If you're planning a home remodel or just want to give your space a refresh, there’s no better place to start than with tile. From floors to shower surrounds and kitchen backsplashes, tile has become one of the most versatile and stylish ways to personalize your home. Let’s go through the latest and greatest tile trends to see what resonates with your interiors. That way, you can bring some of these designer-inspired looks to your space the next time you renovate or refresh a room.
What’s Driving the Latest Trends in Tile?
Tile can be a wonderful choice for floors and walls for a bunch of reasons — it can make a design statement with a pop of pattern and add a handmade touch to an otherwise cookie cutter space. Depending on the finish, it’s often easy to clean and can be DIY friendly as well. Plus, tile makes a great choice for damp environments because it holds up well to humidity and moisture.
Like other home finishes and materials, tile has come a long way since it was first introduced as a wall and floor covering. As a category, tile has its own set of trends the same way furniture and paint does, and this list hits a bunch of the current high notes in tile design that you can consider for your home.
Textured Tiles
Handmade, perfectly imperfect finishes, like glossy Moroccan zellige tiles, and raised 3D details are making tiles feel warmer and more textural than ever before. These pieces play well with light and shadow, making their installations feel more dynamic than ever, whether they pop up on kitchen backsplashes, in bathrooms, or even on fireplace surrounds. You can also find dimensional tiles with sculptural patterns adding depth to feature walls, even in spaces like bedrooms, which typically don’t include tiled finishes, especially on the walls.
Large Format Tiles
When you think of tile, typically, smaller ceramic, porcelain, and terracotta squares and hexagons come to mind. But tile has gotten larger over the years, thanks to new manufacturing techniques. Now you can find oversized squares and rectangles that mimic the veining of natural stone with their digital printing techniques. These pieces skew modern in style and tend to be very large and very dramatic by offering an almost seamless look, especially when they’re used to cover the floors and walls in a single space.
Statement-Making Patterns
Today’s wall and floor tile trends are bold, playful, and meant to stand out. Different prints and patterns cater to various interior styles and multiple areas of the homes. Terrazzo-inspired tiles with colorful chips are a fun way to add visual interest in a mid-century modern-inspired space. For a hit of graphic interest underfoot, geometric and encaustic patterned tiles are perfect for entryways, powder rooms, and mudrooms.
Fool-the-Eye Finishes
Textured tiles that mimic wood or concrete bring a modern edge to a space while providing added durability and easy maintenance. Tiles are also being made to mimic marble and exotic stones, which can keep costs in a renovation down and be less prone to staining over time.
Unexpected Applications
Tile trends are showing up in creative new ways across the home—not just in bathrooms and kitchens. Accent walls, fireplace surrounds, and even stair risers are getting tiled treatments. Though neutral tones remain popular, pops of color are showing up in small doses for those who want to make a statement, especially in these newer focal areas.
Sustainable Materials
Sustainability is also becoming a trend, with more homeowners choosing recycled or eco-conscious tile materials. Tile in and of itself can be sustainable, too, since, depending on the material and construction, its lifetime can easily be somewhere from 20 to 50 years with proper care.
3 Must-Know Bathroom Tile Trends
Though tile has always shined in baths, today’s tiled showers, tub surrounds, and bathroom walls have so much more range, thanks to new materials, fresh design inspirations, and artful installation ideas.
Spa-Inspired Bathroom Materials
Bathrooms are becoming more than just functional—they’re becoming personal retreats. The latest bathroom tile trends aim to turn your space into a calming sanctuary that’s reminiscent of a fancy spa or hammam. To get this look, consider current trending floor tile bathroom styles, like large-format tiles in soft, neutral tones. Natural textures like stone and matte finishes can also create that spa-like feeling.
Sophisticated Shower Tile Trends That Elevate Your Space
Showers aren’t just cold, clinical spaces with plain white tiles these days. Though pastel vintage bathrooms are having a moment, many are searching for tiles that are sleeker, more sophisticated, and earthier in terms of their hues—think soft green or clay tones. Organic shapes and imperfect finishes like Moroccan zellige add personality and a handcrafted look. In terms of installation, shower tile trends are seeing a rise in the stack bond configuration, where tiles are set directly on top of each other in nearly aligned rows with grid-like grout lines. This stacking can be done horizontally or vertically, depending on your preference.
Alcoves and Niches Add Storage and Style
Built-in details are making bathrooms more bespoke and architecturally interesting than ever before. Whether an entire shower/tub combo is enclosed in a large, arched alcove that’s covered in tile—or a space features a small tiled wall niche for extra storage—these kinds of details make a bath look more luxe.
3 Kitchen Tile Trends for a Stylish Refresh
Often referred to as the heart of the home, kitchens have historically been a place where tile has provided both a pretty and practical option for backsplashes and floors. Today, though, designers and homeowners are having more fun with the colors, finishes, and places they’re installing tiles in cook spaces.
Warm, Character-Rich Kitchen Finishes
All-white kitchens will always be classic, but subway tile backsplashes are taking a backseat to spaces with more soul. The new kitchen tile trends are warm, personal, and full of charm. Handmade-style tiles with uneven edges and rich glazes are in demand. Earthy tones like terracotta, deep green, and warm ivory are becoming popular choices for backsplashes. Mixing materials—like pairing marble tiles with wood cabinetry—can create a layered, more modern feel.
Grout Is Getting a Glow-Up
Stacked layouts (vertical or horizontal) are replacing traditional brick patterns for a fresh twist. These configurations really emphasize the graphic appeal of grout, and some people are turning up the look of their backsplashes further with colored grouts.
Extra Tiled Touches Add Charm in Unexpected Spots
Though always a fixture of traditional Spanish style construction, tiled countertops had a moment in the ‘80s and early ‘90s—and then promptly became considered “dated.” Today, though, tiled countertops are making a comeback in the kitchen, and other elements—from range hoods to waterfall islands and even breakfast nook built-in benches—are getting covered in tile for a more unique look.
How DesignShop Helps You Choose
It’s easy to see that tile is having a major moment—and keeping up with the latest tile trends can help you create a space that feels fresh, stylish, and uniquely yours.
Ready to start planning? Choose from thousands of tile samples from top brands, delivered overnight. And before long, you’ll have the space of your dreams.