Life on the tiles has never been so stylish: Go wild for an exotic, contemporary look

There is no better way of painlessly revamping an interior than by an imaginative use of tiles. They are an interior designer’s secret weapon and can be used to pull focus, alter dimensions or add a much needed splash of colour.

What’s more, there’s a plethora of them available from patterned, geometric to different shapes and textures most of which are pretty affordable. So where to begin? 

Kitchens and bathrooms  

Kitchens tend to be filled with strong horizontal and vertical lines created by cabinetry, islands and appliances, so geometric mosaics are a fantastic way of introducing visual contrasts,’ said Fired Earth’s creative director Colin Roby-Welford.

‘Tiles in striking shapes such as chevrons, triangles and hexagons will subvert horizontal and vertical lines, while the sweeping curves of Arabesque or fanshaped designs will soften a scheme and prevent it from looking too linear.’ Try Fired Earth’s Nebula Green Hexagon £9.60, which will give some oomph to a tired kitchen or bathroom (firedearth.com).

Reclaimed wonders  

One of the most popular and enduring styles are Andalusian and Moroccan tiles.

‘Moroccan tiles are famed for their intricate patterns and decorative style which bring drama to any decor,’ said Harriet Goodacre, Topps Tiles style consultant.

A few Topps Tiles Archivo Bakula Tiles arranged as a splashback (£1.11 a tile or £71.04/m2) is a reasonable way to make a change.

Lee Thornley, founder of Bert & May, was so entranced by the art of reusing tiles that he moved from London to Andalusia and set up a reclaimed tile company.

Bert & May tiles have an attractive chalky finish and come in array of soft colours this ‘washed out’ look is very of the moment and easy to blend with the other aspects of your interior (bertandmay.com). Stars are a bestseller for them (Luna Saphire £3.50 per tile) and they report a trend towards busier patterns and intricate detail.’ Check out the Fluer Tile £3.88 or the geometric Soho House Redchurch tile, £6. Those with a bigger budget might want to investigate the Antique replica collection, which starts from £30 a tile.

Unusual spaces

The vogue now is to experiment with using tiles in more unusual places, such as kitchen islands units, staircases and headboards for maximum impact.

Americans Caitlin and Samuel Dowe-Sandes set up Popham Studio in Marrakech. ‘I think we are in a golden age of utility meeting decorative potential,’ said Caitlin.

Alongside traditional places, she suggests using them ‘for feature walks, alternative headboards and chimney surrounds’ (Popham tiles from £225 per sq m at daytrue.com).

Those not ready to embrace patterned tiles could experiment with layout. ‘The most popular style we are finding currently is the ordinary brick effect tile but used in multiple different ways such as “brick style”, chevron or staggered herringbone,’ said Louise Ashdown, head of design at West One Bathrooms.

Hit the floor

While using floor tiles is nothing new, ‘people are beginning to realise that floor space is a bit of a blank canvas – almost a fifth wall,’ said Fired Earth’s Roby-Welford. (Encaustic tiles £8.99, firedearth.com, each make for a bold floor statement.) There are, however, a few rules to consider when playing with tiles, according to London based interior designer Lizzie Green, ‘laying parquet tiles the length of a room can make it seem longer and laying tiles vertically can make the ceiling feel higher.

‘I recently laid a border of tiles around the top of a high ceilinged bathroom to draw the eyes up.

‘In small spaces I wouldn’t use huge tiles and the same goes for large rooms, I would only lay large tiles to eliminate the lines of grout.’