When renovating your bathroom, your choice of bathroom wall tiles is going to make or break your design. You can play it safe and choose standard tiles and get very pleasing results. However, if you think outside the box and consider other options in bathroom wall tiles, you can get stunning results that will make your bathroom more than just pleasing: it will be outstanding.

There are four things to consider when choosing bathroom tiles:

1. What type of tile do you want? You don't have to limit yourself to ceramic tiles. Porcelain, natural stone, glass or clay tiles may suit your sense of style better.
   
   
   
2. Think about your colour scheme. With so many tiles to choose from, there are no colour limitations whatsoever.
   
   
   
3. What size tile do you want? Don't limit your options in bathroom wall tiles to standard sizes alone or even to a single size.
   
   
   
4. What about the layout of your tiles? While straight rows may be perfect for you, there are other patterns to choose from. Consider several before settling on just one.
   

Types of Tiles

Ceramic tiles are standard in most bathrooms for good reasons: they are perfect for high moisture areas and come in the full spectrum of colours and designs. Porcelain tiles are tougher still and although they cost more than ceramic tiles, may be worth the extra expense, though they are usually chosen for floors rather than walls.

Natural stone wall tiles have become very popular for use in bathrooms, especially with bathroom designers whose brief is to create a spa-like bathroom environment. The disadvantages of stone are that it is porous and subject to staining and possibly cracking, but these disadvantages can largely be overcome by the application of the right sealants. For a warm, Spanish villa look, clay tiles, too, can be used if they are properly sealed.

Your Bathroom Colour Scheme

Your bathroom wall tiles are going to cover a significant amount of space, so choosing the right tile colour is going to make all the difference to your final results. Start by selecting your colour scheme first and select your bathroom wall tiles before you select the paint for your walls. It is far easier to find a paint colour to complement your tile colours than the other way around. If you are using ceramic tiles, you may want to use just one colour, but don't forget: nothing is stopping you from arranging different colours of tiles in patterns or choosing feature accent and border tiles.

Bathroom Tile Patterns

For many years, it seemed like every bathroom wall had only perpendicular rows of square tiles, perhaps broken up by a final row of rectangular border tiles. Then bathroom designers started experimenting, first with smaller mosaic tiles of uniform size and now with whatever suits their fancy. If you want a monochrome bathroom wall, but don't want it to look boring, consider laying lower rows of tiles perpendicular to the floor, topped off by an "on edge" diamond pattern. This also works great if you choose one solid colour tile for the straight tiles and a complementary colour for the diamond patterned border tiles.

You can take your pattern even further by selecting different sizes of tiles. For example, you can start off with larger tiles in a diamond pattern and combine them with a row of diamond pattern tiles a quarter or half their size and top it off with a straight row of rectangular tiles. For an even more dramatic effect, choose different colours for different tile rows.

These are just some ideas you can try out with square tiles. You may even want to use a rectangular tile layout or choose a freeform design. When designing your bathroom wall, you are really only limited by your imagination. Check out your local tile supplier to see all the options.  Laying the tiles is a different matter, though. Unless you are a skilled craftsperson, it is better to find a qualified tiler in your area to lay your tiles. Do this and your dream bathroom can become a reality.