If your builder basic bathroom needs a personality, tile is the answer. These 21 ideas show you exactly what’s possible, and some of them are more affordable than you’d think.

Bathroom tile is one of those decisions that feels small until you realize it’s going to be there every single morning for the next ten years. Get it right and you walk into your bathroom and feel something good. Get it wrong and you spend the next decade slightly annoyed every time you brush your teeth.

The good news is that tile has gotten genuinely exciting. The options right now are better than they’ve ever been. Interesting shapes, unexpected colors, textures that feel luxurious underfoot, patterns that look like they came out of a European design magazine. And the range of price points means you don’t have to spend a fortune to get something that looks really special.

Whether you’re doing a full renovation, just retiling a shower, or trying to figure out what to do with a builder basic bathroom that needs a personality, these 21 ideas give you a lot to work with.

This post may contain affiliate links, which means I’ll receive a commission if you purchase through my link, at no extra cost to you.

21 Bathroom Tile Ideas That Are Worth Saving Before Your Next Renovation

1. Subway Tile

Subway tile isn’t going anywhere and it shouldn’t. But the version that looks fresh right now isn’t the basic white three-by-six in a running bond. It’s the handmade, slightly irregular version with a warm off-white or greige tone. It’s a beveled edge. It’s a vertical stack bond pattern instead of horizontal. Small tweaks to a classic that make it feel current rather than dated.

2. Black and White Checkered Floor

There is something about a black and white checkered bathroom floor that just works every single time. Vintage, graphic, and instantly characterful. It pairs with almost any wall tile and makes even the most basic bathroom feel like it has a point of view.

3. Penny Round Tile

Penny rounds on a shower floor or bathroom floor add texture and a vintage quality that flat tiles can’t replicate. White penny rounds are classic but a deep green or black version is stunning.

4. Marble or Marble Look Tile

The real thing is expensive but the porcelain versions available right now are genuinely impressive. White marble with grey veining on a shower wall or bathroom floor is one of the most timeless and beautiful tile choices you can make.

5. White Hexagon Tile

A white hex floor tile is one of those choices that works in a traditional bathroom, a modern bathroom, and everything in between. It’s clean, graphic, and adds just enough visual interest without competing with anything else in the room.

6. Zellige Tile

Zellige has become one of the most talked about tile choices in interior design right now and for very good reason. Each tile is slightly different which means the finished wall looks alive and interesting in a way that machine-made tile never does.

7. Scallop Tile

Scallop tile adds a softness and dimension that rectangular tile simply doesn’t have. It looks incredible as a full shower wall or as an accent above a vanity.

8. Elongated Hexagon Tile

It has all the character of a hex tile but with a slightly more modern feel. Works beautifully as a floor tile or a full wall treatment.

9. Arabesque Tile

Arabesque tile has a Moroccan influence that brings warmth and pattern to a bathroom in a really beautiful way. In a white gloss it feels airy. In a dark matte finish it feels dramatic.

10. Fluted Tile

This is the tile trend that has made the biggest impact in the last few years and it still feels fresh. The ridges catch light in a way that makes the wall look different at different times of day.

11. Deep Green Tile

A dark green tile in a bathroom feels rich and botanical and surprisingly timeless. A green tiled shower with warm brass hardware is one of the most beautiful bathroom combinations going right now.

12. Navy Tile

Deep blue tile on a shower wall or bathroom floor reads sophisticated and bold without being trendy. It pairs beautifully with white grout, natural wood accents, and brushed gold or unlacquered brass hardware.

13. Warm Terracotta Tile

Earthy, warm, and so good in a bathroom that gets natural light. Terracotta floor tile with white walls feels Mediterranean in the best way. It brings warmth into a space that can so easily feel cold and clinical.

14. Black Tile

Black tile is one of those choices that sounds extreme until you see it done well and then you immediately want it. A fully black tiled shower with a frameless glass door and minimal hardware is genuinely stunning. It’s not for everyone but if it’s for you, you already know.

15. Warm White

A warm cream or off-white tile with a slightly textured surface reads luxurious and spa-like rather than sterile and builder-basic. It’s one of the easiest ways to make a bathroom feel expensive without spending a fortune.

16. Encaustic Cement Tile

Handmade patterned tile with a matte surface and graphic designs — geometric patterns, traditional Moroccan motifs, floral designs — encaustic tile used as a bathroom floor or a feature wall makes a statement that is impossible to ignore. Keep everything else simple and let the tile be the whole story.

17. A Patterned Tile Border

If you love a patterned tile but don’t want it floor to ceiling, use it as a horizontal band around the room or a border detail in the shower. One row of an interesting decorative tile at eye level can completely change the personality of the whole bathroom.

18. Tile Behind the Vanity

A single wall in an interesting tile with everything else kept simple. It’s the bathroom equivalent of an accent wall and it works incredibly well when you commit to it.

19. Mixed Tile Sizes

Large format tiles on the walls with smaller mosaic or penny round tiles on the floor creates a layered, intentional look that feels designed rather than just tiled.

20. Large Format Floor Tile

Bigger tiles on the floor mean fewer grout lines which means the space visually reads as larger and more open. In a small bathroom especially, a large format floor tile in a light neutral tone makes a genuinely significant difference in how big the room feels.

21. Wood Look Tile

The warmth of wood with the durability and water resistance of tile. Beautiful in a bathroom because it adds warmth and texture in a way that no other tile can, and you never have to worry about water damage.