Choosing tiles that suit the room, not just the showroom

Tiles are chosen under bright showroom lighting on a full-height display board, then fitted in a small room with one window. That gap explains most disappointment.

Format is the first decision. Large-format tiles reduce grout lines and make a small room read as larger, but they need flat substrates and precise levelling, and every cut is visible. Small formats forgive an uneven wall and add texture, at the cost of more grout.

Finish changes everything about how a room feels. Polished porcelain bounces light and suits darker rooms; matt and honed finishes absorb it and feel calmer. On floors, check the slip rating, polished stone in a wet room is a bad idea however good it looks.

Grout colour is a design decision, not an afterthought. Matching grout makes a wall read as one surface; contrasting grout turns the tile pattern into the feature. Both are valid. Choosing without thinking about it is not.

Then setting out. A good tiler plans where the cuts land before the first tile goes on: full tiles at eye level, cuts pushed to corners, patterns centred on the focal wall, and grout lines carried through from the wall to the floor where possible. That planning is invisible in the finished room, which is exactly the point.