Working colour in your home through tiles
Flooring! When I go to any interiors trade show, I always make sure to wear a really nice pair of shoes so I can take shoe selfies over beautiful tiles and sample parquet floors. When visiting stately homes I keep shooting downwards more than I do across. A beautiful floor can turn an average room into something extraordinary indeed.
While tiling is not meant for changing your home decor on a seasonal basis, it is often the one aspect of decorating we spend most of our time on. The finish and size of the tiles is of course relevant for choosing them for specific rooms but, of late, the design and colour is equally important to get right.
Gemini Tiles got in touch and asked us to have a look at their latest collections of stylish floor and wall tiles that can be used not just in the traditional setting of bathrooms and kitchens but also in your living room. We picked our favourite colour ways from their vast selection, based on the 2018 trends.
Cool greys are never out of trend
Despite sage green becoming the new "it" colour for 2018, grey will always have our heart. Use them in the living room in a herringbone pattern mixed with off-white or lighter grey versions. For those who feel they can take it further, grey and indigo makes for a very bold statement
Creams and Taupes
Another combination that I bet you hadn't given consideration to is cream and white (with long and lean tiles applied vertically in this bedroom) or use of taupes, also vertically but in a repeat pattern reminiscent of Missoni. Yes, your tiler might temporarily hate you when you explain the pattern to them, but once this is finished they will feel so proud of their work.
Tiling in the bedroom is, by the way, one of the easiest ways to add a touch of luxury and you can retain the look for an accent wall only. For a similar look to this, try the Bloom range in a combination of cream and white or mink and white.
Mediterranean look with aqua and terracotta
If you have walked around Spanish villages you will instantly recognize these types of tiles and will love their colours. No need for paying the tiler overtime - look closer and you will realise that the the Frame tiles have twelve unique patterns fitting seamlessly into one larger tile (76x25cm).
The Frame range is not only stylish, but completely functional as well as it can be used on any wall in the home. It looks so good both in the kitchen and the bathroom. For consistent look and design flow, you could use the tangerine colour way in the kitchen and the aqua in the bathroom.
Frame Decoro Cream Tile - 760x250mm. It has a refreshing colour palette of muted tangerines, creams and taupes
The mosaic like tiles above coordinate perfectly with the Frame Aqua tile here.
Victorian reds and greys
A great collection if we ever saw one, this will be a great budget saver at £39.99 per square meter. Incorporating popular red and grey colours as well as square and triangle patterns the Heritage collection will totally transform your hallway at a fraction of a cost for encaustic tiles in similar patterns.
Kendal Grey shown below will work beautifully with popular soft greys like Cornforth White (Farrow & Ball) or Gauze (Little Greene)
The Gemini Tiles Heritage collection. From left: Blakeney White, Harrogate Blue, York Terracotta and Kendal Grey
Fresh blues
If bold colours get your attention, don't try to go against your personality. Use them! To avoid a costly mistake however, think about the pattern well in advance and come up with one that will not make the room feel overly 'busy'.
We love how deep blues evoke a sense of freshness in this bathroom - use metro tiles as a border around your bathtub or tile from the floor to the middle of your wall.
Retro colours - how bold can you get!?
Borders are an easy way to add depth and colour to a room - you can also use bold colours as your back splash in the kitchen, while keeping the rest of the room in a neutral colour way.
These are the Vivid tiles from Gemini Tiles available in 10 modern colours, including this Pantone Ultra Violet one (well that's what it looks to our eyes anyway, always order samples in!).
Vivid Tiles in Orange
Vivid Tiles in a combination of colours as a border.
Open shelving ideas - small square tiles
Use small square tiles to tile the back of open shelves for some extra oomph in your kitchen. You can even use a variety of colours, a different one for each shelf or a combination depending on how daring you want to be. The exuberant colours shown below, from the Reflections range, will add depth and richness to any scheme.
A small space like this is your opportunity to play with an accent colour and create contrast, especially against plain white cabinetry!
Above and below: Savoy Hexagon tiles, £49.99sqm
To re-cap, these are the best ways to incorporate colour in your home with tiles:
1. Use them as a border;
2. Use them as a backsplash;
3. Tile from the floor all the way to the middle of the wall (best in bathrooms);
4. Create a modern accent wall in the bedroom or living room;
5. Use a daring combination in your entrance way/ hallway. First impressions count!
6. Add them as backdrop to open shelves.
Share your style
What type of tiles do you prefer the most? Choose from the ranges below and tell us why!
1. Savoy hex in aqua; 2. Victorian Heritage; 3. Reflections metro tile; 4. Denim long and lean in zig-zag; 5. Reflections small square; 6. Denim vertical; 7. Frame, for that Mediterranean look; 8. Vivid for bold hues.
