Forget Metro Tiles, Mosaic Tiles Are Cool Again — Here's How Designers Are Using This 'Ancient' Style in Their Projects Now

With origins dating back to the 3rd millennium BCE, it may feel like a bit of a reach to refer to mosaic tiles as a 'new' trend. But even after all these years, we still seem to be coming up with new ways of using them.

While mosaic tiles have never completely fallen off the map, it's fair to say they haven't exactly been the go-to choice for bathroom projects in recent years. Overshadowed by the uber-popular Zellige tile and other similar styles, it had been a while since the mosaic was in the spotlight. But now, the tide is beginning to turn, and it seems we may just be returning to a new golden age of the mosaic.

With over 9.9K Google searches last month, mosaic tiles are climbing the ranks as one of the most popular styles around, and with countless gorgeous examples to ogle over, ancient and contemporary alike, it should really come as no surprise that they're emerging as one of the most prominent bathroom tile trends of the year.

Perhaps what has set mosaics apart from other tiling ideas is just how much space for creativity there is with them. With shiny, metallic finishes that turn your shower into a disco ball, and intricate patterns that bring detail and depth to your space, there's an idea for everyone within this ancient style — it's no wonder it's stuck around so long.

Why Are Mosaic Tiles Back in Style?

Flick through your favorite magazine, or take a scroll on Instagram, and you're bound to find a fair few examples of this type of tiling, especially in bathrooms. It's become one of the defining bathroom trends of this year, and the experts agree.

"We've seen a real increase in demand for mosaics over the past 18 months, particularly for bathroom floors and shower enclosures," shares Damla Turgut, the founder of Otto Tiles, a favorite amongst designers. In fact, it's become so popular as of late that they've struggled to manage to keep up with the demand.

This increase in sales is no doubt assisted by the virality of the style, with countless dreamy mosaic tile-covered spa bathrooms taking over social media as of late.

There's something both refreshing and familiar about this look, a unique blend that makes it particularly appealing for interior designers and the average homeowner alike. The bathroom space had been so saturated with Zellige tiles for the past few years that we're now craving something new, and mosaics sit in that sweet spot of being different, but not intimidating. They have the benefit of history on their side, giving them the promise of an enduring style, while still appearing thoroughly on trend.

The Zellige craze has also opened the door for more detailed, textured finishes to enter mainstream styles — something mosaics can offer so beautifully. As Damla explains it, "People have become much more familiar with handmade tiles and have a greater appreciation for the variations in color, texture and finish that make them so special." Mosaics offer this, and more, allowing for a greater exploration of creating tiled patterns and prints thanks to their petite proportions.

"Mosaic has a warmth and a handcrafted quality that large formats rarely offer," agrees interior designer Daphne Meeus. In her designs, mosaics have offered a way to bring warmth and intrigue into the bathroom. "To me, large tiles often feel colder, and many of them imitate other materials like marble, which I'm not drawn to."

This is also what led designer Susannah Holmberg to use this tiling style in her recent Utah desert house project. The home was dominated by warm woods and natural materials, and mosaic tiles felt like a natural extension of that material palette. It feeds into a wider trend she's noticing: a tendency towards human-led design. As she says, "I think people love this material lately as we’re all craving elements that feel natural/hand cut as opposed to sterile and mass-produced."

They're also impressively versatile, working perfectly across the home. For designer Martin Masse, this is exactly what makes them so appealing. He tells me, "We use mosaic extensively in the showers of our projects, but we have also used it for kitchen splashbacks, for example." They provide a way of bringing more detail and finesse into these spaces that are typically dominated by functionality.

Why Designers Love Them

There's a level of detail and intricacy offered by mosaics that many other tiles fail to provide. With the small-format design, you're able to create patterns and shapes that bring a real presence into your room, turning a functional space into something striking and decorative.

The long history of mosaic artwork provides a foundation for exploration within the design process, opening up the possibility for creating a bathroom mural or a more modern plaid tile finish. Artists like Amy Exton are modernizing the tradition, using these time-honored techniques to create eye-catching designs that function like pieces of art within the bathroom. And with a growing desire for more personal, individualistic homes, it only makes sense that this tiling style is gaining popularity again.

But equally popular among designers is a more simplistic approach, using mosaic tiles to create a new kind of tile-drenching effect. Unlike larger-format tiles, these small shapes come together to create a greater sense of fluidity. As Martin describes it, "The closely spaced joints create a sense of uniformity that larger standard formats cannot achieve. The paving patterns define the layout and thus create a rhythm and a sense of direction."

In the past, these smaller and more frequent grout lines had become one of the most significant drawbacks of the style. In a minimalism-obsessed world, larger-format tiles offered a way to reduce the visual disturbance of a grout line. However, nowadays, people are more open to this look. "I'd rather fully embrace the joints of a mosaic, which become part of its texture, than deal with a few large joints that end up badly placed," agrees Daphne. "With mosaic, the grid is intentional; it gives the surface rhythm and makes it feel alive."

Working with mosaics introduces a greater opportunity for creativity, allowing you to build something that feels truly unique, reducing the risk of your home looking like everyone else's. "Even a fairly simple octagon, coin, or basket weave design can look completely different depending on the colors you choose," agrees Damla.

They are also a particularly good choice for small bathrooms or rooms with awkward layouts. "Because the individual pieces are smaller, they can work particularly well around curved surfaces and in areas where larger tiles would need more cutting," explains Damla.

The smaller surface heightens the impact of any texture or variation within the tile, making for a more dramatic effect, which is why mirrored or pearlescent mosaics have become particularly appealing as of late. It was this idea that drew designer Tamsin Johnson towards a disco-like, metallic mosaic for her bathroom project.

As she explains, "I felt this project needed a treatment that pushed it into a slightly more dramatic space, something with a little electricity to contrast the Rojo Alicante's weight and more formal bearing in the space." The shine and reflection of these mirrored tiles offered just that, bringing a touch of glamour and playfulness into this bathroom, lifting up the dark, heavy stone.

How to Use Mosaic Tiles in Modern Bathrooms

There are countless ways to use these tiles within our bathrooms, with something to speak to every design style and taste.

For a more modern, minimalist look, the floor-to-ceiling tile-drenched finish is particularly appealing. It offers more interest and depth than a larger-format tile, while still maintaining that sleek, all-encompassing finish.

This tends to be the approach adopted in Martin's designs, where the same tile is applied across the entirety of a shower enclosure. By opting for this full coverage, floor-to-ceiling finish, Martin was able to create a portal-like effect. He wanted it to feel "as if we were stepping into a cave to have a shower; you’re transported into a completely different atmosphere the moment you step into the shower."

This technique uses the tiles as a way of creating distinction within a space, developing a border through color and form, and adding more structure to a room.

"We often use it in a rather bold way, applying the same mosaic to the floor, walls, and even the ceiling so that it creates a striking contrast with the rest of the bathroom," he says.

There's a beauty in the intensity of this look, allowing you to make an impact without sacrificing simplicity.

For Daphne, the key is in allowing the mosaic to be the start of the show. "Let the mosaic be the main gesture and keep the rest calm," she says. She recommends building the rest of the design with this in mind, opting for materials that will play a supporting role rather than battling for the limelight. "Warm wood, honed natural stone, mirrors and warm-toned metals all work well alongside it. Earthy, slightly muted colors suit it best: deep greens, ochres and warm whites."

This applies to Martin's fully-drenched look just as much as it does to a more traditional mosaic finish, as seen in this Maddux Creative-designed bathroom, where the mosaic tiled floor adopts the style used across Ancient Greece.

When you're working with a more textured tile, like the mirrored ones used by Tamsin, subtlety becomes all the more important. It's about balance, and it's not always easy to get it right. "Used wrongly, I feel it would be garish and gaudy, but here I feel it adds some playfulness, tension, and elevation," says Tamsin. "A meaningful comparison here, I think, is to dressing — too far and it looks costumed; the right amount and it looks elegant. I think ultimately this look needs to be balanced with some formality."

If you're keen to delve deeper into the history of this on-trend tiling style, try reading up on the Ancient Roman 'unswept floor' tiling style; the ancient design is making its return, and the story behind it is fascinating.

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