The Best Tiles for a Small Bathroom: What Really Works?
Small bathrooms can take a little more thought when it comes to choosing tiles, but having less space doesn't mean having fewer options.
Large-format porcelain, small squares, chequerboard floors, glazed bricks and mosaics can all work beautifully in a smaller bathroom. It comes down to choosing the right tile for the room, thinking about how much of the space you want to tile and, most importantly, choosing something you actually like.
From the best tile size to colours, patterns, shower walls and grout, here are some of the questions we’re asked most often about choosing tiles for a small bathroom.
What are the best tiles for a small bathroom?
There isn't one tile that works best in every small bathroom.
Porcelain tiles are a good place to start, particularly for floors. They're practical, easy to look after and available in a huge choice of sizes and finishes. A lighter stone-effect porcelain can keep things simple, while marble effects, chequerboards, bricks and mosaics can bring more interest into the room.
Our Minster Cream Matt Porcelain, for example, comes in both 300 x 300mm and 600 x 600mm sizes. Its soft cream colouring works particularly well if you want a lighter bathroom, while the matt porcelain finish is suitable for both bathroom walls and floors.
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If you want to stay neutral but prefer something with a little more going on, Ceppo Beige Matt Stone Effect Porcelain is a good middle ground. Warm ivory and soft brown stone fragments give the surface some variation without making it look too busy.
Cadiz Sand Matt Porcelain is another option we particularly like for bathroom floors. Its soft sand colouring and subtle fossil and vein-like markings make it easy to pair with more decorative wall tiles. Keep the whole room neutral, or use Cadiz Sand on the floor with glazed bricks or mosaics around the basin or shower.
Ceppo Beige and Cadiz Sand work beautifully together in this bathroom at Clayton House, pairing soft beige tones with subtle stone detailing.
Project by Oak & Stone Renovations, Clarendon Place, Royal Leamington Spa.
Don't feel you have to play it safe just because the room is small. A compact bathroom, ensuite or downstairs WC can be a great place to introduce a tile you might not use across a larger space.
Do large tiles work in a small bathroom?
Yes. In fact, large tiles can work surprisingly well in a small bathroom.
Using a larger tile means fewer grout lines across the walls or floor, which can give the room a cleaner, more continuous look.
A 600 x 600mm porcelain tile is a good option for this, but you can go larger still. Ceppo Beige is available in both 600 x 600mm and 1000 x 1000mm, while our Alabaster Emerald Honed Marble Effect Porcelain comes in a 1200 x 600mm format.
Alabaster Emerald has a soft ivory base with green veining, so while the format is large, the colouring remains relatively light. Used across a full wall or continued around the bathroom, it creates a much more seamless finish.
The only thing to consider is the shape of your room. In a particularly awkward space, very large tiles may require more cuts around corners, sanitaryware and alcoves, so it's worth discussing the layout with your tiler before ordering.
What size tiles are best for a small bathroom?
There is no rule that says small bathrooms need small tiles.
A 600 x 600mm floor tile can keep the space looking less busy, while 300 x 300mm tiles are a good option if the proportions of the room suit a smaller square. Large 1200 x 600mm tiles can also work across bathroom and shower walls.
Smaller tiles have their place too.
Brick tiles can be used behind a basin, around a bath or across a shower wall to introduce a different scale. Our Monaco Glazed Milky White Ceramic Bricks, for example, are 200 x 65mm and work particularly well if you want something simple without choosing a completely plain wall.
Mosaics are another option for smaller areas. Our Osaka KitKat mosaics work well behind a basin, across a splashback or within a shower, particularly when the rest of the bathroom uses a larger, quieter tile.
Rather than choosing a tile size based on the size of the bathroom alone, look at the proportions of the walls and floor, where the grout lines will fall and how the different formats will sit together.
What colour tiles make a small bathroom look bigger?
White isn't your only option.
Cream, ivory, pale stone and softer neutral shades can all help keep a small bathroom looking light. Minster Cream is a good example if you like the look of natural stone but want the practicality of porcelain.
Ceppo Beige offers something a little different. It stays within a neutral beige palette, but the varied stone-effect surface stops a larger area of floor or wall from looking completely flat.
For something with more colour, Alabaster Emerald combines ivory with soft green veining. The overall scheme can still remain light without becoming another all-white bathroom.
That doesn't mean darker bathroom tiles are out of the question. If you love a deeper green, brown or charcoal, use it. You could keep the floor lighter, introduce colour around the basin or shower, or embrace a darker scheme throughout.
A small bathroom doesn't always need to look bigger. It needs to work well and be somewhere you actually enjoy.
Don't be afraid of pattern
Chequerboard tiles aren't just for large kitchens and hallways.
A small bathroom or downstairs WC can be one of the best places to introduce a patterned floor. Because you're working with a smaller area, the pattern can become a feature without taking over the whole scheme.
For a softer take on a classic chequerboard, Minster Cream & Taupe Chequer Matt Porcelain combines warm cream and taupe. The 300 x 300mm option works particularly well in smaller rooms.
If you'd like a little more colour, Parisian Rosa & Minster Cream Chequer Matt Porcelain pairs a warm red marble-effect tile with soft cream.
Keep the walls simple and let the floor do the work. Or pick out one of the colours from the chequerboard elsewhere in the bathroom.
Pattern doesn't have to mean a patterned tile either. Smaller bricks and mosaics create their own pattern simply through the way they're laid.
What are the best floor tiles for a small bathroom?
Looks matter, but bathroom floor tiles also need to be practical.
Porcelain is a popular choice because it's hard-wearing, straightforward to maintain and available in plenty of finishes. Always check that the individual tile you've chosen is suitable for floor use and look at its slip rating, particularly in areas that are likely to get wet.
Minster Cream Matt Porcelain and Minster Cream & Taupe Chequer Matt Porcelain are both suitable for bathroom floors and have an R10 PTV +36 WET slip rating.
For something neutral with more variation, Cadiz Sand Matt Porcelain is another bathroom and wet-area option we like. The sand colouring makes it particularly easy to use as the base of a scheme, especially if you want to introduce more decorative bricks or mosaics elsewhere.
Ceppo Beige is another good option if you want a stone-effect bathroom floor that isn't completely plain. Its mix of warm ivory and brown tones gives it enough variation to be interesting while still working as a neutral.
If you're unsure whether a particular tile is suitable for your bathroom floor, speak to our team before ordering. Not every wall tile can be used on a floor.
What about bathroom wall tiles?
This is where you can have a little more fun.
Small bathroom wall tiles don't necessarily need to match the floor. In fact, mixing formats can make the room much more interesting.
Try a simple porcelain floor with glazed brick tiles on the walls. Monaco Glazed Milky White Ceramic Bricks are an off-white rather than a brilliant white and work well when you want something simple but not too clinical.
Or introduce colour in a smaller area. A decorative brick or mosaic behind the basin can work particularly well against a neutral floor such as Cadiz Sand.
Our Osaka KitKat mosaics are another option for splashbacks, behind sinks and within showers. The smaller format gives you a change of scale without needing to use it across every wall.
Alternatively, go in the opposite direction and use one large-format porcelain tile across most of the bathroom for a more pared-back scheme.
Both approaches work. It depends on how simple or decorative you want the room to be.
What tiles work well in a shower niche?
A shower niche is a good place to do something slightly different.
Because you're working with a small built-in area, you can introduce a different colour, tile size or finish without changing the tiles across the whole shower.
Smaller tiles from our Colori collection work particularly well here. You could pick up a colour already used elsewhere in the bathroom or use the niche as a small contrast against a more neutral shower wall.
KitKat mosaics can work in a similar way. The smaller format helps define the niche and makes it an intentional part of the bathroom rather than simply somewhere to store shampoo.
The same idea works with built-in shelving above a bath or beside a sink too.
Can you use tiles inside a small shower?
Yes, but it's important to check where the individual tile can be used.
There is more flexibility when choosing shower wall tiles. Porcelain and suitable glazed ceramic wall tiles can both work, depending on the individual product.
Large-format tiles are particularly useful if you want fewer grout lines. Alabaster Emerald Honed Marble Effect Porcelain, for example, can be used across bathroom walls and inside showers, allowing the same design to continue through the room.
Alternatively, smaller formats such as Osaka KitKat mosaics can be used to pick out part of the shower or create a more decorative wall.
If you're unsure, ask. We'd much rather help you check the specification before the tiles are fitted.
Should bathroom wall and floor tiles match?
They can, but they don't have to.
Using the same tile across the floor and walls can make a small bathroom look more continuous. A stone-effect or marble-effect porcelain works particularly well for this.
Another option is to keep one surface simple and make more of the other.
Cadiz Sand works particularly well as a neutral floor tile alongside more decorative bricks or mosaics. You could also pair a Minster Cream & Taupe Chequer floor with simple off-white wall tiles, or use Minster Cream on the floor with coloured bricks around the basin or shower.
You don't necessarily need an exact match. Keeping a common tone or colour between the two is often enough to bring everything together.
What grout colour is best for a small bathroom?
Grout colour can completely change the finished look of your bathroom tiles.
For a quieter finish, we'd usually choose a grout that sits fairly close to the colour of the tile. It keeps the overall surface looking more continuous rather than creating a strong line around every individual tile.
We also wouldn't automatically choose bright white grout, particularly on a bathroom floor. It can be harder to keep looking clean in a busy bathroom. A softer off-white, warm grey, beige or another tonal shade can be much more forgiving.
There are exceptions.
With brick tiles, KitKat mosaics or a chequerboard floor, a little contrast can help show off the shape and layout. Think about what you want your eye to notice: each individual tile or the surface as a whole.
Should you tile a small bathroom from floor to ceiling?
You can.
Floor-to-ceiling tiles can actually simplify a small bathroom by reducing the number of different finishes in the room. Continuing the same porcelain tile across several walls can create a clean, cohesive look.
But you don't have to tile every wall.
Half-height tiles, a fully tiled shower or a feature behind the basin can work just as well. Leaving some painted wall also gives you an easy way to introduce colour – and change it again later.
If you're mixing tiles, we'd generally keep the number of different finishes fairly considered. A neutral floor, one main wall tile and perhaps a smaller tile within a shower niche is often plenty.
Small bathroom tile ideas to try
If you're not sure where to begin, think about the look you want rather than simply searching for a 'small bathroom tile'.
- For a light stone-effect bathroom, try Minster Cream Matt Porcelain.
- For a neutral floor with a little more variation, look at Cadiz Sand Matt Porcelain.
- For a beige stone-effect tile that isn't too plain, consider Ceppo Beige Matt Stone Effect Porcelain.
- For large-format bathroom tiles, look at Alabaster Emerald Honed Marble Effect Pocelain.
- For small off-white bathroom wall tiles, try Monaco Glazed Milky White Ceramic Bricks.
- For a splashback, shower wall or smaller tiled area, look at our Osaka KitKats.
- For shower niches and built-in bathroom shelving, explore the smaller formats and colours in our Colori collection.
- For a soft chequerboard bathroom floor, look at Minster Cream & Taupe Chequer Matt Porcelain.
- For something with more colour and pattern, try Parisian Rosa & Minster Cream Chequer Matt Porcelain.
Sometimes seeing a few different options together is the easiest way to decide.
Small bathroom tiles: frequently asked questions
Do large tiles make a small bathroom look bigger?
They can. Larger tiles mean fewer grout lines, which can make the walls or floor look more continuous. The proportions of the room are just as important though, so choose a tile size that works comfortably with your bathroom layout.
Are small tiles good for a small bathroom?
Yes. Small square tiles, bricks and mosaics can work particularly well on shower walls, behind basins and within shower niches. You don't have to match the scale of the tile to the scale of the room.
Can I use dark tiles in a small bathroom?
Absolutely. Dark tiles can create a more intimate look and work particularly well in downstairs WCs and cloakrooms. If you're worried about the room becoming too dark, combine them with lighter sanitaryware, paint or flooring.
Are porcelain tiles good for small bathrooms?
Porcelain tiles are a practical option for bathrooms, with a wide choice of colours, sizes and finishes available. Always check the individual product specification to make sure your chosen porcelain tile is suitable for the wall or floor you're tiling.
Can I use chequerboard tiles in a small bathroom?
Yes. A chequerboard floor can bring pattern to a small bathroom without needing to add lots of other colours or finishes. Softer combinations such as cream and taupe are a good alternative to traditional black and white.
What tiles can I use in a shower niche?
Smaller-format tiles and mosaics work particularly well in shower niches. They give you the opportunity to introduce a different colour or format in a contained area. Always check that the individual tile is suitable for the wet area you're using it in.
Should the floor and wall tiles match in a small bathroom?
Not necessarily. Using the same tile can create a more seamless look, while combining a quieter floor tile with smaller or more colourful wall tiles can give the room more interest.
What's the best tile colour for a very small bathroom?
Light cream, ivory, white, beige and pale stone shades are good choices if you want to keep the room looking bright, but there is no rule against colour or darker tiles. Consider the natural light in your bathroom and the overall look you want to create.
Is white grout a good choice for bathroom floor tiles?
It can be, but it wouldn't always be our first choice. Bright white grout can require more upkeep on a busy bathroom floor. A softer off-white, warm grey, beige or tonal grout can be more forgiving while still keeping the overall look light.
Find the right tiles for your bathroom
The best way to choose bathroom tiles is to see them in your own space. Colours and finishes can look very different depending on the natural light, paint colours and other materials in the room.
Order up to four free cut samples to compare at home, visit one of our five showrooms, or speak to our design team for help choosing bathroom wall and floor tiles that work with your space.
