Patchwork tiles are having a moment as this year’s kitsch home styling steps up a notch. Europeans have mixed tile patterns for many years and now the development of inkjet technology on porcelain tiles has allowed us to experiment with more detailed patterns and designs. The quirky has arrived and the best part is that the look isn’t tied to a particular style or age of property. If your home is modern, there’s a patchwork pattern for you but if yours leans towards traditional home design, guess what – there’s a patchwork pattern for you too.
It’s all very well knowing it will work inside your home but how can you weave it in, without making your home look like a funhouse? Our 6 looks will set you on the right path.
Bathroom
Shake-up your shower time and bring a sense of fun into your bathroom. The generic white bathroom is great for cleanliness but it can cross over into cold and clinical territory. We all have busy lives and bathing or showering can easily be the only alone time we have in a day. Make the most of it with a shower that invigorates you in more ways than one! A splash of coloured tile on the shower walls or the adjoining wall to your bath can work wonders.
Mini feature wall
If your room is awkwardly shaped, leaving you with no space for a feature wall, patterned tiles can give you the effect that paint can’t. You can even cheat the look with wall stickers if you would prefer a non-permanent makeover (perfect for rented properties). The pattern and colour scheme is up to you but to really nail the patchwork trend, you need to adopt a ‘the bolder the better’ mentality and let your inner artist loose!
Conservatory floor
South-facing conservatories can benefit from ceramic tiles as they’re cool underneath your feet, perfect for those warm summer days and nights! You only have to look to fashion to know that everything is brighter in summer and mix and match patchwork tiles will lighten up your home while retaining a sense of cosiness. Remember that your conservatory is an add-on so it’s important to make it feel like part of the house and not a modern after-thought. If yours isn’t south-facing, don’t think that ceramic tiles are out of the question. Underfloor heating can help you build on that cosy look without sacrificing comfort – especially in the winter months.
Kitchen
A colourful kitchen can liven up evening entertaining with one added bonus. Research has found that the higher the colour contrast between your dinnerware and its background (so a table or placemat), the less likely you are to over-serve food. High contrasting colours can reduce over-serving by as much as 10% per meal. You can get the look with all white plates and a tiled table in high contrasting colours such as reds and blues.
Backsplash
If you’re wary of the patchwork micro trend, the backsplash is the place to try it out in a smaller area. Of course, there’s no point avoiding the bold – this isn’t a subtle trend – but you can tone it down by adopting less vibrant colours (choose all black and white tiles) or bigger and therefore less fussy patterns. Stripes are great for this and they aren’t likely to be going out of favour any time soon. You could even choose all white tiles with various textures to add understated interest.
While most tiles are square shaped, rectangular tiles arranged in strips add a different dimension. Fresh and modern, this look is more ordered – tiles of the same colour and pattern should be lined up next to each other, with the variation coming as you move downwards. The trick is in the direction – no two tiles underneath each other should be the same.
Kitchen shelf
If you’re brave, why not go for a matching shelf backdrop and flooring. In this property, the all-white styling is broken up by assorted jumbled tiles which stick to a neutral colour scheme. Personally, I think the flooring tiles look a little dated so I would pick brighter, more vibrant colours or stick to the peek-a-boo open shelf where neutral shades have more of a modern edge.
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was looking at these tiles last week thinking of bathroom plain white floor and walls with patchwork tiles inside shower
all tiled white walls and floor.