Homeowners who want to install tile in their residence will have plenty of decisions to make. You’ll want to set a budget, determine what kind of material you’ll use, and how far the tile will extend.

Another especially important decision is the pattern the tiles will take. In settling on this layout, you’ll want to take the time to plan out the work. A well-done layout can make the room seem more expansive or draw the eye to an interesting feature, while an unsuitable pattern will clash with the features of the room.

Getting started

The first thing to do is determine what you’re hoping the tile pattern can accomplish in the room. Tile Home Guide, an online resource for these kinds of projects, says you should consider what pattern would be most pleasing and how it will work with the furniture, walls, and other features already present in the room.

One common goal for tile work is to make a room seem bigger than it really is. Tile patterns can also draw the eye away from a room’s imperfections or send one’s focus to a particularly interesting feature.

This illusion can be achieved with simpler tile designs. While a more complex design might appeal to you, it could be too busy for a small room such as a half bathroom.

Tile Home Guide says it is possible to use different patterns to highlight different parts of the same room. However, the site also says too many patterns can complicate the room too much. Limiting the number of patterns to two is usually a good idea.

Have an idea of what material you’d like to use. Some kinds of tiles are only suitable for floors or even just outdoor spaces, while others work equally well for walls, backsplashes, and shower stalls.

Find the center point of the area where you are looking to add a tile pattern. Tile America, a New Haven based company, says you can draw out guidelines from these points to allow you to install floor tiles one quarter at a time. Backsplashes can be tiled from the bottom up, while shower tiles should be installed in the opposite direction.

Tim Anderson, writing for SFGate, says centered installation allows you to cut tile to consistent lengths around the edges, such as where the floor meets the wall. Alternatively, you might decide to start tiling in the most open and visible area so that cuts will be hidden in less visible areas.

Patterns to choose from

The most basic patterns simply make use of grid patterns. But these grids can be arranged in a number of different ways to have varying effects.

Straight lay tile patterns take advantage of long grout lines to lead the eye through the room. The larger the tiles, the more expansive they will make the room feel.

Tile Home Guide says the use of very small tiles in a mosaic pattern can also increase one’s perception of the room’s size. Anderson says this effect is a result of the tile drawing attention away from the tile cuts or to a focal point. Yanic Simmard, writing for the home design site Houzz, says mosaic patterns are useful for creating texture in a room.

A brick pattern has a number of advantages, including the ability to flow the pattern through corners and other spaces. Simmard says this pattern can be arranged horizontally to help open up a room or vertically to make the ceiling appear taller. If you want to highlight the tile material itself, a large brick pattern can have this effect.

Herringbone patterns are also popular, arranging tiles in repeating V-shaped zigzags. Simmard says this layout works best in smaller areas, such as hallways or bathrooms, since it will look too busy in large rooms.

Similarly, the basket weave pattern alternates between horizontal and vertical tiles. This adds some complexity to a room, again making it more suitable for smaller spaces.

More complex layouts include the windmill design, Versailles pattern, and pinwheel. Windmill designs arrange rectangular tiles around a central square tile. The Versailles pattern combines square and rectangular tiles of different dimensions, creating what Tile Home Guide describes as a mixture or randomness and order. The pinwheel pattern is similar to the windmill, although it attaches smaller tiles to the corners of a large central tile to create a repeating pattern.

Simmard says you can use an accent stripe to provide an interesting visual element and offset any space that would have been lost to a tile cut. If you are working with a small enough space, you can also consider using a single slab to highlight the material you are using.