5 Ways to Use Decorative Tile in the Shower

Creative ideas for incorporating decorative tile into your design.

No matter how large or small your bathroom may be, the shower stall is going to take up a significant amount of wall space. While you may prefer to cover the majority of the stall in a classic tile such as a white subway tile or a natural stone tile, you certainly don’t want to end up making things too neutral. Fortunately, there are many creative ways to incorporate decorative tile into your design.

Bands and Borders

The most typical way to incorporate decorative tile into a shower is of course with a decorative band or border running horizontally around the shower enclosure. However, just because you want to go with this frequently-used design technique doesn’t mean your shower has to look ordinary. You can add a little extra interest to the bands or borders by using a raised edge tile on either side of the decorative tile, or by doing something unexpected like having the shower band run vertically instead of horizontally, or having it actually go beyond the shower stall and run around the whole bathroom.

Accent Wall

Another possibility is to cover one entire wall of the shower with decorative tile. This typically works best with a mosaic tile than a patterned tile, but it really depends on your bathroom. Another possibility is not to actually cover the entire wall, but instead make a large feature mosaic covering most of one wall, or to cover the bottom of the wall with tile in a sort of faux-wainscoting look.

Tile the Ceiling

Why let your tile end three-quarters of the way up the wall or at the ceiling? Adding tile to the ceiling of a shower stall can be an excellent way to create a complete, unified look. And if you put decorative tile on the ceiling, you can add a lot of interest to a space that is typically not decorated at all. One tip is to use the same decorative tile on the floor and the ceiling.

Shower Niche

Recessed shower niches for holding soap, shampoo, and other supplies are becoming increasingly popular. They’re much more functional than traditional built-in soap dishes and certainly far superior to shower caddies. The shower niche can easily be transformed into a focal point of the shower with the right decorative tile in and/or around it.

Shower Bench

If you have a nice large walk-in shower to work with, you might consider adding a shower bench. In addition to making a nice place to rest your shower supplies, a bench can also give your bathroom a spa-like vibe. You can use decorative tile on the seat of the bench or on the sides.

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