Large Geometric Tile In The Bathroom

If you follow us on Instagram, you already know that I’m finally making progress on the half bath off of our kitchen. There’s not a ton to do in this tiny bathroom but I’m bringing you along the way as we tackle this space. I’m DIY-ing each step since this room doesn’t require any super challenging upgrades that would require a professional.

Today I’m sharing the first step in the process — tiling the bathroom floor with large geometric tile.

Choosing Large Geometric Tile

After hearing the challenges that Casey had because of the type of basketweave tile she chose in her bathroom renovation, I wanted to make sure that I picked a tile that wouldn’t pose those same problems.

basketweave tile in the bathroom Casey encouraged me to try and look for tile that had straight edges since she felt that would make the process a heck of a lot easier than her bathroom tile project. That advice was key! From the very start, I narrowed down my search to straight-edged tiles.

Unfortunately, that criteria narrowed down my options pretty significantly. I’m not complaining, because I was happy to stick with the straight edges, but this is a fact worth noting for others trying to follow this same advice. And it’s not that you can’t go with tile with non-straight edges. We just wanted to knock this project out as quickly as possible, and knew that straight edges would help do just that, and would minimize the number of cuts we had to make!

geometric tile I ultimately decided on this tile! Not only does it have straight edges, but I love the design. Plus, it’s almost 18″ x 18″, meaning I only needed like 9 tiles to cover the ENTIRE bathroom (plus some extra just in case we screwed up).

Tiling With Large Tiles

Casey came over and we followed all of the tips and tricks she learned during her bathroom reno to knock this project out in a few hours. Having straight edges and large tiles was GLORIOUS!

Here are some of the factors worth noting for others tackling a tile project using large tiles.

1. Having a Level Floor Is KEY

Of course, having a level floor regardless of what tile you’re using is extremely important. But it’s especially important when you are using such large tiles because there is no “give” in the large tile. If your floor isn’t perfectly level, you can use varying amounts of mortar to try and make up for these minor imperfections. I wouldn’t necessarily rely on this, but it can be helpful for slight imperfections. Ideally, it’s better to prep the floor with a floor leveler so that the tile will lay flat.

2. Account for Scraps

Like in any tile job, make sure you account for extra tile. You’re going to mess up on a cut or misjudge a measurement so making sure you have extra tile will be important. Remember, you can always bring it back, so order at least 10-20% extra!

3. Working Around The Toilet

Working around obstacles in a bathroom is tough. And cutting large pieces of tile to work around these obstacles is no exception. We actually used the same technique we did when trying to backsplash around an outlet to cut around the toilet. You can get all the details of that technique here!

Tiling With Large, Straight-Edge Tile

Overall, I’m happy to report Casey’s advice really paid off. Working with large, straight-edge tiles made this job a lot easier than I expected and one I’d highly recommend to others. I grouted the next day using delorean gray, sanded grout (be sure to use sanded when using large tiles!) and have been loving the look ever since.

I still need to add a transition piece between the wood floor and the tile. I’ll probably go with a wood transition piece and stain it to match our hardwoods (you can read more about our stained floors in this post). That will finish off the floor tile look and you won’t see the raw edge of the tile.

What’s Next?

Next order of business is deciding on a faucet to go with the vanity I already purchased. Then it’s wood wall detailing, and paint. Oh, and I still need to install a toilet in here. Before long, we will have our half bath up and running again and I’m so excited! We’ve only been living without it for 5 months…

Bridget