Make a Statement with the Right Tile Pattern

**Our honesty policy: This post may contain affiliate links and I may be compensated if you make a purchase at no extra cost to you. Some are, some aren't--I do some comparison shopping. The important thing is you will know exactly what we are talking about. Drop a note/comment if you have any questions on the products as these are materials and tools we use on our own projects.

Deciding on the right tile pattern for any room may be harder than actually installing the new look. This is especially true when you are planning on updating more than one room in your home.

Tile isn’t just limited to bathrooms and kitchens–it can be in any room! Floors, bathtub and shower surrounds, countertops, backsplashes, decorative walls, and window sills are all potential locations for a repeating tile pattern. One way to make your updates more cohesive is pinning down a tile pattern that can span all the soon-to-be newly remodeled rooms.

Choosing a pattern helps you incorporate vastly different tiles in various rooms without looking like you couldn’t decide and just picked everything! The RIGHT tile pattern goes a step further and makes your tile installation easier.

Example #1: A Centered Mosaic

Pick your favorite mosaic and center it vertically on any given surface. Every dedicated tile and big box stores have a myriad of meshed backed tile mosaics. You can even go super custom and have a fabricator create one with their specialty machines. Alternately, you can make your own.

I created my own repeating waterfall mosaic theme. The master shower version of the waterfall highlights Blue Pearl granite intermixed with grey travertine.

Not only is it easy to replicate and match across the space…

Notice the bench seat has the exact same order of similar sized columns as the shower side–just in opposite order so that it looks continuous.

…it also is easy to expand to the space given. You can see in the design in the window accounted for entire twelve inch pieces of granite tile on the sides.

Likewise, the backsplash only consists of entire eighteen inch pieces of travertine and the mosaic expanded to fill in the centered space. The design is intentional. Smaller pieces of travertine tile surrounding the waterfall would make the backsplash look like an afterthought.

Difficult to capture in a single picture–you can see there are two full eighteen inch travertine tiles between the waterfalls on the bench and the vanity.

The otherside of the backsplash against the wall has another eighteen inch tile.

The point I’m trying to illustrate here is how choosing the right tile pattern not only looks amazing, but also makes the installation easier. This tile pattern is fluid enough to account for these competing areas: centering, as well as fill in where needed.

The powder room uses the same tile design them with Venetian Gold granite and some sort of brown travertine leftovers from another house.

The bay window uses the design with Emperador Marble and the brown travertine.

As does the box window.

Suffice it to say–without picture proof–the rest of the [ridiculous sixteen] windows in the house all sport the same look. I even installed it on the never viewed laundry room window. So does the second bathroom tub surround and the wall behind the sink.

They all have the same look and feel based on the pattern, but there are two kinds of granite, two kinds of travertine and one kind of marble throughout the house. It works, though, because the pattern unifies all the different colors and stones.

The other great part about this theme is no matter what size the window–five feet to eight inches–this tile design theme works! You can shrink it or expand it to fit in the given space.

As you saw already, the same idea is true for the shower in the master bathroom and the tub surround in the second full bathroom.

You can pick a mesh backed mosaic and use it in a similar fashion. Need it to be a little wider? Cut apart a sheet and add a row alongside the full sheet. Need it thinner? Subtract one of the outside rows on the mesh.

The other bonus of using it in the shower where the plumbing fixtures extend through–it is easy to modify small pieces to account for said plumbing fixtures. You certainly won’t end up with a piece of eighteen inch tile having to cut a round hole for the water controller.

Example #2: Add an Accent

An alternative pattern is adding a pop of interest from time to time. This diamond pattern is an example of another theme along with different places it is incorporated.

In the kitchen backsplash.

In the bathroom backsplash.

In the laundry room floor.

Easy to incorporate and place throughout tiled surfaces, accent pieces add the wow factor in expected–and unexpected–places.

Another part of the design for this home, specifically part of the floor layout, are the granite thresholds that go across every transition between tile and wood floors.

Additional thoughts determining the right tile pattern

When deciding on the right tile pattern you also have to balance personal taste over potential appeal to the next buyer. For instance, the waterfall theme is more palatable to the next buyer over the diamond theme. Everyone will love the glamorous Carrara marble bathroom.

However, both examples showcase how a tile design makes your house stand out with a cohesive look. It also allows you to use different kinds of tile in different rooms and make it look planned! A well placed tile design theme is one more example where attention to detail makes your home stand out from the rest. Even the smallest, unassuming home can easily showcase million dollar home finishes.

The added bonus of a “custom” pattern is if after all the dryfitting, if you still needed an 1/8″ shaved off in the end, you could easily do that in the middle of the waterfall and no one would know the difference.  You KNOW it happened. 😉 You could also cut the same amount off the 18″ inch travertine and no one would notice either, but it is a lot easier to carry a smaller piece of tile. From a nerdy perspective it is nice to know the surrounding pieces are perfectly balanced too.

When you are zeroing in on a pattern ask youself, “Does this pattern have some flexibility for all the spaces I intend for it to go?”

With so many different shapes, colors and kinds of tile on the market your next tile pattern is only limited by your imagination.