Glossy tiles in bathroom

I have Amtico flooring in my kitchen. I don't know what it's made of but it copes extremely well with spillages and still looks almost brand new after 15 years. It's very easy to clean as well.

https://www.amtico.com/flooring/inspiration/?tag=bathroom

 

Indeed. I've gone for this pattern for the floor, but the white in my tiles will be a tad more yellowish/off white. very useful to see the additional pictures of different rooms with the tiles, including a bathroom with glossy tiles.
https://www.wallsandfloors.co.uk/ledbury-black-tiles

 

Ooh, very nice.

 

looks very nice!

 

I chose bumpy white tiles, the cheapest versions available, in the large wetroom at the last house. The Disabled Facilities Grant paid for two of the walls to be tiles because they'd get wet from the shower, but I had to pay for the other two—hence the price decision! The room was originally built as a single bedroom, so it was larger than the average bathroom.

I asked the tiler why he'd recommended picking glossy tiles with a slightly undulating surface, and he said that flat ones can easily drive "noticing" people a bit mad. A tiny, tiny variation in the level of a single tile, which wouldn't ordinarily even be visible, can reflect light differently to the tiles around it; there's also the fact that there's quite a lot of direct reflection from gloss tiles, which can make the light in the room seem harsh. Hence the development of the bumpy tile, which breaks up the reflections and diffuses the light nicely.

Despite their cheapness, I'd definitely pick them again. My current wet room is tiled in a shiny buttercream colour, which shows every tiny splash and mark because of the very uniform surface and the reflections. I'd like to re-do it eventually in that lovely clean white.

ETA: Just found a photo of the work-in-progress. They're not even grouted here, but you can just about see the bumpy effect:

 

That's very useful. Thank you! Hope you'll get to re-do your current bathroom.

 

Thanks. Glad you think matt tiles are easy to clean too. and glad the tiler did a good job. I'm really 50/50 on what to choose..

 

I'd leave the lighting decision till last if you can. Modern LED lighting is extremely flexible, and if you choose your fittings carefully, you can get a whole range of lamps with different colour temperatures and brightnesses. You can't predict exactly how the tiling will look until it's done, but you can leave yourself with as many choices as possible over the lighting. If in any doubt, contact one of the online lighting specialists that sells a lot of different lamp types—they're often incredibly helpful.

 

That's a good idea, Kitty. Thanks.

 

A couple of thoughts from me:

If the tiles are the "brick-shaped" ones, so they're laid alternately like a brick wall, en masse they remind me of prisons, and I find them really unattractive.

I don't know what lighting you're allowed, but when we got the bathroom done we had to get the pendant light replaced by a ceiling-flush circular neon bulkhead thingy. It gave off a really harsh light, with the upshot that it made us look really ill when we looked in the bathroom mirror. Consequently, we ended up getting some warm-coloured tiles instead, to offset the harshness.

 

Thank you, @Wits_End
Yes, harsh light is really uncomfortable. Glad you found a solution in the end that worked.

I ended up with matt tiles and am so glad the decision is done. Had I been well I would have loved the opportunity to renovate a bathroom, now it's just stressful having to take so many decisions and trying to imagine what the result will be like. But I'm sure it'll work out in the end.

Thanks everyone for sharing thoughts and input. It's been very helpful!

 

Tiles come in differing whites which can clash with the sink / pan white. Cheap tiles lack depth of glaze and show the substrate backing under very close inspection. Directly comparing tiles alongside each other is amazingly revealing. There again who looks that close?

Not all light fittings are rated for bathrooms which are divided into zones and what was acceptable 6 years ago is now flagged on electrical inspections as needing to be changed ASAP. We have unacceptable led fitted but this allows us to change the bulbs from warm white to harsh white. So having a sealed fitting might set what you get as a light temperature.

My dad sold Amtico for 45 years and really loved them but then he did not pay full price. You can search for their seconds and save a lot. Karndean are a good second choice price wise but having the right fitter with the correct tools makes a big difference getting the strips to butt together and stay together.

If you are after a small amount of floor covering and not set for choice, try looking up independent carpet or floor layers locally. Often they have leftover boxes from large commercial high quality jobs. They are delighted to turn them into cash. The same probably applies to the tilers but we haven’t explored that.

 

Thank for the advice, @yME !

 

Glad to hear you’ve made a decision and feeling good about it!

We have matt white tiles on our bathroom walls and a sort of marble/sandstone tile on the floor
(but your patterns look really beautiful so I’m considering that for future projects…tho maybe I’d find it confusing some days).
The matt white tiles are floor to ceiling (it’s a ‘wet room’) with mid-to-dark grey grout and the ceiling is sloping and wooden. It’s facing the dark side of the house and it’s light enough that we don’t need to turn on lights during the day but, if we do, it has a very serene feeling. It’s been 10yrs now and we still love it every time we enter the room (and every guest we’ve ever had gasps and loves it too).
The matt tile is as easy to clean as any tile I’ve ever washed and doesn’t show the dust or minor splashes like glossy tiles do. So when cleaning isn’t an option, it’s still pleasant to be there.
So I think (with all bias of my own experience) you can be confidently happy with your choice.

 

oh, that sounds like a lovely room, indeed! Thanks for adding to the thread and I'm glad you're happy with the matt tiles, it makes me feel better about the choice that's been done