Okay, so remember how I said I used to hate the tile grout lines in my powder room? Yeah. Well, they drove me nuts not because they were dirty (although that was always inevitable) but because I’d become SO chicken about mixing tile patterns that I ended up using plain white subway tiles in a blah brick pattern.
Safe. Boring. BLAND.
I would look at those walls every morning as I brushed my teeth and curse myself for not taking a risk on something that made ME happy. Flash forward three years.
I’ve since discovered that there totally IS a formula for mixing tile patterns, sizes, textures in a way that DOESN’T make your bathroom look like it had floral throw pillows spray-painted all over it.
Honestly, it was reading through my friend Sarah’s kitchen and bath design magazine that gave me the aha! moment. She’d clipped tile samples from approximately fifteen showrooms – hexagonal tiles, marble-looking porcelain, little mosaics, even wood-look planks. Gorgeous stuff, all of it, but when she laid it all out on her kitchen table…. chaos.
And that’s when I realized that most people (including Former Jenny) make the same mistake. We try to use ALL the things we love instead of editing down to things that actually go together. Here’s the thing I learned: 60-30-10 rule, but with tiles instead of paint colours.
60% of your bathroom should be your “main” tile – think flooring, huge areas on walls. This is your canvas and it should be neutral enough that it doesn’t compete with your other choices. Think 30% something else – your “pattern” tile.
And 10%? Well that’s your “wow” tile. The accent that makes everyone say “ohhh, that’s beautiful.” In Sarah’s bathroom we used large-format grey porcelain (that seriously looked like concrete) for about 60% of the space.
Then we used a secondary tile – smaller hexagon mosaic tiles in a slightly warmer grey. Same colour family, but different shape+texture. The wow tile?
A band of handmade Portuguese tiles with delicate blue florals that we used to create a border around the mirror. Turns out when you mix tile patterns, not all sizes work well together. I made the mistake once of trying to combine teeny tiny penny tiles with huge 12×24 floor tiles and… let’s just say the proportions weren’t pretty.
Small tile started to look silly and the big tiles were so overpowering that the small ones just looked like filler. When mixing tile shapes and sizes, it’s best to stick with tiles that are no more than two “sizes” apart. If your main tile is a 6×12, your accent could be 2×2 or maybe 3×6.
Not 1-inch mosaic tiles. And not 18×18 monsters, either. There are exceptions to every rule – I’ve seen elegant bathrooms that mix small-ashecklace mosaics with large-format walls – but the ones that work are because the designer treated the mosaics like a piece of art, not a tile you can just run through your shower.
Texture is where you really need to tread lightly. Subway tiles with matte hexagons? Yes, please.
Subway tiles with matte hexagons, plus honed stone, plus polished marble? NOPE. I try to mix no more than two finishes at once and if I do pick two completely different ones, I’ll try to tie them together with similar undertones, colour stories, or complementary textures.
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This should’ve been obvious to me, but PAY ATTENTION TO YOUR GROUT. Listen, grout is about as sexy as watching paint dry… Which I’ve also done plenty of in bathrooms. But hear me out.
Choosing the right grout colour can really make or break your mixed tile masterpiece. Dark grout with white subway tiles? Boom.
Instant definition that makes that grid pattern POP. White grout between mixed tiles? Instant zen-coolness.
Now I find myself really playing with grout colours – darker where I want the tile pattern to stand out, and lighter where I want the tiles to blur together. My current bathroom remodel has become my personal playground for mixing tiles. The shower will have subway tiles (larger than typical subway style) as the base tile.
Then I’m using diamond shaped tiles in the same white colour for a border at about shoulder height. The wow factor? A single row of dark green glazed tiles that echo the colour of an old-school frame I found on an old farmhouse estate sale.
Same colour story, three totally different shapes, two different textures (matte subway vs glossy green tiles), all brought together with white grout throughout. Stupid expensive mistake #2: Ordering extra tiles. Obviously.
When you start mixing patterns, you NEED extra tiles. Like WAY more than you think you’ll need. If you run out and there’s no place online where you can order more (hello, it happened to me with those freaking Portuguese tiles!) you’ll either have to reorder in a different shade (no bueno) or redesign your tile layout to accomodate what you have on hand.
My lesson learned? Always order at least 20% more of your accent tiles. And if they’re handmade or from smaller producers, even MORE.
There are also some very real reasons you shouldn’t mix just ANY tile you want. Tiles expand and contract at different rates – if you don’t use the right kind of thinset and grout they can actually CRACK against each other. Combining natural stone with man-made ceramics requires more sealing/ maintenance than using one or the other.
Certain combinations of materials might need to be installed by different pros who know how to handle that stuff. You should also DOUBLE check with your tile installer before you go off ordering tons of tile.
Some tile combinations might need special adhesives, or different installation techniques.
But when you pick the right mix of colours, textures and patterns…it’s magical. Stepping into a bathroom that feels pulled together, but interesting. Where every surface complements instead of fighting for attention.
So give it a try! Paint one wall or half of your bath first to see how you like pattern mixing. And grab actual samples of tile you love and bring them into your space to see how they look with your lighting/surroundings.
Tile that looks awesome in the showroom might look totally different (read: terrible) in your bathroom. Oh, and follow your gut. When you lay things out mock-up style and it feels too busy, it’s probably too busy.
The best mixed tile collections look like they effortlessly went together…because they did! With a little planning, yours will too.
