14 October 2026
How to Choose Bathroom Tiles: Floors, Walls and Showers
Short answer: pick a porcelain floor tile with a suitable slip rating (P3 is commonly used for residential bathroom floors), a size that suits the falls to your floor waste, and wall tiles you love the look of. Then order samples and look at them together in your bathroom's light.
Floors: slip rating first
Bathroom floors get wet, so slip resistance matters. Check the slip rating listed on each tile and confirm the requirement with your builder or certifier. Matt finishes are usually a safer choice than polished.
Floors: size and falls
Shower floors slope towards the waste. Smaller tiles and mosaics follow these falls easily. Larger tiles can work too, especially with a linear (strip) drain — ask your tiler what suits your layout.
Walls
Walls don't need slip resistance, so you can use gloss, handmade-look or textured tiles. Popular choices include:
- Subway tiles — classic, and can be laid stacked, in brick bond or herringbone.
- Large format porcelain — fewer grout lines and easy to clean.
- Feature tiles — terrazzo, fish scale, kit kat or mosaics on one wall or a niche.
Making it work together
A simple formula: one calm, neutral tile across the floor and most walls, plus one feature tile. Using the same tile on the floor and walls makes a small bathroom feel bigger.
See before you buy
Colours look different under bathroom lighting. Order samples, or book a visit to our Holroyd warehouse.