Italian Bathroom Tiles Are Floor to Ceiling!
Happy Friday friends! We entered a very exciting part of our Italian home renovation. We’re down to the details. Like bathroom tiles. Relaxing bath devotee? Italian bathrooms design your thing? Please weigh in on this one!
This week on Renovating Bardonecchia I’m pondering bathroom tiles in Italy. Specifically, why so many? Let me explain.
Italian Bathroom Tiles Design
After our architect sent us bathroom tile suggestions and we narrowed down our top picks, I was over the moon excited to see the bathroom 3D renderings with the tiles we’d selected. Yet when we got the designs, something felt off. Here take a look.
Now if you’re American or Canadian, you too might be thinking huh. Something feels off right? Paolo didn’t but I did. So he humored me and we asked to see a few different tile picks. Her team rendered out another set and sent them to us right away.
There they were. The super cool overclay tiles in from Marca Corona were supposed to quote:
“evoke the enveloping colors of the desert and the charm of the Middle Eastern Kasbahs through a collection of porcelain stoneware floor and wall tiles with an authentic and sophisticated flavor.”
Marca Corona
Here this might help!
Italian Bathroom Tiles
Cool right?! Can’t you just imagine a calm, zen space for long hot baths with these tiles? So why wasn’t I digging any of the bathroom designs that included the tiles? Was the scale off? Is our bathroom too small for large tiles? That’s when it hit me. I thought we were picking floor tiles! Why are these on the wall?
Also, duh why didn’t I pick up on that with the first round of designs? Trust me our architect is a saint. Having me be her first American client, there are several cultural design differences we are figuring out together. Like tile walls.
Italians and Americans do bathroom and kitchen tiles just a bit differently. Italian homes often have tiles on all the walls in bathrooms and kitchens. Like all the walls. Floor-to-ceiling tiles. Here’s an example of what I’m talking about from our own before photos of our Italian home reno project.
Italian Bathrooms Have a Lot of Tiles!
See, lots and lots of tiles. At first, I couldn’t put my finger on it. It took doing our own home renovation project in Italy before I even really realized there is a lot of tiles used on bathroom and kitchen walls in Italy. When I decided to write this post, I did a little research to make sure I wasn’t nuts.
Turns out, I’m not. In an article titled ITALIAN BATHROOMS Simona aka Miss B, a bathroom obsessed blogger says “Tiles: in Italy, we [use to] cover floor and walls with tiles, often still floor to ceiling.” Side note, if you’re looking for some bathroom design inspo be sure to check out Miss B’s Insta. It’s in Italian but trust me her bathroom design obsession translates to any language.
Have a favorite from the designs above? Pro or anti-tile on the walls? Let me know in the comments at the end of the post!
Our Italian Home Renovation is making me wonder if I need to update my 23 Quirky Differences Between Italian & American Homes post again. Tile on the wall really is a thing in Italy. That feels pretty different for me having grown up in America. This is probably why Paolo and I, a couple who are notoriously on the same page, disagreed (just a little) on bathroom tiles. He didn’t mind having tiles around the walls. After all, he’s used to it. I, on the other hand, couldn’t wrap my brain around the added expense. Tune in next week to see where we land on the great tile debate.
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I love tiles on the walls, floor, and bathroom also. Your tiles sample is looking nice.
Thank you Stefan! We can’t wait to see what this all looks like in real life. Thank you for stopping by ALOR. Hopefully we can entertain you again some time! Where can we learn more about you?
I know I’ve lived here long enough when I go into a place and want to rip out the old tiles and replace them with something else. One time we stayed at a small hotel that had a bathroom with burnt orange tiles covering the walls, floor, and shower stall! It was like, Dante’s Inferno everytime I had to use the bathroom?!
Hahahaha now that’s a story! Orange might just be my least favorite color in the rainbow. Although I do have sweet memories of my Grandmothers orange living room!
Have been in love with the tile wall look for years and now have an entire wall complimenting the floor tile in two bathrooms. But the real wow walls are the two kitchen ones with textured tile from counter to ceiling. Instead of up top cupboards I have shelves with colourful pottery – all of which is used. I am in Canada and people were “you want to what????” Everyone agrees it looks fabulous….and I will never have to paint! Go with the wall of tiles look. It is so clean and warm. Good luck with the Reno.
Thank you Linda! I had not thought of the not having to paint part. Guessing they are far easier to clean in the kitchen as well.
I like the idea of a fully tiled, floor to ceiling, but not ceiling, walk in shower, but not the rest of the walls in the bathroom. Above the sink, yes and maybe because you have the funky toilet, but not all of the walls. And not matching the floor, but complementing it. I do like the instagram pic tiles.
Thank you! I do like tiles on the shower to but agree with you about the rest of the walls. I’m still so happy the toilet and bidet are suspended. No more struggling to get behind the toilet when I’m cleaning!!!
I love tiles on the walls. My uncle put tiles on our bathroom wall that looked like a waterfall cascading onto the floor
See now that just sounds creative and cool! Do you have tiles now in Canada? My bathroom in Toronto had heated floor tiles. Now that I loved!
We haven’t bought a house yet, but that’s something we want for it! The heated tiles sound amazing!
They made cold mornings just a wee bit less harsh to get going.
I have tiles on my bathroom walls too but not the same ones as my floor tiles.
Do they go fully up to the ceiling? Some of the more modern large format tiles are beautiful. They come across more like textured walls than tiles.
In my husband’s bathroom but in the two others just 3/4 of the way up the walls. The tiles aren’t textured.
So maybe not just and Italian but more a European style! I’ll have to do some research. Thank you
When we lived in Germany the walls were tiled in the bathroom too. I think it’s European thing.
I think so! So much to learn. Brick by brick so to say.
😎