Use tiles to make a room POP with these tips

Chloe Hines Chloe Hines
homify Modern bathroom
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Tile is one of the most used decorative tools in the home and with the unlimited designs, materials and textures it's easy to see why! Whether you're using tiles to clean-up a utilitarian space or need to change a rather bland area into an area that pops with visual stimulation—tiles are the perfect choice!

Tiles are one of those design techniques that are fun to select and easy to install.  Both their durability and stylistic qualities makes them one of the most useful (and often cheap) ways to transform your space into an artistic venue.  

From glass and mosaics, to slate and stone our ideas for how to make any room pop with the right tiles can truly transform your home!

Dark Textures

Dark colors and tiles might be once thought to make a room seem smaller—however, when the right color and texture are chosen, it can really make a space POP and seem even larger.  As shown in this example, the dark slate tiles matched with the even darker floor tiles provides a certain amount of natural light to the room when paired with light-grain wood and funky furnishings.

Dark tiles can particularly work in smaller rooms, such as bathrooms and shower rooms when paired with carefully chosen accessories and lighter decorations.  Much better than textured paints and wall papers, textured tiles have more function and utilitarian use in areas where water and steam are concerned.

Have a concern about price when it comes to real-stone tiles? Choose overlays that are thinner and easily applied for a fraction of the cost!

Industrial Glass Tiles

Industrial glass tiles are beautiful in that they provide a retro, vintage feel while brightening up any space. It might be smart to hire the professionals when installing glass tiles, as their proper placement and use of grouting is of the utmost importance.

As shown here, try industrial-styled fixtures and exposed piping with glass wall tiles.  Here, a raw mirror without trim is used with a deep-basin sink and exposed copper pipes to top it all off.  Glass tiles can bring reflective qualities to a room, where natural or artificial light is concerned. As you can see in this bathroom, a minimal light fixture is just enough to bring plenty of light to this space!

Try sticking with shades of grey, blues, or even off-white to keep a space fresh, and airy.

For more ideas on industrialized wall-design—look here!

Bold Ceiling Tiles

Vipp kitchen Vipp Industrial style kitchen Cabinets & shelves

When one thinks of tiles, typically it's floor and wall tiles—but don't forget to look up! Ceiling tiles—as shown here—offer a continuity of space! Whether you prefer dark slate tiles (shown here) or a fresh and funky pattern, your ceiling can be another source of decoration in a normally bland room.  Think kitchens, bathrooms, and dining rooms.  

Remember, depending on your environment and the type of tiles you select, tiles can either bring more light to your room, or completely diffuse it.  A perfect example is seen here, where the kitchen has plenty of light with floor-to-ceiling windows—so they chose tiles that diffused this light, as well as diffused the light arriving from the unseen skylight.  Also, try choosing larger tiles when thinking of adding them to the ceiling to create a seamless transition from the floor to the ceiling.  Smaller, decorative tiles in this space might make the room seem sectioned off from its floor area, or worse, seem smaller!

VIPP designers in Copenhagen have shown how to make spaces seem larger and über modern with slate tiles in some of their other designs, here.

Quirky Mosaics

Adding quirky mosaics to certain areas of your home is another way to use tiles to add a pop of color to your home.  The great thing about mosaics is that you can easily choose any size mosaic patterns that can fit in any space of your home—think larger floor and ceiling mosaics, or smaller mosaics to highlight certain parts of a room. 

 Here, we have provided an image of how to use a small mosaic pattern to make an industrialized shower head pop against a wall of small white ceramic tiles. Mosaics can be bought in pre-patterned kits, or can be personally designed by you.  First choose the pattern or image you would like, and then practice the end result by laying them our on a surface similar to what they will be grouted to. The best part about mosaics is that it is truly an art form and you can choose anything you want—so get creative!

Texturized Floors

Leave the wood, linoleum and carpet at the store—opt for cool, texturized floor tiles for almost any room! Particularly in utilitarian rooms such as kitchens, bathrooms and entrance corridors, texturized floor tiles can offer something fresh and funky that will last for several years!

Depending on your style—choose a color, texture and pattern that won't go out of style easily—like the ones pictured here.  Here, the homeowner opted for a basic geometric design and lighter color palette as so if any part of the furnishings or cabinetry are changed, the flooring will still provide a great decorative view!  An advantage to textured floor tiles, or any floor tiles in general is that you can choose an easy pattern that you can DIY over the weekend, or choose something more intense—it's all truly up to you!

Ombré Patterns

One of our favorite decorative techniques with tiles—ombré tile design! At first glance it might seem difficult and like a project that would take lots of time and money dedicated to the professionals—but have no fear, you can also do this technique yourself!  Make sure to first select a dark base tile—then select a line of tiles that will allow you to go four or five shades lighter than the base tile you have chosen. 

We think ombré tile design looks particularly perfect with industrial-style glass tiles—seeing as how the darker tiles are towards the bottom of the room—once you go to the ceiling, the reflective qualities of this type of tile still brings a great amount of light to any room! 

Make sure when considering an ombré pattern that you remember : less is more when it comes to furnishings and decorations.  A hefty pattern like this offers just enough decor to any space.

Here, we have featured tiles and materials from Spanish designer, Nais. Check out their profile for even more of their beautiful designs!

With all of the fabulous options that tiles offer, we sure do hope you consider using them when spicing up your living space.  Most tile projects can be done in the timespan of a three-day weekend! So why not give it a try!?

Patterns on Walls

Whether it's a kitchen backsplash—as shown here—or a mosaic pattern in your living room, tiles can offer a special artistic quality to your home. Of course, back splashes and shower room mosaics are the two most commonly considered design techniques, but we want you to think outside the box.

Get online, visit a local, renowned ceramic artist, or go to your local flea market and find leftover tiles or handmade options to add individuality to your home!  There is no better design technique than one that tells a story specific to you!

Pictured here, the homeowner choose bright and patterned mix-match tiles to offset the minimalist design of the kitchen cabinetry and appliances—it certainly makes this space pop!  Go to your local home improvement store and select one favorite tile—then choose several other designs or solid shades that work within the same colour scheme, like this homeowner did. 

Easy to install, and often cheap, tiles are a great way to create a fun and fresh visual atmosphere to your home—and the best part? Minimal upkeep!

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