Tile is the element that most characterizes the look of the bathroom and defines its style.
Different criteria should be considered to choose the right tile, which include not only aesthetic characteristics such as colors, patterns and sizes, but technical specifications as well, such as slipperiness, water absorption index, and resistance to breakage and abrasion.
Before you determine the style, you should select tiles according to quality and characteristics, verifying all the parameters established by the standards for each property, so as to have a functional coating that maintains its characteristics over time.
After this first phase of the selection process, you dedicate time to the fun part, namely choosing the style of the tile: today we have a wide range at our disposal, from traditional glazed ceramic tile to porcelain stoneware that is decorated and printed with digital techniques, even if all this variety might give us more doubts and indecision.
Above all the tile must agree to the style of the bathroom, harmoniously integrating itself with the furniture, fixtures and accessories.
For retro bathrooms, glazed ceramic subway tiles inspired by the Paris metro are perfect, perhaps even combined with black and white square tiles arranged in a checkerboard for the floor and black fixtures: a timeless classic that never goes out of style.
Those who prefer industrial style can move towards cement or metal effect porcelain stoneware tile in shades of gray, brown or dark green. Thanks to the digital printing technique, the choice of texture is almost infinite: from simple smoothed cement up to an formwork effect (the technique used in the construction of concrete walls that involves the use of wooden planks to create veins on the surface) , passing on to the iron or bronze effect surfaces, oxidized as a real industrial style bath requires.
Concrete effect tile are also ideal for modern bathrooms, perhaps combined with glittering glass mosaics or tiles depicting geometric and floral motifs from traditional cementine tiles. The big trend: when arranged to create horizontal or vertical designs, these inserts help to break the monotony of a monochromatic covering.
For wood lovers, a material suitable for all styles, give the green light to wood effect porcelain stoneware tile, available in classic plank shapes and with a wide variety of types of wood. A highly effective idea is to choose bathroom furniture in the same spirit reproduced in the tile.
For those with classic tastes, marble effect tile can be replace without disfiguring the most expensive and delicate natural marble, for a bathroom that is both elegant and functional at the same time: thanks to digital printing technology, materials with a timeless allure like Carrara marble, black Marquina, and Travertine are now available to everyone.
Finally, a nod to three-dimensional ceramic tile, the big new thing of 2017: light effects, dynamism and materiality are the characteristics of this covering, enlivened by geometric or sinuous relief designs.
Three-dimensional tiles are perfect for a contemporary bathroom, perhaps even combined with a bathtub and a freestanding basin with sculptural lines and one of the latest LED mirrors.
