The tile trends we're into now
One of the best things about decoration is that even when you feel as though you know everything about a certain material or way of doing things, something comes along to change your perspective. Enter tiles, a bathroom and kitchen staple that already have so many glorious options when it comes to how to use them but their seemingly endless possibilities grow and grow.
Sarah Watson, the mastermind of Balineum – one of our favourite tile sources – says “we are definitely seeing clients using more colour and decoration with their tiles. They are much bolder with pattern and colour than they were five or 10 years ago.” Of late, we've been taken in by striped tiles, turning square tiles on their points, bespoke painted tiles and dark, dramatic glossy tiles of all shapes and sizes.
Sarah agrees, saying "our mottled tile collection – which is based on an old Victorian or Edwardian tiles that you’d often see in pubs in north of England – has been one of our best selling products over the last 12 months. We have clients who are tiling entire rooms in theses mottled tiles.” Read on to find out what's caught our eye now and how to emulate these wonderful design ideas.
1/13Balineum's mottled tiles can be seen here in this kitchen by Emma Burns. They are inspired by Victorian pub tiles and are Balineum's best seller of the last 12 months.
2/13The striking headboard in Carolina Irving's Portuguese house is covered in colourful tiles handmade in a small village in Andalusia, which were also used to create a splashback in the kitchen. They are a different take on the mottled trend.
Paul Massey3/13Dark glossy tiles are having something of a moment in the sun, as exemplified by these lining the AGA of Philip Hooper's Georgian house in Somerset. Walls in Papers and Paints’ ‘Pale Gres de Flandres Brown’ are the background for the whole kitchen, but the use of the inky tiles grounds both the space and creates a distinct zone in that area.
Paul Massey4/13Dark Lapicida tiles contrast with walls in Edward Bulmer’s ‘Trumpington’ in this grand modern hallway by Rita Konig. This entrance creates a moment of serious architectural drama, with its double-height plate-glass windows, contemporary staircase and floor in black sandstone tiles, another way in which dark glossy tiles have been used recently.
Paul Massey5/13Woodwork in Pure & Original’s ‘Aubergine’ and black bejmat tiles from Emery & Cie provide a dramatic backdrop for a handsome 19th-century table and vintage painted stool in this riverside house by Nicola Harding.
Paul Massey6/13Nicola used tiles throughout the house on the floors, adding a glossy, dramatic touch in multiple spaces. Here, in the hall between the library (above) and orangery beyond, bejmat tiles are laid in a different formation. In the orangery beyond, there are teal bejmat tiles in yet another form. The lighter colour there lends an air of relaxed glamour.
Dean Hearne7/13The most striking feature in Carolina Irving's Portugal house is the vivid emerald floor tiles in the sitting room, locally made in the nearby town of Setúbal, but with an ancient tin-glaze technique that the designer notes wryly is ‘not quite safe for eating off, but perfectly fine to have underfoot’.
Lucas Allen8/13Delft tiles are nothing new but they've been being used – and made – in a manner of different ways of late to capture our attention. Seen here in a bathroom in Joanne Burgess' house,, they've been being placed in more modern settings that work brilliantly. Their painterly quality brings a new dimension to this room and the classic blue and white colour palette goes with pretty much anything. Furthermore, it's not just about antique Delft tiles anymore, as there are a whole host of new sources for buying – and commissioning – new takes on them. Petra Palumbo does witty modern takes on them, such as her ‘Laundry Delft’ series. Decorum Studio is also a great source, particularly for sea-themed designs.
Owen Gale9/13Painterly tiles of all sorts are having a real moment and there's been a huge uptick in interest ever since we first caught sight of these now iconic designs in a stylist's London home. These are all hand-designed and transfer printer by Maude Made, who makes the tiles to order. Balineum – one of our absolute favourite sources for tiles – has also got a wonderful offering of painterly tiles, with their wide-ranging and always desirable lines. Their collaboration with illustrator Fee Greening is certainly not to be missed.
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Paul Massey10/13Bespoke Delft tiles create a subtle splashback behind the AGA in this London house by Cave Interiors. The most notable thing about them – and a feature we're seeing more and more of late – is their positioning; the tiles are not in a vertical grid, instead they've been turned 45 degrees to create a lovely diamond pattern on the diagonal.
Christopher Horwood11/13European Heritage ‘Metronome’ tiles in green and white create a lovely striped effect in the bathroom of this flat by Natalie Tredgett. The look is reminiscent of a beach towel and is a look that's been sneaking up on us.
Lucas Allen12/13Here in another bathroom in Joanne Burgess' house, there is another way to create a stripe, although this time the stripe already exists on the ‘mustard stripe’ tiles by Otto Tiles.
Kate S Jordan | Styling: Brittany Albert13/13Cement tiles from Zia Tiles are arranged in an eye-catching chequerboard pattern that contrasts with the tongue-and-groove panelling in this lovely farmhouse bathroom. There's nothing new about chequerboard tiles in a bathroom, but it is certainly having something of a second wind recently.
