Choosing the best tile for a small bathroom renovation or remodel can have an outsized impact on the functionality and style of your space, from the backsplash to the shower to the flooring.
The right tile choice will depend on many factors, including the layout of the room and the style of the space. Your choice of tile size, grout color, finish, and whether you lay tile in a horizontal, vertical, or herringbone pattern all play a role. You can use neutral tile to tone down highly decorative elements like wallpaper, or colorful, textural, or patterned tile to add interest to a minimalist space.
Here are some examples that will help you narrow your options to make the best tile choice for your small bathroom, no matter your style.
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Choose Classic Penny Tile
Penny tile is a classic and time-tested choice for any bathroom but works particularly well in a small bathroom since the tile is small in size and easy to cut to fit the tightest of spaces. In this Austin, TX bungalow, Erin Williamson Design used penny tile flooring that blends well with the white subway tiles on the shower walls and complements period-appropriate fixtures to create a timeless look.
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Run Tile From Walls to Floors
Penny tiles can also be used in a modern-style bathroom. Using the same tile on bathroom walls and flooring will create a cohesive look and make a small space seem larger and a large space more spacious, like this penny tile-covered bathroom from Michelle Berwick Design. Black grout gives the white penny tiles a modern edge and complements matte black plumbing fixtures and decor elements.
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Use No Fail Subway Tiles
You can never go wrong with versatile, hard-working subway tile. In this small Paris bathroom from Space Factory, floor-to-ceiling white subway tile with matching grout draws the eye upward and creates the feeling of a larger, brighter space. On the shower floor, a patterned tile in shades of white, black, and gray adds interest without overwhelming the small room.
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Add Horizontal Stripes
Horizontal stripes make a room feel wider, making them perfect for a small bathroom. The walls of this guest bathroom from K Shan Design are covered in thick stripes of black and white subway tile to create a dramatic effect without breaking the budget, making the space feel bigger to boot. A white shower curtain with large black spots, a black-and-white wall tile, and a white penny tile floor with black grout tie the bold geometric look together.
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Try Some Terrazzo
In this bathroom from Cathie Hong Interiors, terrazzo tile in pale hues adds subtle variation and texture to the backsplash without grout lines that makes the space feel airier and fits in with the midcentury modern bones and Japandi style of the bathroom.
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Add Geometric Shapes
In this small bathroom from Becca Interiors, simple black hexagonal tile with bright white grout adds a geometric pattern that grounds the small space and makes the white walls seem brighter and airier, complementing the industrial wall-mounted sink and eye-catching planters.
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Use a Staggered Vertical Layout
In this small bathroom from Cathie Hong Interiors, pale blue vertical subway-style tiles in a slightly staggered pattern add a hint of color without overwhelming the small space, drawing the eye upward to give the illusion that the ceilings are taller. Covering the front of the built-in bathtub with the same tile heightens the impression.
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Accent With Color
While using the same subtle tile throughout a small bathroom can help it to feel larger, taking an opposite approach can also work. In this small historic Maine bathroom from Tyler Karu Design and Interiors, decorative patterned tile that picks up the blue-and-white palette of the space adds style and interest to both the floor and a wall niche, proving that a small space is a great blank canvas for making a bold choice and pulling it off with style.
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Use a Herringbone Pattern
Laying simple white tiles in a herringbone pattern adds subtle texture to the floor of this small bathroom from Emily Henderson Design without detracting from the shiplap half walls and blue-and-white patterned wallpaper.
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Go Large
Large-scale marble effect tiles work surprisingly well in a small space, helping to trick the eye into seeing a seamless slab of stone at a much more affordable price. In this small bathroom from Fantastic Frank, pale white-and-gray marble effect tiles with pale grout create a seamless look that blends in with the white walls and stainless steel appliances to maximize light and space in the compact room.
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Contrast Shiny Tiles With Matte Walls
In this small bathroom designed by Malcolm Simmons for Emily Henderson Design, shiny white subway tile on the lower half of the wall reflects light and blends in with the matte white walls to create a seamless look without actually matching. This style creates an illusion, making the space feel bigger and adding subtle variation to the finishes. If you want to add even more shine, go for a full glossy finish.
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Use Neutral Patterns
Patterned bathroom floor tile in soft shades of gray and white adds detail and variation that makes the eye move around, creating movement that makes this small space from Desiree Burns Interiors feel larger than it is.
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Use Contrasting Grout
A combination of black and white tiles, paint, fixtures, and fittings makes the most of this small bathroom designed by Emily Bowser for Emily Henderson Design. The shower is tiled in white subway tiles with thin black grout lines for a graphic look that's picked up in everything from the Turkish towel hanging on the wall to a framed illustration. On the floor, simple black hexagonal tile has thin white grout to add a subtle geometric pattern while adding subtle contrast.
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Be Bold
In this small bathroom from Emily Henderson Design, a raised painted ceiling and white walls create a clean envelope that makes the space feel larger, while a graphic patterned blue tile floor adds a focal point that injects bold style and color that adds a big dose of personality to the small space.
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Add Texture
Louis Duncan-He Designs used white large format tiles with a subtly textured herringbone pattern as a floor-to-ceiling backsplash behind the sink in this small powder room, allowing the adjacent wallpaper wall to be the focal point. Using pale grout minimizes contrast and makes grout lines virtually disappear, giving the impression of a wall of herringbone tile with less effort.
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Use Marble Effect Floor Tiles
Timeless gray and white marble effect floor tiles are a quiet complement to this small guest half bath from Ursula Carmona of Home Made By Carmona that is decorated with wainscoting, wallpaper, colored glass, brass accents, and framed art.
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Create Flow
Michelle Berwick Design created flow in a tight bathroom by running light blue patterned tile from the shower pan to the floor, giving the impression of a larger space that is helped along by the lack of a shower curtain or door.
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Keep It Simple
In this dusty pink powder room from Louis Duncan-He Designs, perfectly stacked off-white subway tiles with matching grout create a subdued backsplash that runs all the way up to the ceiling, allowing the texture and color of the walls and glamorous light fixture to hog the spotlight.