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Design DilemmaBathrooms
minipie

Which bits of a bathroom *must* be tiled?

minipie
5 years ago

We are redoing a bathroom, it will have a freestanding bath at one end, shower cubicle at the other and sink and loo in between on opposite walls. Obviously the floor must be tiled, and the shower walls. I’ll also tile the back wall behind the bath up to tap height.


However, what about the rest? Do I need tiles behind the basin, or could I get away with bathroom paint (or maybe eggshell)? And what about the walls at each end of the bath - no taps there but I guess they might get the odd splash, there will be about 10-15cm from the end of the bath to the wall.

The bathroom won‘t be used by small children but may be by older kids in due course.


Any views or experience welcome thanks.



Featured Answer
  • minnie101
    5 years ago

    My bathroom is all panelled and is painted in eggshell. It does show a few splashes but it's painted in F&B railings so I would guess a lighter colour would show the splashes less. It's not a pain to clean due to splashes just the actual panelling which is a dust gatherer!

    Comments (12)

    • PRO
      User
      5 years ago

      Normally I would say the whole shower cubicle. The rest would be window sill height not bath height, that's a little low. If you do window sill height it would come up above the level of your vanity, thus negating the need for a further splash back. Something like this showing half height, but obviously your shower cubicle, and indeed the shower below should be to the ceiling. This is a daft pic really as you wouldn't be able to use that shower without causing a pond in the room below it, ok if you're a duck I suppose:-


      minipie thanked User
    • minipie
      Original Author
      5 years ago

      Hehe yes they definitely should have tiled up to the top of the shower area in this photo! We will tile the whole of our shower cubicle.


      You’re right the wall behind our bath should be tiled to windowsill height not to bath height. but do I really need to continue this half height tiling round on the other walls ie behind the sink and the loo? I‘m worried it might make the room look a bit closed in.

    • PRO
      User
      5 years ago

      Definitely doesn't make it look closed in, more polished, yes. Go for light tiles on the walls, darker on the floor and it will look nice and spacious.

      minipie thanked User
    • minipie
      Original Author
      5 years ago

      Thanks, yes I guess light tiles to half height would reflect light, also means we could get away with a darker paint colou above.


      Minnie thanks for the warning on panelling dust, I was considering panelling for the hall but might reconsider!

    • PRO
      User
      5 years ago

      Duster Shy women............shall I start a riot? - We all have our problems, our internal doors used to gather a lot of dust, they're old fashioned panelled pine. Since we painted them, they're a lot easier for the wife to clean. x


      minipie thanked User
    • minipie
      Original Author
      5 years ago

      I have painted panelled doors too... I don‘t dust those either... !

    • PRO
      User
      5 years ago
      From our experience, you don’t need to tile behind the loo and basin-there are plenty of good semi-glossy waterproof bathroom paints out there you can choose from. It’s a personal preference, and either way, tiled all around or not, looks nice. But bear in mind if you are going with the painted walls, they will be quite high maintenance and you will probably have to repaint every few years.
      minipie thanked User
    • PRO
      Opun
      5 years ago

      Hello Minipie,


      Sounds like you're going to have a very stunning bathroom.

      We definitely advise tiling your shower walls to full height for obvious reasons, however the rest is really up to preference and how much practical use it's going to get.


      If you're still having a free-standing bath then it really would depend on how far the bath is away from the walls to determine if you'll need tiles or a waterproof paint. We believe tiles would be the more practical solution as it will add a little more synchronicity with the tiles in your shower area. If your bath is being built in, then tiling all around it would be the best thing to do to make it watertight.


      Whatever you decide to do it's always nice to leave a wall or half of your walls to a lick of paint every now and again. It adds a bit of longevity to your bathroom and means you have the option to add different colours and freshen it up once in a while.


      Opun, Your home improvement experts.

      minipie thanked Opun
    • PRO
      OnePlan
      5 years ago
      Hugh - don’t know wether to laugh or cry !!! Poor Mrs Math !! Less time on Houzz and more time on house work helping me thinks !!!
    • PRO
      User
      5 years ago

      I wash up for her! Ha ha

    • Tani H-S
      5 years ago
      Been having the same issue but mostly for the cost aspect as although we have a small en suite room, the tiles I wanted are twice what I have ever paid for tiles in my life, ha ha. Going for the floor and all in the shower and a wood effect tiles behind the loo (it’s wall hung so has plywood behind it) and a splash back and leaving the rest blank. Nice as you can change the colour when you want to more often.

      As my joiner pointed out, there is no point tiling all under the sink unit as I won’t really see it much and it will save me £150 so we are doing the bare minimum. I figured I could find a paint to match the tile and just paint the bare walls in the similar colour and no one will notice it’s not tiles, lol.
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