The floor is the largest surface in most bathrooms, so it does a lot of the work in setting the look of the room. A patterned floor tile can give a plain bathroom real character — but on the Sunshine Coast, a bathroom floor also has to cope with wet feet, year-round humidity and sand walked in from the beach. Here’s how to choose a material, a colour and a pattern that suit the room and the way coastal homes are lived in.
Which type of tile is best for a bathroom floor?
Most bathroom floors are tiled in one of four materials: ceramic, porcelain, natural stone or mosaic. Whatever you choose, two things matter before looks do: the tile shouldn’t be slippery when wet, and water shouldn’t be able to get through the surface. Once those are covered, the decision comes down to style, upkeep and budget.
A quick note on slip resistance: tiles sold in Australia carry a slip rating from P0 to P5, and a higher rating grips better underfoot. For a bathroom floor or shower, ask about the rating of any tile you’re considering — patterned tiles included.
1. Ceramic tiles
Ceramic is an affordable, hard-wearing choice for bathrooms, laundries and other busy areas. Its glazed surface doesn’t hold onto dust, pollen or other allergens, so a quick mop keeps it clean — useful for anyone with asthma or allergies. It feels cool underfoot, which in a Queensland summer is usually a bonus.
Ceramic is also where a lot of pattern lives: handmade-look zellige and bejmat, decorated feature tiles and classic subways. Many of these are designed for walls, so check the product details before using one on a floor — or pair a patterned ceramic feature wall with a plainer floor. Browse our ceramic, zellige and decorated feature tiles.
2. Porcelain tiles
Porcelain is a type of ceramic made from finer clay and fired at a higher temperature, which makes it denser and far less absorbent. That’s why it’s such a popular choice for bathroom floors: it doesn’t need sealing and it handles constant moisture well.
Porcelain can take on almost any look, from printed patterns to stone, concrete and marble. One increasingly popular option is timber-look porcelain, which brings the warmth of wood to a wet area without the upkeep — see our guide to timber-look tiles for bathrooms on the Sunshine Coast.
3. Natural stone
Natural stone is cut straight from quarried blocks rather than manufactured. Marble, travertine and limestone are the most common choices for bathrooms, and no two pieces are quite the same, which is much of the appeal. Stone floors can be patterned by mixing colours, using mosaics, or laying larger tiles in a set pattern — the Rocco Mediterranean White Marble, for example, comes as a French-pattern set as well as individual tiles.
If you like the look of a stone French pattern but want an easier-care tile, the Pulse Beige French Pattern is a stone-look alternative, with indoor and outdoor versions — handy if your bathroom opens onto a courtyard or outdoor shower.
Stone is porous, so in a bathroom it needs to be sealed, and resealed over time. If you’re weighing it up against porcelain, our guide to natural stone vs porcelain for a coastal home runs through the trade-offs, or browse our natural stone range.
4. Mosaic tiles
Mosaics are small tiles supplied on mesh sheets, in stone, porcelain or glass. Because a mosaic floor has far more grout lines than a large-format one, it gives more grip underfoot — one reason mosaics are a favourite for shower floors. They’re also the simplest way to add pattern: herringbone, chevron and hexagon mosaics all bring movement to a floor. Our range includes the Micro Herringbone mosaics in several marbles — see our mosaics for home and pool.
Do big tiles make a small bathroom look bigger?
Yes. Large-format floor tiles are one of the simplest ways to make a small bathroom feel bigger. Fewer tiles means fewer grout lines, so the floor looks calmer and less “busy”, and the eye reads the space as larger than it is.
To take it a step further, choose a grout that closely matches the colour of the tile. A consistent colour across the floor creates a seamless look from wall to wall.
Which colour of floor tiles is best for a bathroom?
Use light-coloured tiles
A bathroom tiled in lighter colours almost always looks bigger than the same room in darker tiles. Light floor and wall tiles reflect light and visually open up the room, while darker colours absorb it and can make a bathroom feel smaller. Light, sandy tones are also forgiving in a coastal home — they hide the odd bit of beach sand far better than a dark floor.
Keep the same tone and colour
Using the same (or very similar) tiles on the walls and floor keeps the space feeling cohesive. Avoid pairing dark floor tiles with light wall tiles, or the reverse, if you want the room to feel as spacious as possible — strong contrast breaks the room up and makes it look smaller.
If you’d like some contrast, bring it in through the vanity, cabinetry, tapware or lighting instead. They add colour without shrinking the room.
What tile pattern is best for a small bathroom?
A busy, high-contrast pattern across the whole floor of a small bathroom can make it feel smaller. That doesn’t mean ruling pattern out — it means using it carefully:
- Keep the pattern soft. A light-coloured, low-contrast pattern adds interest without crowding the room.
- Use pattern in one zone. A patterned shower floor, a feature strip or a single feature wall gives you the character of a pattern while the rest of the room stays plain.
- Let the layout do the work. Laying a plain tile in herringbone or chevron creates pattern through the layout rather than the colour.
For inspiration, browse our patterned and feature tiles.
Find patterned bathroom floor tiles on the Sunshine Coast
Tile can change the feel of a bathroom more than anything else in it — from classic subway tiles to a retro patterned floor or two decorative tiles laid side by side. Natural Tile & Bathrooms has been supplying designer tiles on the Sunshine Coast since 2011. Visit our showroom in Coolum Beach to see the range in person, or browse all our products online. For more ideas, see our guide to the 10 best bathroom tile options for Sunshine Coast homes.
