A bathroom floor gets wet, gets walked on barefoot and gets cleaned often. The right tile handles all three and still suits your home's style.
Start with slip resistance
Wet tile can be slippery. Manufacturers test floor tile for wet slip resistance and list a rating called DCOF. For bathroom floors, look for tile the manufacturer rates for interior floors that may get wet. A few general rules:
- Matte and textured finishes grip better than polished ones.
- Smaller tiles mean more grout lines, which add traction.
- Polished marble and glossy tile are best kept for walls.
Pick a tile size
- Mosaics and small hexagons suit older homes and small bathrooms, and they're classic in houses from the early 1900s.
- 12x12 and 12x24 tiles are the everyday middle ground.
- Large-format tile (24x24, 24x48 and up) makes a small room feel bigger with fewer grout lines, but it needs a very flat floor. Older floors often need leveling first.
Choose a look that fits the house
- Classic homes: white hexagon, octagon-and-dot, black-and-white checkerboard or basketweave marble.
- Farmhouse and cottage: terracotta-look, patterned cement-look tile, or wood-look plank tile.
- Modern: large concrete-look or stone-look porcelain in gray, beige or charcoal.
Grout color matters
- Matching grout makes the floor read as one surface.
- Contrasting grout shows off the pattern, like dark grout with white hexagons.
- Mid-tone grays and beiges hide everyday dirt best on a floor.
Heated floors
Electric radiant heat mats go under the tile and make a cold bathroom floor comfortable. They need their own electrical connection and a thermostat, so decide before the old floor comes up.
Before the tile goes down
Tile needs a solid, flat base. Old vinyl or tile may need to come up, soft or damaged subfloor needs repair, and a crack-isolation or uncoupling membrane is often used to protect tile from movement in a wood-framed floor. These steps don't show in the finished floor, but they decide how long it lasts.
Quick checklist
- Rated for floors and for wet areas
- Size suits the room and the floor's flatness
- Grout color chosen for pattern and upkeep
- Heating decided before demolition
- Extra tile ordered for cuts and future repairs