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5 Ways to use tiles as décor

January 21, 2023 (Last Updated: January 17, 2023)

Durable, low maintenance and versatile – tiles are not just for your floors! With so many striking designs, unique shapes and colours out there, they are worthy of some praise for being silent décor heroes. Here are some unique ways to use tiles in your home.

Staircase Statements

Make your staircase interesting, be it indoors or outdoors, with gorgeous accent tiles. Choosing patterned tiles will make the staircase pop and become a statement leading up to the house, or another level, all on its own. Go for a bold minimalist tile (like classic beachy blue and white) or mix up the patterns with each new step.

A staircase from Jade Jagger’s home featured on Sköna Hem.

Latin American inspired steps give us that holiday feeling.

Headboards

The classic material headboards can be pricey and look grubby rather easily (especially if you have cats!). Opting for tiles instead is a practical alternative. Plus it can be a modern touch to rustic homes or a sleek addition to contemporary rooms.

Scandinavian-inspired hexagon tiles by Bert & May.

This headboard in Casa Talia by Marco Giunta and Viviana Haddad adds to the rustic Spanish feel of this home.

A bedroom in contemporary home Masseria Moroseta featured on Stay Some Days.

On the Ceiling

Back in another time coffered ceilings and pressed steel ceilings were a grand and beautiful statement. In fact, if you’re lucky, you can still find some old South African houses with their original pressed steel ceilings in tact! The modern (and cheaper) alternative is taking tiles all the way up to your ceilings. It may sound a little loopy but look below, the effect is nothing short of stunning.

A kitchen by Benecki Homes and Melanie Turner Designs shows how using a white tile on your ceiling creates loads of extra light.

Designer Kapan Shipman used these blue Fireclay Tiles to create a statement nook and add the look of depth in this small but stylish bathroom.

Kitchen Backsplashes

Kitchens can be a forgotten place when it comes to updating the home, but many of us spend a lot of time in there. Tiles are a lively way to bring in colour, fun shapes and a bit of character into the kitchen. The big practical plus is how easy they are to clean and how they withstand liquid. Considering how much dirt and grime can build up in a kitchen and how many spills and oopsies it has to handle, this is a winning decision.

These quirky tiles brighten up the kitchen of Jennifer Mankins’s happy oasis featured on Domino.

This vibrant choice from Mercury Mosaics is a fabulous pop of colour in an otherwise simple kitchen. The tiles’ diamond shape creates a pattern without being overly dramatic too.

The wall behind your stove can get oily, sticky and stained. San Fransisco-based interior designer Noz Nozawa creates a practical statement backsplash with patterned tiles to fix the issue.

Fancy Fireplaces

I can’t imagine why we ever stopped surrounding our fireplaces with intricate tiling! I’m a real sucker for a 1930s fireplace with its original tile design creating artwork all around it. Here’s how to do fancy tiled fireplaces the modern way.

The green tiles surrounding this vintage Brooklyn fireplace, featured in Architectural Digest, pay homage to the past while keeping the overall look contemporary.

These slate tiles in blogger Kristina Lynne’s home anchor the fireplace and create a dramatic but minimalist statement.

Have a fireplace that refuses to work? Bring new life with interesting tiles and fill the space with a plant or two! This one is in Charlotte Asquith’s 1920’s home.

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