Tiles to brighten up your bathroom

In the darker months of the year, we tend to seek out lighter spaces, while the dawn of the New Year may inspire us to redo our homes and freshen them up as we head into 2024. Whether you’re due a revamp of your bathroom or simply want to introduce more light into the space, your choice of tiling can play a big part in how bright the room appears.

How you brighten up your bathroom with tiles will differ, depending on your personal taste, but you don’t necessarily have to opt for bold, vibrant tones, as cooler colours can work just as well. There are some key things you can keep in mind, however, to get a more vibrant aesthetic.

This blog will subsequently look at some of the ways in which you can use tiles to cheer up your bathroom décor, so read to the end to find out our top tips, along with some of our tile recommendations.

Go glossy with reflective surfaces

While the colour of tiles you choose will certainly influence how bright your bathroom appears – and we’ll discuss that shortly – the finish of the tiles also plays a key role. This is something which can easily be overlooked when it comes to picking out your bathroom tiles, so here’s why it’s important to consider the finish when selecting your tiling.

Simply put, gloss tiles have smooth, light-reflecting surfaces which make the most of any natural light in the room, as well as that from overhead fixtures and LED mirrors which have their own in-built lighting. As a result, this will automatically make your bathroom appear more spacious, creating a lighter, brighter space which is ultimately much more welcoming.

Choosing gloss tiles like the Pool-green Brick-effect Wall Tile, will help brighten up your bathroom, as they have a light-reflecting surface which will create a sense of spaciousness and airiness.

Porcelain tiles with a gloss finish or glass mosaic tiling are therefore ideal if you want that brighter look, as they have those all-important smooth, reflective surfaces which will let light bounce off them where matt tiles do not.

The Pool-green Brick-effect Wall Tile is an example of this and is a rectangular gloss porcelain tile which is ideal for bathroom walls and will complement a range of décor. The pale green tone combined with the gloss finish makes it perfect for brightening up your space, while also evoking a sense of calm with that nature-inspired colour.

Choose lighter, brighter tile styles

While you can opt for a more neutral, paler colour palette, this needn’t limit you to just white tiles for your bathroom, as there are lots of other lighter tones which will have the same effect. For example, choosing a multi-coloured tile like the Hex Frisia Silver Non-slip Mosaic Sheet is an inspired choice. With a variety of colours and that reflective gloss finish, these glass tiles also have a hexagonal shape, with the small size increasing the surface area available on each tile for light to bounce off.

Combining silver, turquoise, blue and navy, these tiles deliver on both brightening up your bathroom and creating visual interest and depth, so are an all-round great choice.

The Hex Frisa Silver Non-slip Mosaic Sheet combines various tones and has a gloss finish from the glass material which will reflect light.

Another light-coloured tile which stays away from white as the core colour is the Palm Striped Hexagon Decor Pink Porcelain Tile which features a pale pink base tone along with white striped detailing. With a distinctive hexagonal shape, these tiles can be styled in a variety of ways, with the design used to create a starburst patten, for example. Alternatively, the stripes can be lined up to point in one direction, either vertically, to the left or right, or arranged in a random pattern.

The Palm Striped Hexagon Décor Pink Porcelain Tile.

While this blush-pink tile doesn’t have a gloss finish and is instead matt, the colour combination of pink and white makes it an uplifting tile which can still bring brightness to your interior without the added gloss effect. It therefore delivers an uplifting look in a more subtle way.

Lighten up with large-format tiling

The size of your tiles is also worth considering when seeking to create a lighter, brighter space. If choosing smaller tiles, like the mosaics featured above, then opting for that gloss finish and lighter tones will help crate brightness. Larger format tiling also works really well, however, particularly if combined with a marble-effect design or something similar.

For example, the Patmos Pulido Porcelain Wall & Floor Tile is a larger marble-effect tile with a gloss finish and white base tone, with smoky-grey veining detail running across the surface. The paler background combined with the large size will help to lighten your bathroom, while the veining adds depth and texture to the tiles.

With a rectified finish, this also gives the tiles a more precise look and means they require less grouting, so can be laid closer together to create a more seamless, cohesive aesthetic. They also have that polished sheen as well, so this will further enhance the overall aesthetic and reflect light around the room.

Large-format marble-effect tiles like the Patmos Pulido Porcelain Wall & Floor Tile will create a lighter space.

Another large-format tile which will brighten up your bathroom and also add a pop of colour is the Onyx Turquoise Polished Rectified Tile. This beautiful turquoise tile has a marble-effect design which mixes that cool blue tone with amber and white to create an eye-catching look which will instantly elevate your interior.

Combined with the large-format size and gloss finish, this will create an airy ambience and give your bathroom a lighter, brighter look. The rectified edges also give these tiles clean lines and a more precise finish, with minimal grouting required so, like the Patmos Pulido Tiles, they can be laid more closely together to create a more flowing, seamless aesthetic.

The Onyx Turquoise Polished Rectified Tile will brighten up your bathroom.

Tiles for all bathrooms

When it comes to brightening up your bathroom, tiles are therefore a key element of creating that welcoming, cheery look and we have a wide range of styles and finishes available at Tileshack. Whether you want to go big with larger format tiling or prefer to stick with smaller sizes or go for a mosaic look, we have all these and more, with a great array of colours and patterns to choose from.

If you need any more tips or advice on which tiles are best for your bathroom to get that brighter look, then just chat to our team online or in-store and we’ll be happy to answer any queries.

If you want to talk tiles, just email us at info@bathshack.com, call (028) 9077 0188, or use our online chat feature.