Tile trends have changed a lot over the years.
If you’ve been around long enough, you’ve watched colors, patterns, sizes, and layouts go from everywhere to why did we ever do that?—and sometimes right back to popular again.
In this video, Rob reacts to a list of seven tile trends that supposedly won’t last. Some of the predictions make sense to him. Others? He’s not quite ready to send them to the design graveyard.
And that’s really the bigger conversation we want to have.
Over the next several articles, we’re going to break down these trends individually. But before we decide whether any particular tile is “in” or “out,” there’s an important question homeowners should ask:
How much should trends influence a permanent part of your home?
Tile Is Different From Paint
There’s nothing wrong with following design trends.
Trends are often how new materials, colors, and ideas get introduced. They can give you inspiration you never would have considered otherwise.
The problem is that tile isn’t a throw pillow.
Changing a wall color in five years is relatively easy. Changing the tile throughout your shower because you suddenly hate the pattern is a different project entirely.
Once we install tile, mortar, grout, waterproofing, niches, trims, and all the other pieces that go into a bathroom, we’d really prefer that you still like it after Instagram has moved on to something else.
That doesn’t mean everything needs to be boring.
It means the more permanent the material, the more carefully we should think about the trend.
Some Trends Become Classics
It’s also important to remember that “trendy” doesn’t automatically mean “dated.”
Subway tile has been around forever. Natural stone has been around even longer. Certain mosaics, neutral colors, and simple patterns continue coming back because they work in a wide variety of spaces.
Other trends have a much shorter moment.
A certain color combination, decorative band, extremely bold pattern, or unusual installation style might become incredibly popular for a few years and then immediately identify when the bathroom was remodeled.
That isn’t necessarily bad.
If you love it, you love it.
But we want homeowners to understand the difference between choosing something because you genuinely like it and choosing something because you’ve seen it in forty videos this month.
Think About Where You Use the Trend
One way to enjoy trends without letting them take over the bathroom is to think about where you use them.
There’s a big difference between putting a bold design on a small backsplash and covering every wall of a large shower with it.
A decorative niche, accent area, or smaller feature can introduce personality without making the entire room dependent on one design idea.
That can be especially useful if you love something dramatic but aren’t sure whether you’ll love an entire bathroom of it ten years from now.
Sometimes a little bit of a trend goes a long way.
Maintenance Can Outlast the Trend Too
Looks aren’t the only consideration.
Some tile choices introduce more grout joints, more texture, harder-to-clean surfaces, or materials that require additional maintenance.
Something can look fantastic in a professionally styled photo and be considerably less exciting when you’re the person cleaning it every week.
That’s one of the things we’ll discuss as we break down each of these seven trends.
We don’t just want to ask:
“Does this look good?”
We also want to ask:
“What is this actually like to live with?”
Those are sometimes two very different questions.
The Internet Doesn’t Get the Final Vote
This is probably Rob’s biggest point whenever we talk about design trends.
We’ll give you our opinion.
We’ll tell you if we think a layout may cause problems, if a material needs extra maintenance, or if there’s an installation detail you should consider.
But we’re not going to tell you that you’re forbidden from choosing something because somebody declared it “out.”
At the end of the project, you’re the one looking at the bathroom every day.
If you love a tile that designers say peaked five years ago, that doesn’t automatically make it a bad choice.
And if the newest trend doesn’t appeal to you, you don’t need to remodel your taste to keep up with the internet.
So Which Seven Trends Are We Talking About?
That’s where this series is headed.
We’re going to take the trends from this video one at a time and talk about why someone might consider them dated, where Rob agrees or disagrees, and what homeowners should actually consider before putting them into a remodel.
Some may deserve the criticism.
Some may simply be changing.
And a few might be perfectly fine when they’re used in the right room, with the right tile, and—most importantly—for a homeowner who actually likes them.
Trends can be a great place to get ideas.
They just shouldn’t make every decision for you.
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