How to Choose Bathroom Tiles That Are on Trend in 2026

Planning a bathroom renovation this year and wondering which tiles will look genuinely current rather than already dated? You’re not alone. Tile trends have shifted significantly over the past two years, moving away from the cool grey, all-white bathrooms that dominated the 2010s and towards something warmer, more tactile, and altogether more personal. Knowing what has changed means you can make choices that look and feel contemporary right now and hold their appeal for years to come.

At La Fabrico in Exeter, our team works with homeowners and designers across Devon every day. This guide walks you through everything you need to know, step by step, so you can approach your renovation with a clear sense of direction.

Understand what has shifted in 2026

Before choosing specific tiles, it helps to understand the direction bathroom design has moved. Two things have changed most noticeably:

Warmth has replaced cool neutrals

Cool grey and brilliant white are not gone, but they are no longer the aspirational default. Homeowners increasingly find them cold and impersonal. What has replaced them are warmer, more natural tones: travertine ivories and honeys, sandy beiges, soft sage greens, and warm creams that feel genuinely welcoming rather than clinical. If your current bathroom feels like it belongs in an office, this shift is why.

Texture now matters as much as colour

Flat, uniform, perfectly smooth surfaces have lost their hold. The tiles generating the most interest in 2026 have physical depth: fluted ridges, hand-applied glaze variation, natural stone pitting, and three-dimensional surfaces that catch light differently throughout the day. A tile that looks identical in every lighting condition is missing one of the most compelling qualities of modern bathroom design.

Choose your primary tile material

The single most important decision is which material your main tile references. Here are the four categories doing the heaviest lifting in 2026 bathrooms, and how to get each one right:

Travertine-effect porcelain

Travertine is the material of the moment. The warm, cross-cut stone with its characteristic ivory and honey tones has become the signature of the 2026 wellness bathroom. Most people choose travertine-effect porcelain rather than natural stone: no sealing required, consistent colour across batches, far better water resistance, and modern replication technology that is extraordinarily convincing. Choose a honed matte finish in a large format (600x1200mm or above) for the full effect.

Fluted and textured tiles

Fluted tiles, with their distinctive vertical ridges, are the texture story of 2026. They work best as a feature surface rather than a field tile: one wall of a shower enclosure, a vanity backdrop, or a niche. Pair with a simple large-format tile on the remaining surfaces and let the texture breathe. A wall-grazing light positioned nearby will bring out the shadow play beautifully.

Zellige and handmade-effect tiles

Zellige, the handmade Moroccan tile with its hand-applied glaze and natural surface variation, brings organic warmth that no machine-made tile can fully replicate. Use it in contained moments: a shower wall, a niche, the area behind a basin. It pairs beautifully with simple, calm field tiles elsewhere. Popular 2026 colourways include sage green, aged white, deep teal, and warm terracotta.

Marble-effect porcelain with bolder veining

Marble-effect tiles have evolved in 2026. The most compelling versions now have richer, bolder veining in warmer base tones, and in some cases veining in unexpected colours: deep green, warm amber, and cocoa brown through a cream or white ground. As a feature wall or in a tile-drenched shower enclosure, they bring genuine drama without the maintenance demands of natural marble.

Build a colour palette rooted in warmth

Colour is one of the areas that has shifted most noticeably this year. Here is a practical guide to which tones are working well and how to build a palette around them:

Decide on your format and layout approach

Once you have your material and colour, format is the next decision, and in 2026 it is one of the most visible signals of a contemporary bathroom. The rule of thumb is straightforward: larger formats with fewer grout lines look more current. Here is how to apply that in practice:

• 1
  Go large format on your main surfaces. 600x1200mm is the current sweet spot for modern bathrooms. It spans a shower enclosure wall with just one or two horizontal joints, which immediately reads as high-end and considered. Smaller formats are not wrong, but large format is the stronger choice for a contemporary result.
• 2
  Consider tile drenching. The defining layout technique of 2026 is using the same tile (or tiles in the same tone) continuously across floors, walls, and the shower enclosure. It makes any bathroom feel larger, calmer, and more designed. Use matching or near-matching grout throughout to keep the effect seamless.
• 3
  Use textured tiles as a feature, not a field. Fluted, ribbed, or zellige tiles work best covering one defined surface. A full room of texture risks feeling busy and exhausting to live with.
• 4
  Vary texture, not colour. The most considered 2026 bathrooms use the same tone across all surfaces but vary the surface quality: a smooth matte wall tile, a slightly textured version on the floor, a fluted or handmade tile in the niche. Same palette. Different surfaces. Far richer result than mixing unrelated tile styles.
• 5
  Match your grout closely to the tile. Contrasting grout creates a visible grid across every surface. In 2026, a grout line that almost disappears is far more desirable than one that emphasises the joints. Choose a grout that is at most one shade darker than your tile.

Know what to avoid

Knowing what not to choose is as useful as knowing what to go for. These are the tile decisions most likely to feel dated in 2026:

• Cool grey large-format tiles with white grout. This combination dominated from 2015 to 2022 and now reads as a tired default rather than a considered choice.
• Plain white gloss metro tiles. Still functional and clean, but no longer contemporary on their own. If you love the metro format, look at coloured versions in sage, terracotta, or deep teal, or a soft handmade glaze finish rather than plain white gloss.
• Mixed materials without a unifying tone. Using a marble-effect wall tile, a completely different stone-effect floor tile, and an unrelated feature tile in three separate colour families is one of the most common errors we see. Pick one material family and stay within it.
• Highly polished mirror-like finishes on floors. These score low on slip resistance and show every watermark. Matte and honed finishes are more practical and more aligned with where bathroom design is heading.

Think beyond the tile itself

A beautiful, on-trend tile can be undermined by the wrong decisions around it. Before you finalise your choice, consider these elements:

Fixtures and fittings

Brushed brass is the dominant fixture finish of 2026, pairing naturally with warm stone tones and travertine effects. Matte black works well with cool greige and bold marble effects. Brushed nickel or steel is the most versatile choice if you are undecided. Whatever you choose, commit to one finish throughout the whole room.

Lighting

Textured tiles need the right light to show their quality. A wall-grazing downlight or a backlit mirror positioned to rake across a fluted or stone-effect surface brings out the depth and shadow play that makes those tiles worth buying. Use warm white bulbs (2700 to 3000K) throughout the bathroom for a flattering, relaxing result.

Grout

It bears repeating: match your grout to your tile as closely as possible. This single decision can make or break the finished look of a contemporary bathroom. Take a tile sample to your supplier when choosing grout, or ask our team in the showroom before you order.