Tile patterns

By Tom Drake | 20th November 2023 | 4 min read

Before you start tiling your kitchen or bathroom, it’s important to consider the type of pattern you want to use when laying your tiles. The pattern you use can have a huge impact on the look and feel of a room, so it’s important to take the time to choose the right style for you.

How to choose a tile pattern

When choosing which pattern you want to use when tiling, it isn’t just about looks. The size and shape of the tiles you have will affect which patterns you can use, so it’s important to take this into consideration. Different tile patterns will also have different difficulty levels and may require a higher number of cuts, so think about the size of the job you want to take on.

Tile patterns:

• Linear
• Brick bond
• Diamond
• Horizontal herringbone
• Vertical herringbone
• Hexagon
• Basket weave
• Stepladder

Linear

Linear is the most common and simple tiling pattern. Here, the tiles are laid in straight lines so the grout lines look like a grid. This classic design works with both square or rectangular tiles. Keep it simple with a single tile colour or try two colours to create a checkerboard effect. Alternatively, experiment with multiple colours for a unique design.

The linear pattern is one of the easiest styles to lay and if you use a large format tile, will allow you to cover a large area quickly.

Brick bond

The brick bond style involves laying tiles in the same pattern as you would a brick wall. In this pattern, the edge of one tile lines up with the halfway point of the tile below. A variation of this pattern is the 1/3 brick bond, where the tiles are shifted further along than standard brick bond. 

This is a timeless tile pattern that will look great in both modern and traditional homes. It can be created using a single tile colour, or you can use multiple different colours in a number of ways to create a look that's unique to your home. You can also further customise the look of your brick bond tiles by choosing a different coloured grout. To emphasise the brick bond pattern, pair white tiles with a black grout.

This tile pattern can be more challenging to lay than the linear tile style, but is still achievable by a competent DIYer.

Herringbone

A more complex pattern that takes careful planning but creates a stunning effect. The herringbone tile pattern involves laying tiles at a 90 degree angle to each other, either vertically or horizontally. 

This is a tile pattern that gives a nod to classic and timeless aesthetics, perfect for anyone looking to create an elegant and sophisticated space. Although usually created using the same tile colour, you can also add in a mixture of different colours to give this classic tiling style your own personal touch. 

The herringbone pattern can be quite overwhelming if installed across a larger area, so consider using it sparingly for a kitchen splashback or bathroom feature wall. 

When tiling using the herringbone pattern, we recommend purchasing 15% more tiles than you think you'll need to allow for the extra cutting involved.

Horizontal herringbone

The horizontal herringbone pattern, as the name suggests, involves laying tiles horizontally. This style will draw the eye to the corners of a wall, which will elongate spaces and make them feel larger. This makes horizontal herringbone an ideal tile pattern for smaller bathrooms or compact kitchen splashbacks. 

Vertical herringbone

If you want to create the illusion of extra height, the vertical herringbone pattern is for you. The upward diagonal lines of this pattern draw the eyes towards the ceiling to create the illusion of a taller space. This makes this pattern ideally suited for areas which may feel quite cramped, such as the space under a sloped ceiling or a shower enclosure.

Hexagon

The unique shape of hexagon tiles makes them perfect for anyone who's tired of traditional square and rectangular tiles and wants to experiment with something different. 

Hexagon tiles look great when different colours are used across the wall. Whether it's slightly different variations of one colour, alternating patterns or simply random, the choice is yours. 

With hexagonal-shaped tiles you can choose between two pattern variations. One option is to have the point of the hexagon pointing upwards. The other option is to rotate the hexagon so that there is a flat edge at the top.

Basket weave

To create the basket weave shape, you'll need to lay two or more tiles alongside each other horizontally. Then, lay the same number of tiles next to them vertically. You can then repeat this pattern on each row, making sure no horizontal tiles are next to vertical tiles and vice versa. 

This tiling style will bring life to any wall. The large number of different shapes and patterns help to create depth, you'll find yourself noticing different patterns every time you look at the wall. This is another style that can visually expand a space, making a wall appear larger.

Like the herringbone style, basket weave is a busy pattern that can be too dominating if used over a large area. Instead, look to use basket weave for smaller feature walls or splashbacks.

Diamond

The diamond tile pattern, sometimes referred to as diagonal tiling, is one of the easiest ways to move away from standard tiling methods. To create this effect, you simply need to rotate your tiles to a 45 degree angle.

When using the diamond tiling pattern, you can use two different coloured tiles of the same size to create an attractive checkerboard pattern. You can also alternate colours between different rows.

The diamond tiling pattern can be more difficult to install than others you'll see here, but it has the benefit of making spaces feel more expansive than they really are. Diamond tiles also have the added benefit of hiding any imperfections in your walls. If you have rectangular tiles on a wall that isn't square, you'll have to make a cut that will highlight this shape. However, if you use the diamond tiling pattern, walls that are out of square are much less noticeable.

Due to the larger number of cuts required when compared to other tiling patterns, we recommend purchasing 15% more tiles than you think you'll need.

Stepladder

The stepladder tiling style uses the same pattern as brick bond, but tiles are laid vertically rather than horizontally. This gives it the same timeless aesthetic that will look great in almost any kitchen or bathroom. 

The stepladder tiling pattern will visually elongate a space, which makes it ideal for areas with lower ceilings or shower enclosures. You can change up the look of your stepladder pattern by alternating tile colours or using different grout colours.

As you can see, there's a wide range of different tile patterns and colour combinations you can use in your home. With differing optical effects, aesthetics and difficulties, it's important to take the time to choose the right pattern for your home. For more bathroom tile inspiration, take a look at our bathroom tile ideas or our complete tile range.