Colour Choices for Your Bathroom Tiles

When choosing a colour scheme for the tiling in a new bathroom many people make a conservative choice, worried about making an expensive mistake. But be a little braver and you could have an individual and unique design scheme in your bathroom.

The choice of tiles suitable for the walls and floors of a bathroom is enormous – so much so that choosing the right tiles can be a daunting prospect. Should you go for the unique beauty of natural stone, the easy maintenance and durability of porcelain or the cost effectiveness or ceramic tiles? Even if you know what type of walls and floor tiles you want, choosing the colour, pattern or texture can still be difficult. And yet it is often the tiling that completes the whole design scheme of a bathroom. The most beautiful contemporary bathroom suite with highly polished chrome fittings can be ruined if the tiling is not right for the scheme.

But how can you know that the look will be right before the tiles are installed? You could employ an expensive interior designer to make the choice for you but if that is beyond your budget (as it is for many of us) then you can still research the options and make a good choice yourself.

First of all go and view as many bathroom and tile showrooms as you can to see what sorts of tiles look right with bathroom suites similar to your chosen one. Also check out bathroom design websites and specialist bathroom magazines. Take the advice of professionals in the tiling showrooms and, most importantly, get samples of the tiles you are considering to view them in your own home. Many showrooms have very bright lighting and a tile can look different in natural light. Most good showrooms will supply samples free of charge so take advantage of this opportunity.

And whilst you are doing this research why not consider some alternatives to the standard neutrals that seem to proliferate. Introducing vibrant colours into you bathroom does not have to mean a whole wall of colour. Small ceramic tiles, mosaics and glass tiles are all available in a wide range of colours and you can use colour simply as an accent by designing a horizontal border all around the bathroom or a vertical panel at key points such as above the sink or bath.

Using small tiles to introduce an accent colour to a bathroom can open up all sorts of design possibilities for both traditional and modern interiors but will largely come down to individual taste. Not many people would use dark colours for bathroom tiling (with the exception of black, which can look stunning in a monochromatic design scheme) but deep and vibrant colours such as red and orange can be a perfect accent for a white bathroom suite and predominantly neutral expanse of walls and floor.

When using any accent colour try and find tile flooring that comes in varying shades of that colour as a slight variation in colour across the border or panel will be easier on the eye. An accent colour can be used with any type of large tile but is less well-suited with natural stone tiles because of the natural colour and texture variations that might make the scheme too "busy". Instead choose porcelain tiles or ceramic tiles which have a more regular colour and smoother texture and will not clash with the accent tiles.

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