MAKING A SPLASH IN THE BATHROOM
Choosing the right tiles for your bathroom can be a daunting prospect. What’s best - Ceramic? Slate? Glass? Patterned or plain? Large or small? Smooth or textured? To help you make the right choice we've put together a guide highlighting some of the areas you should consider as part of the process.

SET YOUR BUDGET
A good starting point is to decide what you want to spend on your tiles, this will help provide some much needed focus. You can then start to think about the finish you’re after.

MATERIAL MATTERS
The most popular choice is Ceramic tiles which are the most widely produced and as a result come in a huge range of colours and sizes. They tend to be more affordable, are durable and because they have a smooth surface they are hygienic and easy to clean.

If you’re looking for something a bit different glazed terracotta tiles are “on trend” at the moment with increased demand for Mediterranean style bathrooms. Good quality terracotta will give you a beautifully rustic finish and will last forever and a day. Be prepared to pay a bit more to ensure you get the quality you need for a lasting effect.

Natural stone tiles can provide a lavish look and feel to your bathroom. Granite, slate and marble will all give you a real “wow” factor but again, you’ll have to budget a bit more for your high end finish. Some natural materials are porous, so it’s worth checking with one of the friendly Cosmo staff if you need to apply a seal or not.

Glass, metal, and porcelain tiles look brilliant if installed properly – but that’s easier said than done. Unless you’re a dab hand at DIY you might want to leave the fitting of these to the experts.

TAKE THE ROUGH WITH THE SMOOTH
Textured tiles are an ideal flooring or wet room solution - generally the more textured they are the better grip you’ll get.

Textured or embossed tiles can also help ensure your bathroom isn’t too stark by adding some interest to the space or making up for a lack of colour on the walls.

Smoother tiles are particularly good for walls where you can use their light reflecting properties to help enhance small or dark spaces.

EVERYTHING IS NOT ALWAYS BLACK AND WHITE
If you are on a budget classic white tiles provide clean and spacious feel and can always be broken up with the addition of some coloured or patterned tiles. If you have a bit more to spend you may want to make a bold statement by covering a large area with these tiles.


SIZING UP YOUR OPTIONS
There are no hard and fast rules to say you have to use smaller tiles in smaller spaces, light coloured and large tiles can make smaller spaces look bigger and small WC's can look great with large white tiles. Rather than tile around sinks/baths and toilets which can look messy make sure you take out any of your services before you tile to give you a much better finish.

Think about the look you are going for, the style of room and make sure it is in keeping with the rest of your house or flat. Magazines, brochures and TV programmes are always a good source of ideas you can replicate.

If you are lucky enough to have a larger bathroom large tiles give a really stylish look a la boutique hotel. There’s less exposed grout so they can look a lot sharper and cleaner. Mixing smaller tiles into your design can also be very effective in matching or contrasting colours.

ORDER A SAMPLE & GET FREE ADVICE
It's always best to have a look at the colour/texture in situ and we offer a sample service to help with this. The cost of samples will be deducted from any subsequent purchase. Please contact one of our knowledgeable staff to help you with this and any other queries or advice you would like. Good luck!