In smaller bathrooms and tight kitchens, poor design choices can make or break an area. Poor design choices can make a tiny, cozy, and tight powder room feel claustrophobic. On the other hand, the right choices can make an area feel open and organized. The key is understanding how space and different patterns interact with each other.
Every room is brought to another level with the addition of white marble tile. But when limited square footage is at play, it’s crucial to pick the right pattern. The following six proven layouts have transformed dozens of compact white marble tile spaces from cramped to comfortable, all while maintaining a luxury aesthetic.
1. Straight Stack Grid
Straight stack gridding means putting your tiles into straight rows and columns, creating a square grid throughout your entire space. The design feels modern and uncluttered, which is what small spaces really need in order to not feel chaotic. The Casablanca Carrara tiles in 12×12 or larger formats are gorgeous in this straight stack grid layout, letting the marble’s natural veining provide all of the visual interest while the pattern stays calm and restful. This is especially perfect for small, minimalist bathrooms where you need the marble to be the star, eliminating busy patterns that compete for attention.
2. Vertical Stacked Subway
Vertical subway tiles pull the eyes upward, creating the illusion of taller walls. This looseness within the design actually makes the ceiling feel taller, which is a great overall effect for the space. The 3×6, 4×12, or 6×12 Casablanca Carrara Subway tiles in this stack pattern also work wonders in bursting bathrooms and shower enclosures that lack a bit of width, where in this scenario, height is the most important factor. This design maintains the sought-after aesthetic of the subway tile while not overcrowding the space with complexity.
3. Diagonal Grid Layout
If you rotate square tile floors 45 degrees, you will achieve a diamond layout. This helps infuse small spaces with vibrant energy. The diagonal movement also helps the room feel centered, wider, and longer. Lines made from tiles will appear to be visually moving and expanding the dimensions. The 6×6 and 12×12 tiles from Casablanca Carrara diagonal small bathrooms guide vision across the space rather than letting the eye hit and stop at a wall. This technique is worth the extra cutting precision and will transform small, compact bathrooms.
4. Running Bond with Large Format
Using a running bond pattern with large-format tiles, 12x 24, for instance, is still a great pattern for smaller spaces, like a bathroom. Even though tiles are staggered, this doesn’t create the busyness of smaller tiles and fits in with the contemporary flowing style of the Casablanca Carrara 12×24. Using this pattern creates an interesting design feature throughout the room without being visually overwhelming. It provides a nice rhythm across the walls from which the eye can travel to and from other spaces seamlessly.
5. Herringbone with Restraint
Herringbone tile patterns can be a nice design element in smaller spaces, and the key to this is restraint. In smaller spaces, try using the herringbone pattern from Corse tiles in only accents or a smaller shower floor, and keep the walls to a more simple design without a lot of busyness. This adds an interesting design element without the space feeling chaotic. Where restraint is key, this pattern will elevate the design without crossing over the line into an overly chaotic design.
6. Mixed Layout Approach
Combining different designs in each area helps establish boundaries without needing actual barriers. In small spaces, large-format tiles in straight stack or stacked arrangements on walls give a sense of calmness and cleanliness, and small hexagonal or penny-round mosaics on floors add textural and grip variation. The Casablanca Carrara collection offers both options, allowing for visual separation and area differentiation while still maintaining cohesion. By creating subtle unfinished edges, additional depth and complexity are added which is especially required in small bathrooms where sophisticated designs are needed.
7. Offset Brick Layout
For small bathroom walls, soft, undulating movement is ideal. The traditional subway tile design with each row slightly offset is a classic pattern design and enhances space without feeling stagnant. In this layout, the Casablanca Carrara 3×6 or 4×12 subway tiles are enough to add a touch of design while keeping the area timeless. The staggered vertical alignment contributes to a feeling of narrowness, but the offset design is often enough to give a sense of breathing space to the area. The timeless approach celebrates the natural beauty of the marble while ensuring the design remains subtle and sophisticated.
Basketweave with Caution
The basketweave style makes a woven appearance with rectangular tiles set perpendicular to one another in pairs. This style can add an old-fashioned charm to very small powder rooms. But it needs to be used in moderation and only in rooms with few other visual elements. This style can be achieved with the Casablanca Carrara rectangular tiles, yet it should only be used in accent areas such as a small section of floor rather than covering whole walls. This pattern can feel especially busy in small spaces, so sample tiles extensively before finalizing your decision to employ basketweave throughout the room.
Patterns to Avoid in Compact Spaces
Some styles unfortunately just do not work well with small spaces. For example, basketweave creates too much visual activity and therefore makes small rooms feel cluttered and busy. Large-scale chevron patterns have a tendency to overwhelm small spaces with their dramatic angled designs. Using herringbone everywhere instead of strategically leads to the stunning pattern being turned into something visually chaotic. Complex multi-directional patterns tend to confuse the eye and do not work well in tighter spaces where simplicity would work in your favor.
Grout Color Makes a Difference
The color of your grout can greatly influence how patterns are perceived in small areas. If you’re pairing white marble tile with grout that is light gray or white, you are creating a seamless, flowing look that is actually going to enhance the area and make it look and feel more spacious. Using a dark grout is going to create more of a contrast which can be good with simple patterns, but if you have a more complex design it can be a little busy and overwhelming. For soft gray marbled tiles, a light and soft grout will be best to go with that, leaving the grout lines more in the background and not the main focal point.
How Layout Direction Affects Space
When your tile is installed in a vertical design, it draws the eye upwards, which will create the illusion of higher ceilings. For small, narrow spaces, a horizontal design will make the room feel more balanced by creating the look of more width. If you are looking to create the illusion of more space, a diagonal pattern is a good choice. It adds the appearance of movement in both the horizontal and vertical directions of the space. Be sure to choose the pattern for the tiles that best fits to the space by orienting it in a way that adds vertical emphasis to low ceilings, or horizontal to narrow areas that need more width.
Start with Samples in Your Space
Depending on the size of different areas, the same pattern can look different. Get samples of White Marble Tiles, and arrange them with your desired pattern. Live with them for some days, and look at how natural light affects them throughout the day. A design that seems perfect in a showroom may feel overwhelming in a smaller bathroom, and a design that was dismissed may look good with the correct lighting.
Creating Your Perfect Small Space
Picking the right marble tile design can change the look of bathrooms and kitchens. It can make a bathroom or kitchen that feels small, looks bigger and more comfortable. For small spaces, simple designs or patterns that have clean lines work better than complex designs or ones with lots of detail. For simple white marble tile variations, the Casablanca Carrara collection is a good option.
It has a variety of designs, from classic designs with subway tiles, to elegant designs with mosaic tiles. It is a collection that can help you get the perfect design for your space. Do you want to see different patterns that can work for your small space? White Marble Tiles by Riad Tile have the quality and the variety needed to execute any of these patterns perfectly. Visit our square for an in-person view of our full-scale pattern displays, or order your samples online to see how different patterns can work in your space! Click here to see more information.