What tile to use and how much of the walls you intend to cover are critical issues when you come to redesign your bathroom. Bear in mind that the space you are designing is probably where you are going to start the day so the psychological effects of color and pattern cannot be understated.

The question of a fully or partially tiled bathroom is an issue partially of taste and convention. Partial tiling offers the option of easily changing or embellishing to some extent the color scheme of the bathroom by simply painting the remaining wall or for mural or stucco type designs.Full tiling does not offer such flexibility but, it does offer the advantage of easy to maintain hygiene. Tiled walls can be easily cleaned and requires minimal maintenance.

Tile Format

In either case the format and color of tiles can be used to great advantage with a little imagination. A bathroom revamp is not something normally done on a frequent basis so it is advisable to select size and color in line with current and projected trends to keep the bathroom as modern as possible, for as long as possible.

Over the years the trend in tile format has been to increase both dimensions following the rectangular pattern. By comparison to 20 or so years ago when the norm was square 10 cms * 10 cms (although this format is still available). It is now common to encounter tiles in the 30 cms * 40 cms range and not unusual to find tiles of 30 cms * 60 cms and larger. So, potentially a good choice would be the larger format. Be aware that the small tile offers the advantage of being able to 'follow' the contours of the walls much more so than the larger formats.

Use of Color

Color choice is of course entirely subjective again current trends favor lighter warmer pastel colors. The use of these colors increase the perception of space and light, especially in a small bathroom. Colors such as beige, orange and pink would be regarded as warm as opposed to blue, green, gray. Tile arrangements range from the simple one tile for the whole walls, to more elaborate combinations of tone used with a border tile to enhance the effect. Commonly the darker tone is used below the border and the lighter above. One border or multiple borders can be used. Picture or decorative tiles can be added at random but focal points to further enhance the desired effect. Tile sets are available from manufacturers that offer all these options.

Tile Patterns

Not only color combinations but combinations of tiling patterns can be used. Such as diamond pattern followed by a border and then a simple rectangular arrangement. Floors can be equally creative with diamond, square, rectangular and brick work patterns. If using a rectangular tile, aligning the longer tile dimension with smallest room dimension tends to expand the perception of that room dimension. The reverse is equally true, and in this manner a bathroom can be made appear wider or narrower. How much pattern effect could be used to achieve an optimal result would depend to a large extent on the size of the bathroom.

Tile Material Conventionally, ceramic and marble tiles have been used in bathrooms. Both materials are relatively cheap, widely available and easy to work with in the sense that cutting tools are readily obtainable.Tile material trend is fast changing in favor of porcelain as opposed to the more common marble and ceramic tile. With the projected sales of porcelain tiles to double within the next ten years. These tiles are nonporous, extremely hard, and show little signs of wear even in high traffic areas. So any bathrooms fitted with these tiles would maintain its 'as new' look over many years. One further point regarding bathroom floors, ensure that nonslip surface tiles are obtained to reduce the risk of injury with water laying on tile surfaces. Any surface pooling water will tend to become slippery however, highly polished surface and water can become extremely dangerous.

Grout

The norm is to use grout of a similar color to the tile but, there is no reason where contrasting colors could not be used. To maintain the grout in good condition, use a grout sealer which is normally applied after the grout is cured, approximately three days after the grouting process.