A New World of Bathroom Tile Choices

Or, instead of bling, you can go for wattage with Villeroy and Boch's Light Tiles. They have LED lights in wear-resistant ceramic and glow white, blue, or amber. You can leave them on or connect them to a switch, and they'll last for about 100,000 hours — enough to light about 11 years of nighttime bathroom forays.

Ceramiche Tile's Krashna agrees with Kalmus on the mixing-it-up trend — she's seeing a mix of new shapes, including large-scale rectangles, such as 12 X 24 inches complemented with planks of 6 X 24 inches. She says the finish is different today, too.

"The textures have been toned down to resemble sealed concrete and weathered stones. We've moved away from the glossy wall tile with a matching floor to now using the same floor tile on the walls, so a smaller space becomes more expansive."

And Krashna sees the current neutral color trend of beiges deepening into still natural tones of greens and browns.

Another of her favorites is pebble tile, where stones or pebbles are embedded in a mesh backing, which can be laid and grouted just like tiles. The rougher surface — as well as the look — makes pebble tiles perfect for any water areas, such as showers or pool decks.

The trends are numerous, says Kalmus, because there's a huge number of new products and ways to use them. She suggests taking advantage of the variety by not limiting yourself in your tile choices.

"Bathrooms used to be more utilitarian. Now they're showcases that can be more than beige and plain tile. I am currently working on a bathroom that is incorporating limestone, handmade ceramic tile and concrete. My advice is to not be afraid to try something different and mix media."

Resources

Ann Sacks
www.annsacks.com

Daltile's Ahnzu
www.ahnzu.com

GranitiFiandre
www.granitifiandre.com

Island Stone
www.islandstone.com

Oceanside Glasstile
www.glasstile.com

Pratt and Larson
www.prattandlarson.com

Sicis
www.sicis.it

Villeroy and Boch
www.villeroy-boch.com

Walker Zanger
www.walkerzanger.com