Bathroom tile is the one material in the house that has to look good and hold up against water, soap, and daily traffic at the same time. Choose well and the bathroom stays fresh for decades; choose on looks alone and you can end up with a floor that feels slick when wet, a shower wall that stains, or grout that crumbles within a year. The selection process comes down to a handful of decisions made in order: where tile goes, what pattern it forms, what material it is, and how it gets installed. If your existing tile is still sound, restoring old tile with grout colorant can be the right call, so the first question is always whether to keep what you have.
The six sections below walk through planning, patterns, materials, sizing, grout, and installation, with measurements and comparisons you can use at the tile store.
Decide Where Tile Belongs Before You Shop
Start by listing every surface in the bathroom and deciding which ones get tile. A full plan beats a piecemeal one, because the material you pick for the floor often looks best repeated on a wall or in the niche. Sketch the room and mark each surface with a yes or no before you look at samples, because samples are where budgets and taste start drifting apart.
- Floor: provides a durable, slip-resistant foundation for the whole room.
- Walls: add texture and color, especially in the shower or tub area.
- Shower or tub surround: protects the wall from water damage and carries the room’s main visual weight.
- Backsplash: a decorative strip above sinks and vanities for a splash of style.
- Accent walls: a different pattern or color that draws the eye to one surface.
- Countertops: a durable surface for sinks and vanities with a retro feel.
- Niches: built-in shelves in the shower that can double as a tile feature.
Shower Walls and Floors Have Different Jobs
Shower and tub surrounds protect the wall from water, so the tile there must be impervious and the installation must be waterproof behind it. Floors need slip resistance and durability underfoot. The same tile can do both jobs, but the requirements differ: wall tile can be glossy and smooth, while floor tile needs a textured or matte surface with a higher wet coefficient of friction.
Plan the accent areas last. A single accent wall, a niche liner, or a decorative band adds interest without committing you to a pattern everywhere. Subway tile patterns in particular work in almost every bathroom layout, and the pattern you choose changes how the whole room reads.
Pick a Pattern and Layout
The tile shape largely dictates the pattern. Rectangular tiles like 3 by 6 subway tile can run stacked, in a running bond offset by half, or in a herringbone; square tiles suit grid and basketweave layouts; large planks read best stacked or in a subtle offset.
Match the Pattern to the Room’s Proportions
Pattern changes perceived size. A running bond draws the eye along the longer dimension, which makes a narrow bathroom feel longer. Herringbone adds texture and movement but reads busier and costs more to install because of the cuts. Diagonal layouts make a small square room feel larger but produce more waste, typically 10-15 percent more tile. Light also changes how patterns read: a glossy tile in a bright bathroom shows every grout line, while the same pattern in a matte finish recedes.
Before you commit, lay out a few tiles on the floor or work from a scale drawing to check how the pattern lands against the vanity, window, and shower curb. Planning tile layouts at the design stage catches misaligned grout lines and awkward slivers before tile is cut, and it is the cheapest way to avoid a regret you live with for years.
Common Layout Patterns at a Glance
- Stacked: clean and modern, with minimal grout-line motion.
- Running bond: classic, and forgiving of slight size differences between tiles.
- Herringbone: high visual energy, with more cuts and waste.
- Basketweave: traditional, and best used in small doses.
- Diagonal: opens up small square rooms, at the cost of extra waste.
Match the Tile Material to Moisture and Traffic
Four material families cover almost every bathroom: ceramic, porcelain, natural stone, and glass. They differ in water absorption, durability, maintenance, and price, and those differences decide where each one belongs.
| Material | Water Absorption | Best Use | Maintenance | Typical Cost per Sq Ft |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ceramic | 0.5-3% | Walls and low-traffic floors | Easy | $0.50-$15 |
| Porcelain | Under 0.5% | Floors, showers, high traffic | Easy | $3-$20 |
| Natural stone | Varies by type | Accent walls and floors with sealing | Needs sealing | $5-$30+ |
| Glass | Impervious | Accent walls, mosaics, backsplashes | Easy, shows water spots | $7-$30+ |
Porcelain’s absorption rate below 0.5 percent is what lets it shrug off standing water in a shower floor. Glazed ceramic is also water-resistant because the glaze is the barrier, but unglazed ceramic in a wet area is a leak risk. Natural stone is porous: marble, travertine, and limestone all need sealing and periodic resealing, and acidic cleaners can etch marble. Glass never absorbs water, but it shows soap film and needs more frequent wiping.
Floor Safety Starts With the Finish
For floors, check the tile’s coefficient of friction. Industry guidance in ANSI A137.1 puts a wet DCOF of 0.42 or higher in the acceptable range for level interior floors, and shower floors should be higher still, which is why most shower floors use small mosaic tiles: the many grout lines add traction. Large polished tiles look expensive but get dangerously slick when wet, so save them for walls.
If the bathroom is used by older family members or anyone with mobility issues, the floor and shower entry need extra thought. Accessible bathroom layouts cover curbless entries, slip-resistant flooring, and grab-bar placements that work with the tile plan instead of against it.
Get the Size, Finish, and Grout Right
Tile size changes the feel of the room and the difficulty of the install. Large-format tiles like 12 by 24 or 24 by 48 planks mean fewer grout lines, which reads as calm and modern and cleans faster, but they demand a flat substrate; any dip in the floor shows as lippage at the edges. Small tiles hide substrate flaws, suit curved surfaces like shower benches, and add traction, but they multiply grout lines and installation time. The classic 4-inch square still anchors many baths, while 8 by 10 and 12 by 24 rectangles give a more current look with fewer joints.
Finish Choices: Gloss, Matte, and Texture
Glossy tile reflects light and makes a small bathroom feel bigger, but it shows water spots and fingerprints and can glare under vanity lights. Matte and textured finishes hide smudges, feel safer underfoot, and photograph better in real bathrooms. In a shower, matte walls avoid the streaky look that glossy tile gets from hard water.
Grout Is Part of the Design
Grout width follows the tile. Rectified tiles with precisely cut edges allow tight 1/16 to 1/8 inch lines; unrectified tile needs 1/4 inch or more to stay consistent. In wet areas, epoxy grout resists stains and never needs sealing, at a higher price and a harder install; cementitious grout is cheaper and easier to work with but must be sealed and resealed. Lighter grout shows every shadow; darker grout hides stains but can make the tile look darker overall.
Putting these decisions together, from material to size to grout, is where bathroom and kitchen tile selection guidance pays off, because the choices interact: a large matte porcelain plank with tight epoxy grout lines is a completely different bathroom from a glossy 4-inch square with wide white grout.
Plan the Installation and Budget
Installation is usually the largest line item in a tile project, often rivaling the tile itself. Get quotes based on your layout, not just square footage: herringbone, diagonal, and large-format layouts all cost more per square foot because of the cuts and the care required.
The Substrate Decides How Long the Tile Lasts
Tile is only as good as what is under it. In a bathroom, that means a waterproofed substrate: cement board or a waterproof membrane behind shower walls, and a crack-isolation or uncoupling layer on floors. The wall should be flat within about 1/8 inch over 10 feet for large tile. Use the correct trowel notch for the tile size: 1/4 inch for small tile, 1/2 inch for large format, and back-butter tiles that need it. Let the thinset cure a full 24 hours before grouting, and grout in clean, dry conditions. A self-leveling compound over a slightly uneven slab is cheaper than living with lippage, and it is far cheaper than tearing out tile later.
Order 10-15 percent extra tile for cuts and waste, more for diagonal layouts and large-format tile. Keep one box from the same dye lot for future repairs. Before installation starts, review the sequence against a bathroom and kitchen tile layout guide so the order of work, from waterproofing to setting to grouting to sealing, is clear to everyone on the job.
Coordinate Tile With the Rest of the Bathroom
Tile sets the tone, but it shares the room with the vanity, tub, toilet, and fixtures. A busy patterned floor pairs with a plain white tub; a stone-look wall works with a floating vanity that shows the tile behind it. Decide whether tile leads and fixtures follow, or the reverse, and keep the undertones consistent: warm tile with warm fixtures, cool tile with cool fixtures. Pick the tile first if you have a strong material preference, or pick the vanity first if storage is the priority; either order works as long as you choose once and then match everything else to that decision.
Match the Tub to the Tiled Surround
The tub is usually the second-biggest visual element after the tile, and the two should be chosen together, since the surround tile has to meet the tub flange properly. Choosing a bathtub for a renovation comes down to material, size, and how it interacts with the tiled surround, and settling that question early prevents the classic mismatch of a beautiful wall and a tub that fights it. Plan the tile and the tub as one composition, and the bathroom will hold together for the life of the room.