Compare
Tile: six styles, side by side
The same tile brief resolved six ways. Tile is the cheapest way to change how a room reads and the most expensive to get wrong. Setting-out matters more than the tile you pick.
Photo: Elsie esq. · BY 2.0Side by side
All six, in one row
Scroll sideways to compare, or filter down to the styles you are choosing between.
Photo: Jocey K · BY-SA 2.0- Layout
- Large-format, minimal joint
- Format
- 800×800 rectified porcelain
- Finish
- Honed matt
What changes: One tile size everywhere so joints line through.
Photo: Elsie esq. · BY 2.0- Layout
- Ribbed charcoal, stack bond
- Format
- 300×600 ribbed, stack bond
- Finish
- Ribbed matt in charcoal
What changes: Ribbed tile turning a flat wall into texture.
Photo: granite-charlotte · BY 2.0- Layout
- Handmade zellige
- Format
- 100×100 handmade zellige
- Finish
- Glazed with a variable gloss
What changes: Handmade zellige with genuine colour variation.
Photo: dumbledad · BY 2.0- Layout
- Book-matched slab
- Format
- 1,200×2,400 slab, book-matched
- Finish
- Polished with a mitred edge
What changes: Book-matched slabs opening symmetrically.
Photo: NinaZed · BY 2.0- Layout
- Subway, vertical stack
- Format
- 75×300 subway, vertical
- Finish
- Gloss with a soft bevel
What changes: Vertical stack-bond subway rather than the usual brick bond.
Photo: granite-charlotte · BY 2.0- Layout
- Chequer and geometric inlay
- Format
- 200×200 chequer with a border
- Finish
- Gloss chequer with a brass inlay
What changes: A chequerboard laid on the diagonal.
At a glance
The differences in one table
| Style | Layout | Format | Ideal for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Serene Minimal | Large-format, minimal joint | 800×800 rectified porcelain | Homes wanting the quietest possible tiled surface |
| Bold Contemporary | Ribbed charcoal, stack bond | 300×600 ribbed, stack bond | Bathrooms and kitchens wanting texture without pattern |
| Modern Heritage | Handmade zellige | 100×100 handmade zellige | Craft-led homes where handmade variation is the point |
| Classic Luxe | Book-matched slab | 1,200×2,400 slab, book-matched | Formal bathrooms and kitchens with a stone budget |
| Indo-Scandinavian | Subway, vertical stack | 75×300 subway, vertical | Bright family kitchens and bathrooms |
| Art Deco Glam | Chequer and geometric inlay | 200×200 chequer with a border | Statement powder rooms, foyers and bar areas |
Sizing
Tile dimensions by home size
| Home size | Typical room dimension | Layout that usually fits |
|---|---|---|
| 1 BHK | Bathroom only | Large-format, minimal joint |
| 2 BHK | Bathroom and kitchen splashback | Ribbed charcoal, stack bond |
| 3 BHK | Full wet areas plus the foyer | Handmade zellige |
| 4 BHK | All wet areas and formal floors | Book-matched slab |
| 4+ BHK / Villa | Full-home tile scheme | Subway, vertical stack |
How to choose
Picking between the six
The honest way to choose is to eliminate rather than select: rule out the styles that clash with what is already fixed in the home — the flooring, the window frames, an existing kitchen you are not replacing — and choose from what remains. Most people arrive certain about one style and leave having picked a different one once the elimination is done.
Layout tends to decide the choice before palette does. Two or three of the six styles above will suit your actual room dimensions and door positions; the rest will look right in the photograph and fight the room in practice. Start from the layout column in the table below, not the material column.
If two styles both work on paper, the deciding question is usually maintenance: how much upkeep the household will actually do. A high-gloss Bold scheme and a hand-oiled Heritage one both look considered on day one; only one of them stays that way without regular attention.
Skirting is where a stone floor is won or lost. A shadow-gap or flush skirting keeps the plane clean; a proud skirting collects dust in exactly the line your eye follows.
Set out from the most-seen corner, not the wall the mason starts at. Cut pieces belong behind furniture and under joinery, never at the entrance.
Questions
Choosing a tile style
Which of these six suits a family with young children?
Serene Minimal and Indo-Scandinavian tend to wear best under daily family use — pale, matt surfaces show less than high gloss, and both specify durable, easily cleaned materials by default. Bold Contemporary and Art Deco Glam ask for more careful living.
Can tile mix two of these styles in one room?
Within reason. The six are coherent palettes rather than fixed rules, and most finished homes borrow across two. What rarely works is switching palette within one sightline in the same room.
Does the layout change between styles, or only the material?
Both. Each style resolves the tile brief with a different layout logic as well as a different material direction — see the layout column in the table above for exactly how.
Which style costs the least for a tile?
None of the six carries an inherent price premium over the others at the same specification tier — the cost difference between two tile projects usually comes from hardware grade and finish level, not from which of the six styles was chosen.
How do I see my own room in more than one of these styles?
Bring the floor plan to a consultation. We draw your actual room in the two or three styles you are choosing between rather than a generic version of each, which is usually what settles it.
Next step
Choose your tile style with a designer.
Send the plan. We will draw your actual room in the two you are torn between and put them next to each other.