of water that would be flowing down, large tiles installed on the floor of a shower might easily become dangerously slippery, and there would be no way to progressively slope the tiles toward the drain.
The walls of a large walk-in shower should be tiled with either medium or large format tiles.
It stands to reason that bigger showers will be able to handle a wider variety of tile sizes on the walls.
In light of this, it is quite probable that you will desire tiles on the walls of your huge shower that are larger than 10 centimeters by 10 centimeters (4 inches by 4 inches).
If you choose smaller tiles on the walls of your spacious shower, you run the risk of producing a dispersed appearance due to the increased surface area of the tiles.
You are free to use any little mosaic tiles that you have fallen in love with in the design of your shower, even if they are just a few tiles large.
For instance, you could want to scatter them among the larger tiles in your bathroom, or you might want to make a fashionable pattern with your faucets and showerhead by alternating the size of the tiles.
Choose a grout line that is narrower regardless of the size of the tile you install. If you are going with a tile that has a neutral tone, you should look for grout in the same hue. This creates the illusion that the grout is fading into the backdrop.
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