OUR FAVORITE SHOWER TILES RIGHT NOW

We live in a day and age now where being ~clean~ and having wipeable surfaces is an utmost priority. Yes yes, we all should have been cleaning things better from the get-go but hey, we as humans live busy lives okay!? 

One of the biggest concerns from our clients when designing their bathroom is grout. Nobody likes to clean grout, and I mean NOBODY. It’s basically like being Cinderella without the prince charming, unless you meet your person while cleaning grout…. Let’s just hope that whoever is watching you clean grout already thinks you’re sexy because I can assure you, that cleaning grout is not. 

Alright now that we got that out of the way, grout shouldn’t scare you. Grout is actually not made like it was in the ’50s, ’60s, and ’70s. Or honestly, even the 90’s! It is much more durable, stain-resistant, and user-friendly than ever before. In our experience, not choosing a tile because of the number of grout lines shouldn't be a concern but we do understand if it is! Like I mentioned earlier, we all live busy lives and spending hours cleaning your bathroom, kitchen, wet bar, etc. tile is not on our list of priorities! That could be two hours with friends, kids, a book, your dog, you name it. Much sexier things to do with your time than clean. ;)

OUR SOLUTION

Of course, you can go with slab shower walls that have no grout lines, but then you run into the problem of potentially choosing a natural stone in which you have to be careful what cleaner you choose to use on it. I had a client say to me “I just want to grab my Scrubbing Bubbles, wipe my shower walls down, and move on.” (Scrubbing Bubbles for the win, am I right?) Let's say you don’t want a marble or granite surround, well sure that’s why they made quartz and engineered stone! But then we get into the issues of cost and installation difficulty, and honestly, slab surrounds sometimes aren’t a feasible option for everyone (although they are beautiful and swoon-worthy).

Lately, we at a karen black company are LOVING these large-format porcelain tiles. The standard size is about 24” x 48” and they come in all sorts of thicknesses. Because it’s a porcelain tile, they have a vast range of colors and patterns. A lot of them are a marble look, because who doesn’t love the look of marble WITHOUT the upkeep of marble! They also come solid-colored, onyx look, and dimensional for some other examples. 

Sometimes when capping the edge of these tiles or finishing off a niche, we will use metal strips if opting out of a trim tile. One aspect of these large-format tiles is that some of them come thick enough to miter the edges *insert heart eye emoji* This lends to a more seamless, streamlined look. Mitering tile is extremely hard, so it takes a knowledgeable and skilled tile installer to be able to do it, and we are so lucky to have one! 

The first thing most of our clients say to us about the large-format tile is about how little the amount of grout there is, and how easy these things are to just wipe down and go! Our goal as designers is to pick the materials and design a space that best fits the function of your life and space, while also being aesthetically pleasing for years to come. The fact that this tile not only looks pretty but adds ease to the daily life of our clients is just a SCORE. 

(This picture shows three different large-format tile options. The far left is a marble look polished 24”x48” porcelain tile, the middle one is a laserjet printed, matte finish, marble look, 24”x48” porcelain tile, and the one on the right features a slate stone look that is 16”x48” and matte textured porcelain tile.)

(This bathroom features a warm, gold-veined, polished, porcelain, 24”x48” wall tile. It is installed vertically with aligned joints.)

Shower walls arent the only place we like to use this large format tile. It can be used anywhere to create a slab-like, seamless look. We have used it on kitchen backsplashes to fireplace fronts! The options are endless. 

(This fireplace surround features a 15”x30”, polished, large-format porcelain tile installed in a horizontal, staggered brick pattern.)

The term large-format can be used to describe multiple other sizes of tiles as well. Some standard tile sizes that people are familiar with are your 3”x6” subway tiles, 8”x8” or 12”x12” square plain or patterned tiles, or the universal 12”x24” rectangular tile that works anywhere. When tiles start to get bigger than that, they can sometimes be referred to as large-format. We’ve recently used some of these alternate large-format tiles and the results were stunning! 

For clients who love the look of a subway but are concerned about the grout lines, there are some oversized subway tiles that work really well on shower walls. This oversized subway tile was 10”x30” and had a shadowed edge, which led to a beautiful outcome! 

(We matched our grout to the shadowed edge of the tile to help emphasize each subway tile and the gradiation of the gray border.)

Dimensional large-format tiles can also be an interesting option for wall tile! This gives clients an option to add texture into the space and can give a more modern feel to the environment, while still being an easy to clean wow factor. 

(We paired a ribbed, maple look, 24”x48” matte porcelain tile with another dimensional 10”x30” white ceramic tile to add depth, texture, and contrast to the space. These tiles lent to modernizing the space while also making it feel welcoming!)

If large-format tiles aren’t your cup of tea, don’t worry! We still love and install beautiful subway tiled showers and backsplashes! We also geek over how clean a slab-covered surface can really make a space look. But, if either of those options aren’t for you, we have plenty more! Tile options are wide-ranging and there are a LOT of beautiful tiles that you can’t go wrong with. At the end of the day, it’s your shower (or karaoke place… or dance room… we don’t judge ;) ) and it’s our hope that it can fit your style and lifestyle as best as possible. We are here to show you some options that have worked for our clients, and one day could work for you. Happy tile hunting! 

By: Madison Motil

All opinions are my own.