Big Tiles Small Tiles Hmmm.........??

Mr_Proctalgia

I have bought a place with a tiny bathroom that is absolutely skanky, a new suite and retile will be happening but I have received conflicting advice regarding tile size - which will make the room look bigger huge tiles or ikkle ones????

Opinions sought.

poppie,s_dream

i have a small bathroom and we have big tiles as recommended by the bathroom fitter. and it does make it look bigger. incidently just been watching a house prog and they've just re done the bathroom and took smallish mosiac tiles off and replaced with long ones looked really nice too. It has summat to do with small draws eyes to giving the impression of closing in, whereas large gives the illusion of space.

crankup

Big tiles means less grout to lose its whiteness!

Go for lighter shades for a larger room perception.

unsure

And of course, in money saving terms, the big tiles it will be a much quicker job with bigger tiles which will save tiler's costs, or time (=money) if you are doing it yourself!

We just did a bathroom with small glass tiles ( end of line 66% discount!!) up to apx 4 feet,a glass border (Fired Earth sale ---real bargain) and Big Homebase white tiles (cheap as chips) above-- looks very nice and saved an absolute fortune! It's well worth shopping around for tiles as big suppliers will often have end of lines, or discontinued patterns at a fraction of the previous price. Vey likely to have more than enough to do a bathroom.

One thing I'd say is that the most dramatic "contemporary" looks are often the ones that date quickest while more classic combinations may be more pleasing on the eye (and wallet) in the long run.

Mr_Proctalgia

Thanks for the views so far, the house is 1930 ish and I rather fancy a "Art Deco" look. I have been all over eBay looking at stuff and rather like the idea of either a Back to the wall or wall hung WC and a wall mounted basin with lots of chrome. Yesterday I had a look at some Travertine tiles that looked rather nice but I'm not sure I would like them everywhere. I also like the appearance of the rectangular bevel edged black and white tiles that go up brick wall style but they might be over the top as they are a bit small.

So can you cut Travertine on a "Wet Wheel" saw or are other methods needed?

One tip I will give back is to use White epoxy grout - it never ever grows mould or discolours, but it is a bit of a pig to apply and cost £10 per kilo.

busymumof3

We have recently done our kitchen in this brick shape bevel edge tile. Ours is cream with one row of black. They are the smaller size than the standard 200mm by 100mm and look really good with stainless steel splashback etc (kitchen doors are glossy cream with bevel edge too). THe only slight issue I have is around the window where there are external corners the bevel shape means that the join isn't very neat. Don't know if tile trims could sort this out. I did worry that it would look a bit like a northern line tube station but am really pleased with the look.

For the bathroom we have gone for a very large limestone effect tile. Agree with minimising the potential grout discolouration issue. In the ensuite we are debating whether to use the aqua panels which seem in vogue at the moment.

never_enough

Sounds like you're in a similar position to me. I've got a tiny bathroom in a 1920s house. Original bathroom suite (a beautiful shape but past its best & primrose yellow :eek: ) needs to come out. I was advised to go for bigger tiles to open up the space. As other people mention it also means less grout. Sadly I've fallen in love with some in Fired Earth (retro metro) but they're tiny.

A friend recently had mirror cut to fit the wall along the bath in his very compact bathroom. We all laughed when he was telling us about it, but it does look good. Not sure I could cope with it myself, but it certainly makes the room seem much larger.

bernlyn

Mr_Proctalgia wrote:

One tip I will give back is to use White epoxy grout - it never ever grows mould or discolours, but it is a bit of a pig to apply and cost £10 per kilo.

please could you tell me where to buy this as i have done a quick search and cannt find it. do you have any tips on appling the grout thanks in advance

moonrakerz

[QUOTE
A friend recently had mirror cut to fit the wall along the bath in his very compact bathroom. We all laughed when he was telling us about it, but it does look good. Not sure I could cope with it myself, but it certainly makes the room seem much larger.[/QUOTE]

We had this in a previous house. Makes the bathroom look enormous.

Bendybops19

yeah my sister had a huge mirror pn the wall along the bath in a house she rented. To start with my first thought was 'oh my, the landlord is a bit of a perv' :rotfl: but it really did make the bathroom feel 100 times bigger.

plumb1_2

Bendybops19 wrote:

yeah my sister had a huge mirror pn the wall along the bath in a house she rented. To start with my first thought was 'oh my, the landlord is a bit of a perv' :rotfl: but it really did make the bathroom feel 100 times bigger.

Only worry if the floor has been mirrors