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The Patterned Tile Floor Revival
There has been such a revival in patterned tile flooring recently.
It used to be the mainstay of Victorian houses — the sight of beautiful encaustic tiles, greeting you in the hallway— but then fell out of favour in recent years for plainer alternatives.
I did a little bathroom makeover and — although we haven’t actually changed the flooring yet — I began sourcing a replacement for the sad, tired carpet that’s currently down.
I totally had my head turned by patterns and shapes — beautiful colour combinations — and fantastic substitutes to plain (and dare-I-say-it boring) floor-coverings.
There’s a revival in full swing, alright.
Companies such as Bert & May, Mandarin Stone and Claybrook Studio offer a plethora of patterned floor tile options. In literally every colour under the sun.
If you want a patterned tile floor, you’ll be literally spoilt for choice.
A Patterned Floor Tile on Every Surface?
But there definitely appears to be an emerging trend for similar patterns and prints in homeware across the board; it’s not just resigned to flooring.
This love affair with a patterned floor tile transcends floor coverings too. I’ve spotted quite a few beautiful Moorish-inspired wallpaper designs recently.
And, whilst I’m not suggesting that a full — pattern on pattern — floor-to-ceiling pairing would be quite appropriate for modern-day living in the UK. Elements of it, here and there, are lovely and the perfect way to break up an expanse of plain colour, as illustrated by the image below.
I love seeing how a design, that’s generally used on a hard surface, translates to softer materials too.
These days you can even buy patterned tile cushions. The decorative nature of a tile print works so beautifully here.
And if you’re a little too nervous to cover your walls in a tile print wallpaper — or go for patterned tile flooring — it’s a lovely way to bring a little bit of sunshine into your home.
I always love going to Portugal and seeing their beautiful patterned tiles.
It makes such a change to see gorgeous, decorative flooring too, rather than boring old grey or brown that is often favoured in the UK.
But did you realise that you don’t even have to go for a tiled floor to get the same effect?
Patterned Tile Floor Is On a Roll
But what if you’re not in the market for a genuine patterned tile floor? The tiles can be costly but you’ve also got to consider the subbase before they can be installed.
Fear not. There are fantastic, budget options for a patterned floor tile that don’t require grouting!
The one above is on the roll vinyl.
Looks fabulous and you’d never guess — without closer inspection — that they weren’t imported tiles, shipped in from Morocco.
Patterned Floor Tiles on Pinterest
Pinterest is bursting with beautiful examples. But now, having seen the vinyl, it’s hard to work out what is actual tiles and what’s vinyl.
I’ve started a Pinterest board for decorative flooring inspiration. Pop along and have a peek.
In any case. Whether it’s original encaustic tiles or on the roll vinyl, it has to be preferable to tatty, carpet that has seen better days.
I think our bathroom carpet’s days are well and truly numbered.
This post was first published on 26 February 2016.
Caro Davies is a former art-director turned writer and content-creator, and editor behind UK lifestyle blog The Listed Home. She writes about home-related topics, from interiors and DIY to food and craft. The Listed Home has been featured in various publications, including Ideal Home, Grazia, and Homes & Antiques magazines.
I loooove patterned flooring, it looks gorgeous, so much better than boring laminate or carpet. We need to re-do our kitchen flooring sometime, the laminate has dents in it where various things have been dropped. :) x
Aaah me TOO Jenny!! I absolutely love it. And you’re right — it’s SO much better than plain flooring. Hides the dirt better!! ;)
Roll on vinyl is brilliant for bathroom floors. I love the Moroccan tile vinyl pattern, that’s gorgeous and looks far more expensive than it probably is.
Laura x
Amazing isn’t it?! I hd no idea you could get such gorgeous patterns on a roll!! :)
Wow I adore the last photo! Patterned flooring isn’t something I had ever considered before but it looks so lovely, I can’t believe you can get it on a roll! Amazing! xo
Aaah me too Harriet! I love the grey and white — so restful — but the patterned flooring really gives the space an edge and another dimension! :)
Oh I love these looks you’ve shared! The patternend floor look so oppulent – I can see this becoming a really big trend. It’s so great that you can have a really stylish option but it’s much more afforable and easy to keep clean – being vinyl.
Thanks so much Hannah — I think it’s SUCH a lovely trend. I predict it’s going to be huge this year too :)
love, love, love those Moroccan tiles! We have quite plain walls so patterned flooring would work well. Congrats on #markwarnermum too – very jealous!! x
They’re fab aren’t they? Lovely too when you have plain walls — such a nice contrast. And thank you so much pet — I really do appreciate that. Can’t believe my lucky stars :)
I would never of thought to have patterend tiles in our house, but those above are lovely
They’re gorgeous aren’t they? Makes a real change from plain tiles!
I really like the Moroccan floor tiles, they are just so pretty and they make any room look amazing x
I agree Rachel — although they’re even better when they come on a roll, rather than individual tiles!
I love beautiful tiles but it is always so expensive so the vinyl roll sounds a perfect solution. Really convincing too.
They ARE expensive aren’t they? It’s NUTS how much tiles cost — although I saw some great value ones in Topps Tiles the other day :)
Ohhhh I love the flooring in the last picture! I love greys and whites and this is right up my street! I would love to get rid of the carpets out of our bathrooms too, they just aren’t practical!
Gemma xx
I’m 100% with you!! The last pic is gorgeous isn’t it? Totally love the tiles!! x
That is a beautiful pattern, I love it!
Aah me too! :)
I love the flooring that in the bathroom photo. Would look fantastic in a room that has very plain decoration giving just a little pop of colour
Aah I agree!! I’m absolutely OBSESSED with patterned flooring at the mo! I can’t wait to do our bathroom floor! :)
Love patterned, tiled floors! My father in law suggested we tiled the bottom of our stairs/entrance area with a black and white tiled pattern and we always get comments on how nice it looks x
Aaah I bet it looks GORGEOUS!! You should do a little post on it and link it up to #HomeEtc!! I’d absolutely love to see it! :)
I’ve been meaning to change my bathroom flooring for a while and roll vinyl’s sounding like a good idea, and it’s so much cheaper. There’s so much around now and the beautiful Moroccan style prints sound amazing!
The vinyl is amazing isn’t it? They had a gorgeous grey and white Moroccan tiled effect one too — such a great idea :)
I am going to be brave and add a patterned floor in my new kitchen….watch this space! However people have frowned at my possible choices but I think once it is together it will look great.
Aah Steph! Stick with your convictions lovely — if you think it will look fab then it WILL!! I’m always totally blinkered when it comes to home improvements. Once I’ve decided I’m going to do something I do it! :)
I hadn’t thought about this, but now that you’ve shown me so many beautiful designs, I want patterned flooring! You’ve started something now!
It’s lovely isn’t it Joc?! Works so well in an otherwise plain room too — just lovely :)
The tiles on that bottom shot are beautiful, that’s the kind of thing I want for our new kitchen floor (in my dreams!)I like the monochrome ones best, I find the colourful ones a bit much to be honest! xx
Aah I used to love the monochrome look too but I’ve seen some absolutely gorgeous coloured ones recently — have had my head well and truly turned! :)
Loving the vinyl flooring in the bathroom – what a lovely pattern. I’ve recently been looking at vinyl flooring instead of laminate for upstairs. P.s .loving your bathroom makeover. I really need to get some of those radiator covers do you know if they do different sizes? xx
It’s gorgeous isn’t it? So lovely to add a pattern to mix things up a little bit. And yes! The radiator covers come in LOTS of different sizes — I think they’re amazing. Such a great (and cheap) way of giving a room a facelift!! :) xx
I love patterned tiles, on the walls or the floor. I’ve been pointing them out to my husband recently but he’s not convinced they will go in the new kitchen. To be honest I’m not either but they are so pretty! x #HomeEtc
Oh me TOO!! And don’t knock it Jo — they might be PERFECT for your new kitchen!!! Check out these bad boys!
I really like the Moroccan patterened vinyl flooring. The colours are lovely and fresh. I’ve always stayed away from vinyl when choosing floor coverings but I would certainly consider it in a bathroom for example…Colours and patterns for vinyl have come a long way! #HOMEETC
Ohmygoodness — I’m a vinyl convert!! Since we laid the wood effect stuff in our kitchen, I’m Evangelical about it!!! The vinyl in our kitchen was just £6.99 per square metre and looks a million dollars!! I LOVE the stuff!!
I love the Moroccan tile look. The cushions are adorable.
Aaah me too Claire! And yes — the cushions are my favourite as well. So nice to see a tile on something other than the floor and walls! :)
I especially like the tiled effect flooring in the bathroom. What beautiful colours and it makes a difference to the normal sort of bathroom floors you get. Thanks for hosting Caro x
Me TOO! If we didn’t have such wonky floors in our ensuite, I’d like some in there! I’m just not sure how they’d lay it as the floor beneath has to be totally flat. Am on a mission to find out if it’s possible to get some fitted xx
I have always loved a bit of pattern…who am fooling I love lots of patterns. The cushions are lovely, I have so many photos of tiles from my Portugal trip I was going to frame them but I am wondering if I could do something a bit more exciting now
Ohmygoodness — YES!!! You could create a pattern and get some fabric printed by Contrado — or similar — and make some of your own cushions!!! SO exciting!
Love those tile patterned cushions – they’re unexpected but beautiful. Great way to bring the tile love into a small space or rental property too!
They’re so gorgeous aren’t they? She’s got some lovely prints and patterns but I think the tile ones are my favourite :)
so Caro – please tell me where I can get the tiles in the last image? I have trawled the internet and can’t seem to find any like them to buy! HELP!!
Hi Hannah!! I think the ones in the pic were from a US site but I have found a very, very similar tile, that will ship to the UK. Have a look at the Cement Tile Shop. Whilst not identical, they have some that are a really, really close match! :)