
#1: Bathroom Tile Tips
If you’re looking for a wider, more spacious feel in your bathroom, one of the most impactful changes you can make is your choice of flooring. Tile is a classic choice for its durability and ability to repel water. Aside from color, which we’ll talk about shortly, size should be your primary consideration.
To make a small bathroom feel larger, use a large-format, 12×24 tile. The larger the tile, the fewer grout lines there are to break up the floor. This keeps the floor from feeling “busy” which our eyes often interpret as “cluttered” and “cramped”. Wide, unbroken expanses of tile let the eye drift and enlarge the visual space. Selecting a grout color that matches the tile rather than contrasting with it will help further the illusion.
On the other hand, you can also use very small tiles to create a larger visual space. We suggest a 1-inch tile in a hex pattern. The combination of the smaller tiles laid out in this pattern creates a two-fold optical illusion:
- First, when your eye scans the floor, your brain automatically tries to calculate how many tiles must have been required to fill the space. When that number registers as “too many to count,” your brain automatically sees the room as bigger.
- Second, the hexagon is nature’s most mathematically efficient shape. Our eyes are drawn to and soothed by order. The hexagon convinces the mind that this space is being used efficiently, which makes it feel bigger.
Whichever tile size you opt for, stay away from the traditional 6×6 and 8×8 tiles. They tend to make smaller rooms feel cramped.
As far as color goes, think light and bright to give your bathroom the most spacious, airy feel possible. We recommend whites, creams, pastels, and neutrals. You can always add a splash of color in the accents to draw the eye and break up the monochromatic look.