The fun new tile trends you need to know about
One of the best things about decoration is that even when you feel you know everything about a certain material or way of doing things, something comes along to change your perspective. The humble tile is a perfect example. Previously reserved for more practical uses in kitchens and bathrooms, it has now become a way to add visual interest, depth, texture and colour to any scheme in any room of the house.
Sarah Watson, the visionary behind tile company Balineum (and the winner of House & Garden’s 2025 award for Outstanding Contribution) has noticed the same trend. ‘We are definitely seeing clients using more colour and decoration with their tiles,’ she says. ‘They are much bolder with pattern and colour than they were five or 10 years ago.’ She highlights the success of Balineum’s ‘Mottled’ tile collection, ‘which is based on an old Victorian or Edwardian tiles that you’d often see in pubs in north of England. It has been one of our bestselling products over the past couple of years. We have clients who are tiling entire rooms in theses mottled tiles.’
We are currently very taken with idea of arranging tiles in an interesting way (eg turning square tiles on their points or forming interested striped designs) as well as using dark, glossy tiles to create a dramatic look. Tiled furniture is also taking off, with cabinets, tables, plinths and more being brought to life with beautiful colours and bold designs. Read on to find out what’s caught our eye now and how to emulate these wonderful design ideas.
Tile ideas from the House & Garden archive
Dean Hearne1/18Tiled splashbacks are a popular feature in many kitchens thanks to their inherent practicality, but this does not mean they need to be boring or conventional. We are increasingly seeing eye-catching patterns and unusual configurations taking centre stage.
In Phoebe Holland’s eccentric London house, she has used Balineum’s ‘Felce’ design to cover the lower part of the walls, extending up to the cooker hood to form a striking central panel. The leafy tile design is particularly pleasing with the white and green of the cabinet doors.
Dean Hearne2/18Joshua Hale’s tiny cottage in the Cotswolds is now a jewel box of colour and pattern thanks to the designer and artist’s clever, budget-friendly ideas. One piece he did decide to invest in is the smart steel chimneypiece from English Fireplaces in the sitting room.
But even this has been given the personal touch with a border of spongeware tiles that he created with his friend and landlord Matthew Rice, which were then made in Emma Bridgewater’s Stoke-on-Trent factory. A brilliant example of using tiles to imbue a space with personality and achieve a unique finish not seen anywhere else.
Lindsay Brown3/18Tiled fire surrounds have been around the centuries, offering much-needed practicality as well as being aesthetically pleasing. But they can also work very well as an addition to more modern interiors. In this 100-year-old house in Atlanta, designer Avery Cox decided to add new dark green tiles to the chimneypiece in the sitting area, bringing colour and texture to this natural focal point.
Ngoc Minh Ngo4/18When half-tiling a wall, consider using wallpaper rather than paint on the upper walls for an even more vibrant scheme. In the children’s bathroom of this Connecticut house designed by Hugh Leslie, yellow subway tiles have been partnered with ‘Herbarium’ wallpaper by Stig Lindberg from Borástapeter for a sunny and uplifting effect.
Dean Hearne5/18This drawing room has been transformed into a wonderfully inviting space by Nicola Harding, in an Arts and Crafts house featured in the September 2025 issue of House & Garden. To the left of the fireplace is a petrol blue-tiled ‘Welcome’ cabinet made by Matthew Raw for The New Craftmaker, which is part of a collection inspired by the traditional tiles of Britain’s railway stations.
Tiled pieces of furniture can be a brilliant want to introduce different materials and textures into a scheme. Consider introducing them in conjunction with a mix of different fabrics, as Nicola has done here on the chairs and sofas, for even more textural contrast.
Annie Schlechter6/18Bright tiles never fail to bring a joyful feel, especially when used on a large scale and in contrasting colours and patterns. The kitchen of this Mexico City home by Jessica Ayromloo is gloriously saturated with colour and exhibits three ways to use tiles: on the wall, on the floor and – our favourite – on the round dining table. You might not be feeling quite this daring, but perhaps it will inspire you to go for one or two tiled elements in your next project.
Dean Hearne7/18The headboard in Carolina Irving’s Portuguese house is covered in colourful tiles handmade in a small village in Andalusia – a slightly different take on the mottled trend – which were also used to create a splashback in the kitchen. It just goes to show just how well tiles can work in a more unusual setting like a bedroom.
Dean Hearne8/18In the sitting room of Carolina Irving’s house in Portugal we see more beautiful tiles, this time on the floor. The deep emerald tiles were made locally in the town of Setúbal, with an ancient tin-glaze technique that the designer notes wryly is ‘not quite safe for eating off, but perfectly fine to have underfoot’.
Paul Massey9/18Dark glossy tiles are having something of a moment, as exemplified by these lining the AGA of Philip Hooper’s Georgian house in Somerset. Walls in Papers and Paints’ ‘Pale Gres de Flandres Brown’ are the background for the whole kitchen, but the use of the inky tiles grounds both the space and creates a distinct zone.
Paul Massey10/18Dark Lapicida tiles contrast with walls in Edward Bulmer’s ‘Trumpington’ in this grand modern hallway of a 19th-century county house transformed by Rita Konig. This entrance creates a moment of serious architectural drama, with its double-height plate-glass windows, contemporary staircase and floor in black sandstone tiles, showing another way in which dark glossy tiles work especially well.
Paul Massey11/18Another example of dark, glossy tiles working particularly well can be found in this library space of a Thameside house by Nicola Harding. Woodwork in Pure & Original’s ‘Aubergine’ and black bejmat tiles from Emery & Cie provide a dramatic backdrop for a handsome 19th-century table and a vintage painted stool.
Paul Massey12/18Nicola used floor tiles throughout this house, adding a glossy, dramatic touch in multiple spaces. Here, in the hall between the library (above) and orangery beyond, bejmat tiles are laid in a different formation. We catch a glimpse of the teal bejmat tiles in the adjoining orangery, where the slightly lighter colour there lends an air of relaxed glamour.
Lucas Allen13/18Delft tiles are nothing new but, when used in a modern setting, they can take a very different look. Here in a bathroom in Joanne Burgess’ house in Henley-on-Thames, they have been used to line the fireplace, providing an interesting contrast with the yellow and white striped floor and the patterned armchair. They also bring a painterly quality that immediately elevates a space.
If you’re looking for Delft tiles, the focus is no longer exclusively on antique example. This is now a whole host of sources for buying – and commissioning – new takes on them. Petra Palumbo does witty modern takes on them, such as her ‘Laundry Delft’ series. Decorum Studio is also a great source, particularly for sea-themed designs.
Owen Gale14/18Painterly tiles of all sorts are having a real moment and there has been a real increase in interest since we first caught sight of these designs in this stylist’s London home a few years ago. These are all hand-designed and transfer-printed by Maude Made, who makes the tiles to order.
Balineum has also got a wonderful offering of artful tiles, with its wide-ranging and always desirable lines. The collaboration with illustrator Fee Greening is certainly not to be missed.
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Paul Massey15/18Bespoke Delft tiles create a subtle yet distinctive splashback behind the AGA in this London house by Cave Interiors. The most notable thing about them – and a feature we are seeing more and more – is their positioning. The tiles are not in a vertical grid, instead they have been turned 45 degrees to create a lovely diamond pattern on the diagonal.
Christopher Horwood16/18European Heritage ‘Metronome’ tiles in green and white create an eye-catching striped effect in the bathroom of this flat by Natalie Tredgett. It has an almost retro feel, especially combined with the brass hardware, that is perfectly in keeping with the rest of the flat.
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Lucas Allen17/18In another corner of the bathroom in Joanne Burgess’ house, we see a different way to create a striped pattern. This time, it comes from the very design of the ‘Mustard Stripe’ tile by Otto Tiles, so there is no need for the tiles to be arranged in a special stripe formation. It is echoed by the painted floorboards in stripes of white and Farrow and Ball’s ‘India Yellow’.
Kate S Jordan. Styling: Brittany Albert18/18Zia Tiles cement designs in earthy tones are arranged in a chequerboard pattern that complements the tongue-and-groove panelling in the bathroom of this farmhouse in Upstate New York.
Of course, there is nothing new about chequerboard tiles in a bathroom, but it certainly seems to be having something of a comeback. With myriad different suppliers to choose from, it is a relatively easy way to enhance your new bathroom scheme – just make sure you get a good tiler on board as it is not always easy to achieve yourself.
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