3 Outdated Tile Styles w/ 6 More Timeless Tile Options

I’m sharing some tile styles that I see as becoming outdated and are rather on their way out, in my humble opinion. Am I going to include subway tile or the rectangular shaped ceramic tile in this group? Read on and see for yourself.

By all means, if you love these styles, then go for what you want. And maybe I’m more sensitive to tile styles since I’ve been selecting tile for projects for years.

However, I want to direct my clients and readers toward tile that I think will be long lasting in terms of style and isn’t too trendy. I would not be recommending these styles to clients for new projects.

Let’s take a look.

Linear Staggered Glass Mosaic Tile

I’ve been steering away from this staggered linear glass tile look for quite awhile now. I would not use this tile today in a new project.

I think it is a little busy for current looks, it feels like 2005-2010 to me. The amount of grout joints is just too much. I really never liked the iridescent tiles they had in some of the mixes, so if I had those, I would consider an update.

Did I use this tile in a few projects back then?

Yes, like this laundry room over 10 years ago. However, the homeowner I worked with no longer lives here and well, it is just a 3’ wide section in a laundry room, so not highly visible.

At least there is not a lot of variation between lights and darks, mainly a solid look, which is more subtle and not quite as dated looking to me.

If this is on your kitchen backsplash and you want a change, luckily kitchen splashes aren’t usually a huge redo. They take a relatively small amount of material too. Unless the tile you want to change to is super expensive, this is not the most expensive part of a remodel.

This tile is getting harder to find these days, so that tells you something about its popularity, doesn’t it?

Arabesque Lantern shaped Tiles

If you are into a Morroccan look these days, I would suggest Zellige tiles as opposed to this shape.

This a little fussy and busy. There’s not much room for veering away from a Morroccan style with these, if at any point you want to deviate on down the road.

I’d use a herringbone pattern or basketweave before I’d use this style of tile if I wanted a pattern.

Simpler herringbone marble mosaic tile backsplash is a more timeless look.

Wood Look Porcelain Tile

This was such a hot item awhile back, when the first good looking ones were coming out.

Here’s a good looking wood-look porcelain tile used in a home with several young children and pets. This homeowner wanted extreme durability. This tile may look like wood, but it has the qualities of tile….. hard, cold, and a more permanent installation with less flexibilty on down the road.

This porcelain tile enabled us to put a wood look in bathrooms and in commercial spaces. It also, however, enticed people to go all in with this material in the public areas of their home, kitchen, living room, hallways, dining, etc. for maintenance reasons.

The problem here is that tile floors are cold, hard to stand on, unforgiving if you drop something breakable and make noise when you walk on them. Not only that, but if you want to change the color or finish, you have to remove the entire floor in a dusty, expensive, disruptive process.

I’ve written more about wood flooring vs. wood look tile here.

These days, however, wood tile has been supplanted with luxury vinyl plank flooring, especially for residential.

I used a really good looking LVP in my home office, that was built out in the extra bay of my garage. My husband laid it!

No longer do people who have kids, pets and are afraid to do wood flooring choose to do wood-look tile.

Now, they are going with LVP. It’s just easier to install, is not as hard or loud, and very water resistant. Replacing a few pieces now and then is much easier.

(I still think wood floors are a better investment overall, but that’s not what we’re discussing here.)

I do like wood look tile in some bathroom situations still, like these small wood look hex tiles I put in a recent bathroom consultation.

6 More Timeless Tile Options

Here’s a list of tiles that I believe are pretty timeless and will be around for awhile. I feel like my clients are safe with these, no matter how fast styles change.

• Zellige Tile

  Zellige tile is so popular now, but it has not been recently created. It has been around in some installations for 1000’s of years. For that reason, it will last as a style that brings a rustic and handmade look to interiors.

• Terracotta Tile

  For much the same reason as zellige tile, terracotta tiles are still being used today and will last, in my opinion.

  While they might need more maintenance than porcelain tile, it is the rustic and handmade look as well as the color that gives terracotta tile its long-lasting appeal.

• Marble and Stone Tile

  Marble and stone tiles also need special care and living with them can take learning to love imperfections if they get stained or chipped. They are timeless though, lasting in old European historical structures for centuries.

  We know how popular white marble has been in the last 10 years and I think it is still a safe bet into the future.

• Subway / Rectangular Tile

  Everyone wants to poo-poo subway tile, but that rectangular shape is not a limiting factor and can be adapted to so many layouts and styles. I prefer a longer tile to the typical shorter subway look, but I think these tiles are so versatile that they will be around for a long time.

  I really like how many ceramic versions look like zellige tile now, with a hand crafted appearance but more durability.

  I wrote a post about subway tile and how people downplay it back in 2017, but it is still around!

• Hex Shaped Tile

  I was afraid hex shaped tile might be a little trendy, but I do think it has legs. I am a bit over all the 12 x 24 sized porcelain tile and this presents a good option for that. I like how there is no direction really and can add some interesting texture to the floor.

  I wrote this post about the hex shape back in 2016, so it has been around awhile.

• Large Format Tile

  I think this is the age of large format tile, I really love this look. My next house will have this in the bathroom, with a tile that has a texture for traction. Often we use grout joints to help make a floor less slippery. Personally, I’m over all that grout in my house and want linear drains with large format tile.

  After all the mosaics we’ve had on the market in the last 10 years, I’m sure a lot of people feel this way, especially if you clean your own shower stalls!

We stayed in an Airbnb in Oregon that had these 24 x 48 large format porcelain tiles.

If this primary bath, below, isn’t a timeless bathroom, I don’t know what is.

White marble tile in three shapes….. medium sized hex tile on the floor, herringbone marble mosaic on the backsplash and large format, 24 x 24 on the shower walls. :-)

See more about this hill country project at this link.

More tile info below!

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This blogpost was thoughtfully written by me, Carla Aston, and not by AI, ghostwriters, or guest posters.