Can Concrete Tiles be used in the Bathroom?
Concrete tiles can be used in any number of ways throughout your home, from the kitchen and laundry to outdoor covered areas, but can concrete tiles be used in the bathroom? We’re exploring the many exciting ways these historic tiles can be introduced in your next interior design project and how they can best be used in a home’s bathroom setting.
What are Concrete/Encaustic Tiles?
Concrete tiles (also referred to as encaustic tiles) provide a luxurious effect in the home, being available in a vast range of colours and patterns to help you create the perfect look. These tiles have a long and rich history with their roots in Ancient Greece, through to medieval times and then once again emerging as a strong trend in Victorian era homes.
Our Concrete collection provides a modern take on these traditionally designed tiles, adding a fun and playful touch that can be used in the bathroom to create an elegant feature pattern.
Concrete tiles are usually made by hand using traditional techniques. Pigments are added into the wet cement mixture which is then poured into moulds or stencils to create the incredibly bold and charismatic patterns these luxury tiles are so well known for. The tiles are then pressed with an immense amount of pressure using a hydraulic press and left to dry, resulting in a wonderfully durable and versatile surface finish that can usually be used as a floor or wall solution throughout the home.
Can Concrete Tiles be used in the Bathroom?
Although concrete tiles can be used in the bathroom to create a striking feature, they are best avoided when selecting shower floor tiles. These tiles provide an immensely strong and durable surface finish however, chemicals and ingredients in soaps, shampoos and body washes can affect their surface, as can the chemicals found in tap water. Furthermore, due to their porous nature, water should best not be allowed to sit and pool on the surface of concrete floor tiles (as it often would after finishing up in the shower!) as this excess moisture can penetrate into the body of the tile and cause discolouration.
Using combinations of vibrant colours paired with elegant patterns, the Molokai collection is available in a selection of tile shapes and colours to help you create a stylish look in the bathroom and throughout your home’s interior spaces.
Instead of using concrete tiles as a shower floor solution, you can instead use them to create bold and dramatic bathroom feature walls. The luscious patterns and rich colours often seen in concrete tiles will add a timeless and elegant touch to your overall bathroom colour scheme while providing a durable and long lasting finish for these areas.
Caring for Concrete/Encaustic Tiles
As noted above, concrete tiles are porous and as such, do require sealing. Sealing your concrete bathroom tiles prior to their installation is an excellent way to reduce the risk of tile grouts and adhesives from staining their surface throughout the tile laying process. Sealing is also recommended after tile and grout installation to ensure a high quality end result. When it comes to keeping your new concrete bathroom tiles clean, Perini Tiles would recommend the use of Lithofin MN Easy-Care as a general, regular cleaning solution. Harsh products such as bleach or vinegar are best avoided when it comes to caring for concrete tiles as these can cause discolouration in the product. You will find more thorough information available on caring for concrete tiles in our Resources page.
New Paradise provides an innovative tiling solution for the bathroom. These designer tiles are created by the talented Jason Grant with the collection including a variety of tile shapes and colours.
Concrete tiles provide an elegant and timeless addition to your bathroom design scheme, adding a vibrant touch of colour and pattern. Although they are best avoided when tiling a shower base, they can make an exceptional choice as a bathroom wall tile or as a bathroom floor tile in design schemes that do not include a walk-in style shower.
