“I have a small laundry room and bathroom that I want to re-tile. Should I use an 18×18 or smaller tile? Which will make the room look bigger?” – SuzyT, TX

Dear Suzy,
You’re on to something here. There are several ways to make a room look larger when you’re remodeling, and playing around with the tile size is a really simple solution.

Larger tiles tend to make a floor appear less busy. In addition to the size of the tile, you can increase the feeling of spaciousness by installing your tiles with a smaller separation between them – making a smaller grout line. This creates a less graphic look by having a less visible ‘grid’ on your bathroom floor.

There are two more elements to making your room seem more spacious with tile – and they both have to do with color. When you use a darker tile, it tends to enclose a space more. When you want to make a room feel more airy and spacious, use a lighter-colored tile. For a heavy duty space like a bathroom or a laundry room, I’d suggest a light gray or a light tan – something that isn’t too dark, but can hide a bit of dust and wear.

A final trick to making your room look bigger is matching your grout color to your tile  color. The less you can see the grout color stand out from the tile color, the more your floor will appear uniform, allowing your eye to travel over it without noticing the grout lines. Try to match your tile color as closely as possible with your grout color. The less contrast between your grout color and your tile, the better!

A 12″ x 12″ or an 18″ x 18” tile will work nicely for this – or even a 12” x 18”. If you are hiring a tile installer, ask them if it will change the price of your installation if you use a larger tile. While it may seem like less work to install a larger tile, sometimes they require more preparation and cutting to work around the shape of your room.
Tell us how it goes!