Bathroom Trends 2021: Marble Effect Tiles

There’s something about Marble that makes it such a design classic. It has a timeless beauty that looks luxurious on bathroom floors and walls, not to mention how it’s been used in some of the world’s top hotel bathrooms and in some magnificent historic buildings all around the world for over hundreds of years. 

The colour tones range from alabaster white to off white, yellow tones and grey and black casts. The veining is part of making the stone come alive with its beautiful natural movement, bringing a subtle texture to any bathroom or kitchen. It’s a great base layer, and one that can work on its own or with other materials mixed in like brass, chrome or even a colour pop of an additional tile. 

When I was recently designing our family bathroom, I knew I wanted to incorporate the marble look, but I didn’t want the hassle or the maintenance of real marble stone, nor did I like the price tag which came with it. 

One of the big drawbacks with natural marble is how it requires a lot of upkeep and regular maintenance to keep it looking glossy and stain free.

Natural marble is extremely porous and is susceptible to acids and requires regular cleaning and sealing, otherwise it’s at risk of absorbing the liquid which is spilled on it. Those regular domestic bleaches and/or limescale removers could do some serious damage which makes natural marble a bit of a nightmare for domestic bathrooms like mine. Because, if I’m honest I won’t be cleaning it daily like hotel bathrooms are, more likely just once a week and I certainly don’t want the task of having to seal it. 

This is why I’m pro marble and stone effect porcelain tiles as a more affordable and commercial option which still gives you the marble effect look of having your own five star hotel bathroom at home, but without the cost and upkeep of real marble. 

Other benefits of porcelain tiles include being super easy to clean, they’re durable in heavy traffic areas and they’ll last you a lifetime. 

I fell in love with CTD’s Marmori Calacatta porcelain Tiles in polished white which are 1200x600mm in size making them a big statement for a bathroom floor or wall. The fact that they are 1200mm in length means that they cover a lot of sq ft for the price so they’re excellent value for money at £32.37 per tile.

They also have a gorgeous grey veining against the white base, which is soft and subtle to act as a base to any bathroom design. 

I chose to place the Marmori Calacatta White Polished Tiles in polished white vertically creating a border around the bathroom, and a base to then add our coloured tiles above. I decided to fully line our shower enclosure in the Marmori Calacatta tiles to limit the amount of grout lines too - taking the lead from our tiler, who in a matter-of-fact way mentioned that this would create less grout lines for water to penetrate, and therefore limit the risk of a potential future leak. 

I added a colour pop tile above and a different tile to the floor as I wanted to add lots of texture through tiles in this space, but you can definitely use the Marmori Calacatta porcelain Tiles in polished white on their own on the floor and walls if you choose. 

The Marmori Calacatta White Matt Tile are also available in 600x600mm size, so you can lay them in a square block pattern or even lay them as bricks. 

If you’re looking for Porcelain marble effect tiles, I’d also recommend checking out CTD’s natural stone effect tile range where you’ll discover some of more of my favourites such as B&W Star Black Decor Gloss Tile - 900x300mm which has a gorgeous ripple effect and is a black marble effect tile with an off white veining, and the Nebula Grey Semi Polished Tile - 600x600mm which is gorgeous glazed porcelain square tile. 

The Marmori collection also comes in a variety of other colours, including grey, black, bronze, royal cream and white. 

My tile trim is from CTD tiles, but was ordered on a 24h turn around. Visit the trade desk in store for more information. 

For a colour pop tile above the Marmori use the Arles Forest Gloss Tile - 300x100mm.

To see more from Houselust, head over to her Instagram for some amazing interiors inspiration!