The small bathroom shower tile ideas Id Choose Again

I was standing in my bathroom one morning, avoiding my reflection in the steamy mirror. Standing on one leg, iPhone propped up on toilet paper holder, I stared down at the dingy shower tile grout lines staring back up at me. It was 7am.

As the sun crept through my shower curtains and began to highlight every crack and crevice of what was once pure-white tile grout – but is now some kind of dirty beige/grey mush – I knew something had to change. But it wasn’t just about looks (though let’s be real, those sad little grout lines were calling into hot question every life choice I made every morning as I peered at them). It was also about practicality, maintenance, and let’s face it: honesty.

Sanity. You can fool yourself with any bathroom, but small bathrooms in particular are tricky.

You want your bathroom to feel as large and open as possible, all while maintaining that crisp white cleanliness we all dream of.

However, you’ re working with the square footage of, well… not much at all. A spacious closet perhaps? Tile matters more in a small bathroom than it does your large, farmhouse-style master bath.

Choose incorrectly and you’ ll feel like you’ re stepping into an 80s subway every time you hop in the shower. But choose correctly and that tiny space will feel thoughtful. Luxurious, even.

Tile was what I chose incorrectly on during my very first renovation adventure. Picture it: young, naïve homeowner me scrolling through Pinterest inspirations boards and thinking I knew what I was doing. I chose 2×2 inch mosaic tiles in three shades of blue (because blue + white always = stylish, right? ).

Yeah… not so much. My then shower looked like someone threw a bucket of paint at it. And because it was a tiny shower to begin with, those crazy tiles made my bathroom feel even smaller.

Not relaxing. Not calming. BUSY.

If there’ s one thing I would go back in time and tell myself about tiles in small bathrooms, it’ s that your tile selection CAN make your room feel bigger or smaller. Seriously. Flash-forward two years.

And by ‘years,’ I mean years. I lived with that hideous mosaic tile long enough to develop an actual phobia of cleaning grout lines. You know when you kind of just never really ‘get over’ the cold you caught as a kid?

It never left your body, it just learns to live with it? That was me and my mosaic shower. Fast-forward to last month when I finally pulled the plug and re-tiled my tiny shower.

This time, I went with 12×24 inch porcelain tiles in a warm, dark grey. It was love at first sight. Suddenly, my shower felt twice as wide.

Just by switching to large format tiles! Large format tiles are your best friend when working with a small bathroom. I’ m talking large.

12×12 or bigger, but go bigger if you can. Those 12×24 tiles I chose were heaven-sent. Less grout lines = less visual disruption = more area.

Less grout lines also = less grout to scrub come Saturday morning. Speaking of shower tilt placement, have them laid horizontally. Since my shower wall was on the narrower side, laying my tiles horizontally made it seem even wider.

It’ s like the trick your mum used to tell you about wearing horizontal stripes to make you look wider. Except this isn’t an illusion and you actually will look (feel?) wider. As far as colour goes, I am a firm believer in ‘light, but not pure white.’ There’ s nothing worse than feeling like you’ re in a very sterile washroom.

Those pure whites will also highlight every water spot (don’ t @ me, I tried it down in my guest bathroom and it drives me crazy every time I wash my hands). That warm grey I chose wasn’ t quite as bright as pure white, but still light enough to bounce light around my tiny shower. It’ s like the difference between fluorescent lights and natural lighting.

Same amount of lumens, completely different atmosphere. Now, this is where I took my tile game up a notch: I installed a vertical accent tile on the back wall of my shower. Using the same tile as the floor, but in a charcoal grey colour.

It was literally just ONE thin strip that ran the full height of my shower wall. Does this make my shower seem wider? Yes.

Does it make my ceiling seem taller than its actual 8 feet? You betcha. Cost me an extra £30 in tiles?

Worth. It. Guys.

One last thing I love about my tile selection? I went with a textured tile instead of a shiny, porcelain surface. Sure, your tiles will look amazing in photos with that glossy finish, but let me tell you how difficult it is to take a photo while not slipping all over your bathroom floor.

While standing in your shower. Tiles with a textured finish aren’ t rough enough that they’ re difficult to keep clean, but provide enough grip that you don’ t have to hold onto the soap for balance every time you step foot in there. Not to mention, no one can see the water droplets on textured tiles like they can on shiny porcelain.

Finally, I will say I did the opposite of what most people say and went with a darker shade for my shower floor. Instead of white shower walls and a white shower floor, I selected a charcoal grey that matched my shower wall accent and provided a nice contrast to my lighter coloured shower walls. Some might say going darker will make your small bathroom feel smaller and more closed-off.

Trust me when I say it provides more of an ‘ elegant’ feel rather than taking away from the space. You do NOT want to match your walls and floor exactly. Unless you’ re going bright orange.

But that’ s just me. Same rule applies for grout colour. Most people (again, I’ ll include myself here) think of grout colour as strictly a design choice.

NOT TRUE. Did you know the colour of your grout can actually help or hurt how easy it is to maintain your tile? White grout is going to show every streak of mildew and splash of soap scum.

Darker grout colours can make your lighter coloured tiles seem dingy when in reality they’ re sparkling clean. I ended up going with a medium-grey grout colour. Not only will it hide stains and won’ t create harsh contrast lines like white grout does, but it also came with an antibacterial formula that helps prevent mildew growth!

Honestly, if I could go back in time and tell myself one thing about bathroom renovation, I’ d tell myself to jump on the grey grout train! *chef’ s kiss* As far as the shower niche goes, I will say don’ t do what I did. My contractor told me I could get three small, horizontal niches installed and I said ‘NO WAY’ – I wanted one large horizontal niche. Best.

Decision. EVER. Besides being easier to clean, I find it holds more bath products without looking cluttered and stayed true to my clean-lined look.

If I were to do this bathroom over again today (and yes, I totally will, the main bathroom is next on my list) I would most likely keep the same tile idea as above.

But maybe play around with a subtle chevron or herringbone pattern on one of my accent walls. Some pattern would add interest without being overwhelming.

My shower redo cost me right around £800, tiles and labour included. Which honestly sounds like a lot for such a small area of my home. But when you break it down that I step foot in that shower 365 days a year…that only works out to be about £2.19 a year for feeling like royalty every morning!

Overall, large format tiles were the game changer for my small shower space. I highly recommend going big when re-tiling your small bathroom. Don’ t be scared if it’ s your first time using larger tiles, they truly do make a small space feel larger.

Your future self will thank you (and by future self, I mean the you that spends less time scrubbing grout lines in the mornings and more time enjoying your new beautiful shower). For anyone wondering, here is the link to the shower tiles I used! Tile purchased through Home Depot:<|end_of_document|>