Monday, February 9, 2009

Bathroom Tile Ideas for the Chic Woman

By Torrie Cantor

Bathroom tile ideas are not hard to come up with. All you need is some background regarding the different types of tiles and your creativity, and you're well-equipped for decorating your new bathroom. First, you need to think about the materials you want for your bathroom. Here is a list of all the different types of bathroom tiles:

- The Ceramic Kind - It's non-porous, durable and affordable making it a practical tile for the bathroom. It's resistant to water so it's safe to walk on when wet. Ceramics are very easy to clean and maintain. When combined with a slip-resistant surface, this makes it the best bathroom idea so far.

- The Travertine Kind - This is formed by shifts in the earth's crust. It produces a uniform surface unlike the other marbles and is ideal for bathroom walls and floors.

- Granite - This is the most durable and easiest to clean. It can also withstand wear and tear.

- Glass - Glass is another affordable alternative. It can be used in different bathroom wall styles - as a border or as mosaics. What makes this different from the other tiles is that it has a unique reflection when light hits glass. If you are going for that bold, contemporary look, you might want to use uniform colored stained convex glass pieces. When these are combined in plaster they make a wonderful glass mosaic.

- The Slate - These tiles have an anti-slip finish which makes it an ideal choice for bathroom wall and especially floors. You may also install these in showers, tubs or floors.

- Marble - This is a type of natural stone. Marbles are know for its own textured appearance. An advantage of natural stones is that they have their own distinct color and texture.

Bathroom Tile Shapes and Accent Pieces

When it comes to shapes and sizes, there are definitely a lot of choices. Common shapes are squares, rectangles, hexagons and octagons. Feel free to play with accent pieces to make a good design. Accent pieces may sometimes be narrow tiles or small diamond-shaped tiles.

Colors to Reflect your Mood

Choosing the right colors for your bathroom also matters. Each color reflects a certain emotion. Below is a list of some of the most commonly used colors in decorating bathrooms.

- Generally, warm colors like yellow and peach signify fun. This makes your bathroom feel cozier and have a country-look about it.

- Light colors such as beige and white are neutral colors and may make your room appear larger than it really is. These colors are always in style.

- If you want your room to look serene and calm, you might want to use cool colors such as blue, green and violet.

- Black and red colors are considered bright colors and will add drama to your room. Since it absorbs light, it may make your room appear smaller than it really is. Bright colors are good for rooms that have plenty of windows and natural lighting passing through it. This helps balance the ambiance lighting in the room.

Bathroom Tile Ideas

You can use any of these styles when decorating your bathroom:

- An option would be to use a solid color ceramic bathroom floor tile and pair it with a tile border of a different color. You can use alternate colors if you like for the tile border.

- If you'd like to use the same color of ceramic tile for your floor and wall, you can also use different tile sizes for an interesting visual effect for your room. You may also align the tiles either on your wall or floor diagonally.

- If you have a certain favorite color, don't be afraid to use it. Just add decorative tiles of your favorite shade of color or if you like, use different shapes, textures and borders.

- Another technique is to use contrasting tile and grout colors. To preserve grout colors, apply sealers to grout lines.

- Use your creativity. Standard blends help enhance the surface design of your bathroom dcor and thus giving it a modern look. Gradients give your room a dramatic effect.

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