Planning Your Bathroom Tile Design, Pattern & Installation

If you are planning to tile a bathroom by yourself, this article will help you plan your bathroom tiling installation in the best and cost effective way as well as giving you some tile design ideas. We will guide through your new bathroom tile design and installation planning step by step.

Attention - Note that planning your tiling installation properly is the most important step for smooth, easy going and problem free bathroom tile installation.

Remember a bathroom tiling installation isn't a quick job, so don't miss the point and plan it right. All the time spent planning your tiling installation will save you money and headaches.

You have to plan your bathroom-tiling project carefully; choose the tile design and tile patterns, what materials you need and which tools you require.

Choose your Bathroom Tile design & Tile patterns

The tile patterns that you can create with different tiles are limited only by your own Tile design ideas. A large variety of standard tile designs, ideas and tile patterns are available. Some tile manufacturers may make special custom tile designs for you.

Choosing the tile design is obviously the first thing you need to do, with out deciding this you can not start planning your bathroom tile installation.

You can find a few basic bathroom tile design ideas & tile patterns, check it out.

For some Inspiration you can check Google pictures for some Bathroom Tile design ideas, there are over a million bathroom pictures here.

Tile suitability - Tiles are made in porous and non-porous varieties. When planning a bathroom tile installation, you should choose the non-porous ceramic tiles.

If your bathroom is small and the tiles have designs on them, you may have to go for smaller sized tiles as they have smaller designs. Too large tile designs may not suit small bathrooms so choose a smaller tile design for smaller bathrooms.

If you go for a plain color, the size isn't that important, however try to follow the rule above anyway.

A good tile design idea is to choose contrasting colors for the floor tiles and wall tiles. Then have a skirting line the same color as the floor tile.

Another tile design idea is changing color at chest level, which will change the look of your bathroom.

Try to choose bathroom accessories that compliment the color of the walls.

Materials - How much will you need? - To calculate the quantity of materials that you need, you must take precise measurements of the total area that you wish to tile.

From the total area and the size of each tile, you can calculate the number of tiles required (you must know the size of the tiles you have chosen).

You must also remember to take into account the gaps between tiles when calculating the number of tiles needed, so make sure you include spacers appropriate to the tile size chosen.  

When calculating consider more than half a tile as a full tile and less than a half tile as a half tile. If you have chosen a multicolored bathroom, calculate each color separately and note down the tile requirements.

Ordering tiles - Order the tiles on the basis of the measurements taken. Note that tiles are packed in boxes and the supplier is unlikely to sell tiles individually.

Remember to order extra tiles as you can be sure that some tiles will break during installation (even the best professional breaks tiles). In addition some of these extra tiles could be used in the future if any tiles need replacing. This is not only good but an advisable practice.

Always order additional tiles since the tiles you have ordered may not be available in future, and if you require replacement tiles, you will have difficulty finding a match.

Best tools for a good job - Make sure you choose the right tool for the job. It'll make the job easier and safer too. You probably have a basic toolbox however for tiling installation you need special tiling tools.

Some of them are expensive but don't waste your money buying professional tools that you won't use enough to pay for themselves. Instead hire them. For some $$ you can have the best tools for a few days. And if you've done your planning properly you'll only need them for a few hours.