1. Minimize Cuts – Try to start with full tiles on the most visible edge and tuck your cuts away in corners or under furniture. Adding various-sized borders may help eliminate some, but remember, cutting is inevitable.
2. Consider Lighting – Shiny tiles will reflect lots of light and may be too intense in brightly lit areas, while matte finishes are less intrusive and show fewer marks (fingerprints, water spots, etc.). Remember lighting changes with different times of the day, so make sure to check samples in the morning, afternoon and evening.
3. Balance Colour and Tones –If you have lots of dark and heavy furniture/cabinetry, consider lighter colours to brighten up the space. The most contrasting element of the room will be the focus, so you don’t draw people’s eyes away from your “star-of-the-show”.
4. Patterns –Simply turning one or two of the same tiles can be as effective as adding a new or contrasting deco piece. Custom cutting your own patterns is a very cost-efficient way of creating that “million-dollar” look while still breaking up the monotony of a plain, square design.
5. Bigger is better – Even in smaller spaces (i.e. bathroom floors, shower walls, kitchen backsplashes) larger tiles (12”x12” and up) look amazing. Less grout lines mean the pattern will be less busy, as well as easier to keep clean.

Glossy white 6”x6” tiles are accented here with a 1”x1” beige/grey blend glass mosaic. Using a mixed-colour mosaic of any type is an effective way of jazzing-up standard white tiles.

Noce travertine mosaic with a complimentary grout look great with a similar patterned mocha-brown countertop. Because of variations in natural products like travertine, extra accents or borders are rarely necessary.

This customer wanted the chocolate mantle to be the focus. He accomplished this by blending the 12x12 rough-textured, slate-look porcelain with the colour in the carpeting, instead of making a contrast.