Border tiles

Choosing a colour scheme, tile theme and overall style for your kitchen and bathroom leaves plenty of tile related decisions, but had you thought about border tiles? Here at Tiles 2 Go our 25 years of tiling experience has put us in the perfect position to offer advice, and this is our guide for all you need to know about border tiles.

Horizontal or Vertical

Border tiles are generally used in one of two ways: either vertically or horizontally, and whichever you choose will lead to different tile ideas for the room or area as a whole.

Horizontal- Using border tiles horizontally is probably the most common choice for kitchens and bathrooms. This method breaks up the block colour of whichever background tile you’ve chosen and either injects a pattern or a bright contrast into the room, depending on what effect you are hoping to achieve. This is a great way to brighten up the space and make it more interesting. Horizontal border tiles can be used to create a tile feature on just one wall in the kitchen, perhaps behind the cooker where there is often more tile space, or alternatively within the shower enclosure of the bathroom.

Vertical- Vertical border tiles are a great way to add a modern touch to any home. Often the very same tiles as horizontal border tiles, vertical tiles are instead used from floor to ceiling to create a block of pattern or colour which draws the eye and is guaranteed to wow. This is often best achieved with subtly patterned tiles which complement the colour scheme within the room.

Patterned or Colour

The second choice related to border tiles is between patterned tiles or coloured tiles. Both of these have their benefits for either horizontal or vertical borders.

Coloured tiles add a fun and modern touch to your theme, especially if you use brightly coloured tiles in an otherwise white or black themed room, and match your accessories to the coloured tiles. Alternatively, you can use contrasting colour tiles to create an equally modern but more neutral effect, for example black border tiles in an otherwise white room. These look great for either horizontal or vertical borders and can really make your room stand out.

Patterned tiles may make you think of old fashioned designs and Victorian hallways, but that doesn’t have to be the case. Modern and subtly patterned tiles are available which will add a hint of floral into your design scheme and can still retain the contemporary and neutral finish. These patterned tiles can be used either horizontally or vertically but we think that using patterned border tiles vertically really helps create a wow feature.

In summary, border tiles can be used either horizontally or vertically and can be patterned or block colour to suite personal taste and overall theme.