Lusting over the glorious geometry of a perfectly tiled room is something that predates the Pinterest scroll by thousands of years. The earliest evidence of glazed brick is at Chogha Zanbil, an Elamite temple in modern-day Iran, which dates from the 13th century BC. Fast-forward to 2022 and we’re still very much team tile: on Instagram you’ll find 4.7 million tags for #tiles, and manufacturers have stepped up their game in response to demand for brave colourways, unique shapes and textured finishes.
The newest National Trust tile collection by Sarsen Stone Group includes four designs inspired by the properties, gardens, coastline and countryside cared for by the trust. Its Riverlands Scales scallop-shaped glossy ceramic tiles (£189.60 per sq m, capeitra.com) take their cues from natural shades — kingfishers, herons and moody skies — while Riverlands Melange matt porcelain tiles (£65 per sq m, capietra.com) are patterned with muted botanicals.
Sarah Watson, founder of the high-end British tilemaker Balineum, focuses on handmade and custom tiles. “There is no one style or design that our customers are choosing. They come to us because they want something special or unique,” she says.
“We recently worked on commissions to create tiled murals. When you can see a pattern emerge over an expanse of tiles — not just a single tile on repeat — it provides a huge amount of joy,” Watson adds. “Painted tiles have a sense of activity and movement. There is something freeing about living in a space that is not perfect or does not follow strict decorating rules. The variations in the tile surface and glaze colours are what make a room interesting and beautiful.”
If you’re planning a bathroom redesign this year, bold is the theme. Selecting a tile may seem a small part of a renovation, but one that presents a plethora of decisions on colour, shape, size and material – and that’s even before we get on to coloured grout combinations. Here are some options to add to your bathroom wish list.
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Country Living’s Starry Skies tiles come as a pack of 13 to easily create a splashback feature; £18.20 (equivalent of £1.40 per tile, or £35 per sq m), homebase.co.uk
Picket tiles are a new take on the classic Metro shape. These hexagonal tiles have a textured finish and come in six muted pastel shades, including petal pink; £1.13 per tile or £45.20 per sq m, tilegiant.co.uk
Bottle green is always a stylish choice. The Hoxton gloss porcelain tile is a classic design with an edge; £50 per sq m, mandarinstone.com
Spend
Bring some zing with Fired Earth’s Carnival Oro glazed tiles in Fiesta. They are machine made, with rippling edges that mimic traditionally handmade tiles. As seen in this bathroom designed by Barlow and Barlow; 90p each or £79.20 per sq m, firedearth.com
Green onyx is this year’s sell-out trend. This large-format, stone-look California porcelain tile is back in stock in early April; £10 per tile or £84.96 per sq m, capietra.com
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The beautifully crafted Kasama Habu mosaic tiles lend an architectural feel to your space; £8.84 per tile or £99.89 per sq m, claybrookstudio.co.uk
Zellige are traditional Moroccan tiles made from a particular clay found in Fez. An Instagram favourite, they are available in myriad colours; £108 per sq m, zellige-tiles.com
Channel the Med with Valencia, a handmade floral encaustic tile, part of the Spanish collection from Otto Tiles; £162 per sq m, ottotiles.co.uk
Splurge
Craven Dunnill Jackfield has been making tiles since 1872. The hand-decorated plain field tiles in Laurel have a translucent glaze (£3 per tile, or £225 per sq m) and pair beautifully with the Burleigh Calico hand-moulded tile; £10.74 per tile, or £805.50 per sq m, cravendunnill.co.uk
Brooklyn artist Wayne Pate’s range of terracotta tiles for Balineum is handmade to order by artisans in Italy. The collection includes nine designs, which can be used on repeat, as a border, or alongside Balineum’s existing tile range; from £21.60 per tile, or £950.40 per sq m, balineum.co.uk
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Fashion designer Mary Katrantzou is often nicknamed the queen of print. Victorian is her new tile collection, a collaboration with ceramics specialist Villeroy & Boch. It uses a bold palette of gold, white and black, with many of the tiles adorned with butterflies; prices start from £25 per tile, fliesen-villeroy-boch.com
