How Tiny Tiles Can Elevate Your Bathroom’s Style
Thanks to their ability to add texture and subtle pattern, petite hexagonal and penny tiles may be here to stay
For a bathroom to stay fashionable, it’s usually a good idea to stick to tiles that are classic and fairly neutral. But that doesn’t mean they have to be boring: Small-scale hexagonal tiles add texture, pattern and even a touch of glamour. Penny tiles, their softer-edged sister, can give a similar effect and are included here.
Build a backdrop. Words can’t describe the perfection of this bathroom scene, with a subtly stylish background of hexagonal wall tiles showing off a statement sink.
What to match with it? A plain, floor that doesn’t vie for attention, black faucets that add a custom contemporary edge and a simple frameless mirror that echoes the shape of the sink.
What to match with it? A plain, floor that doesn’t vie for attention, black faucets that add a custom contemporary edge and a simple frameless mirror that echoes the shape of the sink.
Mix it up. At first glance, this is a fairly traditional-looking bathroom, but check out the floor. The tiny hexagonal tiles lend 21st-century style.
If you’re considering creating a similar look for your floor, heed this warning: You need a lot of grout, and it’s often advisable to use one in a dark color because white won’t stay white for long.
What Grout Color Should You Choose for Your Tile?
If you’re considering creating a similar look for your floor, heed this warning: You need a lot of grout, and it’s often advisable to use one in a dark color because white won’t stay white for long.
What Grout Color Should You Choose for Your Tile?
Add a glimmer of glamour. There’s something particularly appealing about hexagonal tiles with a dash of mother-of-pearl or glitter about them, but if you’re going to use them wall to wall, ensure that you match them with plain surfaces that don’t compete for attention.
This vanity is the ideal companion for the tiles, with its glossy surface standing up to —but not outshining — the tiles above it.
Find small hex tiles for your bathroom
This vanity is the ideal companion for the tiles, with its glossy surface standing up to —but not outshining — the tiles above it.
Find small hex tiles for your bathroom
Play up the period. Hexagonal tiles are fabulous in an industrial, 1930s-style bathroom. Here, they’re the foil for the larger, plainer, subway-look tile, the steel shower screen and the factory-feel sink. And the way they’re divided to create a faux shower tray is ingenious.
Meanwhile, the gold faucets and shower fittings provide a contemporary contrast to the otherwise utilitarian feel.
10 Reasons to Go for Black-Framed Shower Doors
Meanwhile, the gold faucets and shower fittings provide a contemporary contrast to the otherwise utilitarian feel.
10 Reasons to Go for Black-Framed Shower Doors
Think about proportions. Just as you might introduce fabrics with patterns in different scales to create interest and layering in a living room or bedroom, you can do the same with tiles in a bathroom, the smallest of which are these hexagonal tiles. And you needn’t use them in swaths — a splash here or there can be more striking.
Stretch the space. Want a smart way to make a narrow shower look more interesting? The answer is to use tiles with a tiny scale. Doing so will add texture and pattern that recedes rather than advances (as actual patterned tiles would), a neat space-stretching trick.
These also contrast beautifully with the smooth sheen of the storage unit.
These also contrast beautifully with the smooth sheen of the storage unit.
Double the impact. Tile isn’t the only material that suits hexagons — they work on wallpaper too. So why not pair the two to double the effect? If you’re going for this look, keep the finish contemporary — and committed — by choosing plain tiles and a strong accent shade for the woodwork to complement the wallpaper.
If you’re worried about splashes from the sink, do as these homeowners did and install a barely there glass or acrylic backsplash so as not to detract from the wallpaper.
If you’re worried about splashes from the sink, do as these homeowners did and install a barely there glass or acrylic backsplash so as not to detract from the wallpaper.
Go wall to wall. Do you like a nautical vibe your bathroom? This tiny shower room, with its wall-to-wall and floor tiles, all hexagons, has the feel of a ship’s cabin.
If you’re trying this look (along with the gray grout), invest in effective lighting, break up the tiles with a large mirror, and paint the ceiling bright white to reflect the light.
If you’re trying this look (along with the gray grout), invest in effective lighting, break up the tiles with a large mirror, and paint the ceiling bright white to reflect the light.
Create a feature wall. We’re familiar with feature walls in living rooms and bedrooms, but they’re often overlooked in bathrooms, where they’re useful for creating defined zones.
Here, shiny hexagonal tiles transform what could be a plain shower area into one that’s as pretty as a picture. Even the dividing wall has a touch of glamour.
Tell us: How do you like to use teeny hex or penny tiles? Let us know in the Comments.
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Here, shiny hexagonal tiles transform what could be a plain shower area into one that’s as pretty as a picture. Even the dividing wall has a touch of glamour.
Tell us: How do you like to use teeny hex or penny tiles? Let us know in the Comments.
More
10 Tile Layouts You Haven’t Thought Of
Tile Trends: Styles You Need to Know
The black tile border is an eye-catching detail, just like a tailor might provide with a contrasting thread on a hem.