Creative Mosaic Tile Pattern and Placement Ideas

Using mosaic tile in your bathroom will provide opportunity for plenty of creativity and color. The technique is not difficult and can be therapeutic. Here are some of the most popular mosaic tile pattern ideas for your room:

Stagger the Walls

Instead of just tiling evenly all the way up a wall, stagger the walls by tiling halfway on one side of a door and window and three-quarters of the way up on the opposite side. This works best when there is an opening or divider like a door, window, archway or mirror to break up the two different heights. When tiling on a wall, consider using wood trim above the last level of tiles if you don't make it up the entire wall.

Pepper the Walls Randomly

Not everything beautiful is symmetrical; instead of a symmetrical checkerboard pattern, consider pepper the walls randomly by using one predominate tile color and then randomly peppering the wall or floor sporadically with a couple of different colors. A couple of different lighter or darker shades of the predominant color works well for a more subtle look; or use complementary colors for a bolder look.

Create Mirror Images

If you have the time and patience, use mirror imaging for an asymmetrical look that still looks purposeful and elegant. For example this can be done by creating two symmetrical identical images (like a sun) side by side, but using colors to create a mirror image. For example, the sun on the left could be yellow, on the right half and orange on the left half, and the sun on the right could be yellow on the left half and orange on the right.

Besides varying color use to create mirror image, you could also design two asymmetrical objects side by side. For example, two coffee cups side by side, but the one on the left would have the handle on the left and the cup on the right would have the handle on the right- both towards the outside.

If you are doing two walls, consider making two walls that meet in a corner mirror images of each other. For example, design a stair pattern so that when staring at the corner the wall on the left has stairs that start at the top left and go down, and the wall to the right of the corner has stairs that start at the bottom right of the wall and build up.

Make Borders with Tiles

A simple way of breaking up color and adding variety to your wall is to make dividing borders in between two colors or types of tiles with a third color or type of tile. For example, tile the bottom third of a wall with 1-inch squares of black mosaic tiles, and the top two-thirds with a red mosaic tile. Divide these two different colors by applying one layer of rectangular tiles 1/2 inch high and two inches wide in white between the red and black tiles. Variables of color, material and size provide endless possibilities for design.