The hexagon bathroom tile offers killer looks and unusual versatility.
With its evocative six-sided shape, the hexagon tile can completely transform any bathroom. It doesn’t matter if it’s an en-suite, a family bathroom, or a courtesy bathroom. Choosing a feature tile, like the hexagon, is a surefire way to smarten up your bathroom.
The hexagon shape offers very different styles of décor depending on the tile size, colour and pattern. The following guide explores the many different ways to use hexagon tiles in bathrooms.
✏ Table of contents
– The Hexagon Tile
◦ Hexagon Bathroom Floor Tiles
◦ Hexagon Bathroom Wall Tiles
– Stylish Hexagon Tile Ideas for Bathrooms
◦ Hexagonal Wall Tiles: Colour & Pattern
◦ Hexagon Tile Materials
The hexagon tile: tradition and modernity
The hexagon tile looks at home in the bathroom, like it belongs there. This is due to several reasons, one of which is connected to water and bathing.
The precursor of the modern bathroom, the hammam or Turkish bath, dates back to the Early Middle Ages in Europe. Back then, it was the Arab culture that kept the custom of daily bathing alive. A tradition that had been passed down from Romans times long before that.
The beautiful buildings that once housed these baths were often clad in decorative tiles internally. Due to the fascination of the Arab culture with geometry, the hexagon was a favoured motif, organised into elaborate patterns.
Today’s hexagon tiles are a direct reference to the Mudéjar architectural style, which was popular in the Iberian Peninsula between the 13th and 16th centuries. This style is well-known for incorporating decorative motifs from Islamic art, such as calligraphy, intricate geometry and vegetal forms, into Christian architectural styles.
Nowadays, hexagon bathroom tiles are available in an endless range of colours and finishes, creating a slick and timeless look on both floors and walls. The effect is even more striking and authentic when combined with a 3D surface texture
Hexagon bathroom floor tiles
The hexagon bathroom floor tile serves as a foundation for the rest of the bathroom, expressing the bathroom décor style. Depending on the dimensions of the bathroom, different size tiles are more or less appropriate; and the same goes for finishes.
The hexagon floor tile offers the following advantages:
- Decorative hexagon mosaic floor tilescan be highly expressive and are ideal for creating a vintage-style décor. The mosaic can be laid in geometric patterns or as a more organic mix and match mural effect, with selected colours and shades.
- A plain medium-size hexagon styleis just the right mix of sober yet characterful for the family bathroom.
- Large-format hexagon-shaped tilescreate a continuous flooring effect with a subtle, geometric mesh overlay. The joints can be kept to a minimum or exaggerated in width and colour.
Hexagon bathroom wall tiles
The hexagonal tile really comes into its own on bathroom walls for a simple reason: because there is more overall visibility on the walls.
In addition, the hexagonal shape is a practical one for covering entire surfaces, shower areas or feature walls. Its angled geometry creates a beautiful backdrop for the fluid curves of modern sanitary ware.
The hexagon tiles offer the following advantages in the bathroom:
- The hexagon tile is highly decorative.
- Because of its decorative qualities, using the hexagon tilesparsely – on a defined wall area, for example – also looks good.
- Combining different size hexagonal tiles within a small bathroom creates a sensation of greater space.
- The hexagon tile denotes a contemporary sense of luxury. This is in line with a modern approach to bathroom design, where a spa-like atmosphere is very much on-trend right now.
Hexagon Tile Ideas for Bathrooms
The hexagonal tile is guaranteed to add character to a drab bathroom space. The unprecedented versatility of this geometric tile is the ideal medium to create very different effects in the bathroom. From the reassuringly conservative to arty and daring décor. The hexagon shape is peerless. How it is used is the key to unlocking its potential.
The following ideas are a starting point:
- Combine hexagon tiles of different sizes within the same space to achieve the fractal effect, which describes the relationship between a building’s (or room’s) layout and its smallest decorative component. Find out more about fractal geometry below.
- Mix colours to create a mural effect installation, which can easily be achieved by simply transitioning from one colour to another.
- Use the same hexagon tile for a single wall and throughout the flooring. This looks great when used as a backdrop for the WHB.
- Confine the hexagon tile to a single area: a shower enclosure, around a WHB, or just the floor.
- Create framed wall panels by combining hexagonal and rectilinear tiles. By doing so, you can separate different areas of the bathroom and create an eye-catching room that will wow all of your guests.
- Choose a hexagon tile with an overlaid pattern. The layered quality of pattern over pattern creates a three-dimensional effect and adds depth.
- The plain hexagon tile combines surprisingly well with wood, either wood-effect porcelain floor tiles or timber furniture within the bathroom. Perhaps it’s the organic qualities of both, the shape and contrasting texture, that makes them natural bedfellows.
Hexagonal wall tiles: Colour & Pattern
The combination of colour and the hexagon shape can provide surprising contrasts in the bathroom. From the classic reliability of black and white to the avant-garde metallic and more artful bright colours.
Here are a few ideas to get you thinking:
#1 Blue hexagon bathroom tile
There is any number of blue shades available to complement white sanitary ware. Blue is an obvious but nonetheless gorgeous shade for bathroom tiles. Mix and match different tones and whites for a customised look.
#2 Grey hexagon bathroom tile
Grey hexagon tiles are the ideal shade for a classic but designer look. The in-between colour (neither white nor black) perfectly matches the geometric shape.
#3 Black hexagon bathroom tile
For an elegant and sophisticated décor, nothing matches black. Combine with a white grout to visually lift the tile off the wall and introduce a lighter feel.
#4 Patterned hexagonal bathroom tile
For a cutting edge bathroom décor, combine a patterned hexagonal tile with a plain tile. Keep the tiles within the same complementary family of colours. The overall effect resembles a wall mural.
Hexagon tile materials
The classic matt and gloss ceramic tile is the more typical tile finish. However, there are other options for a more daring, elegant or industrial feel.
#1 Marble hexagon bathroom tile
The marble hexagon tile oozes elegance and decorative potential. It represents a classic material re-imagined in a contemporary way. Marble adds visual (and physical) weight to flooring and a sumptuous texture as wall cladding.
#2 Metallic hexagonal bathroom tile
Metallic finishes in 3D and non-textured hexagonal tiles are possible thanks to advances in ceramics. The effect is disarmingly attractive; the tile’s reflective qualities imitate the qualities of water when hit by sunlight, adding a powerful designer feature.
#3 Concrete effect hexagon bathroom tile
Concrete effect hexagon tiles represent a great way of combining the neutral and calming concrete finish with a more complex geometric pattern. The concrete finish suggests an industrial-style décor and combines ideally with materials such as metal and glass.
The Hexagon & Fractal Geometry
An appreciation of the natural world and its structures has informed all things design related over recent decades. With contemporary architecture, this is expressed by an interest in fractal geometry as a design current. The term refers to how complex geometry helps us understand the natural world around us, a meeting of art and mathematics.
In practice, the fractal determines specific shapes and geometries in design that extend from the large, macro-scale to the smaller experiential scale. Specifically for architecture and interior design, fractal geometry describes the relationship between a building’s (or room’s) layout with its smallest decorative component.
The hexagon is an example. It can be sub-divided to an infinitesimal degree and enlarged to the scale of a built structure. The recurring shape creates a sense of belonging and harmony in the overall experience of a building’s interior and exterior.
