SUBWAY TILE – Simple And Stunning

Subway tile has been around for more than a century.  Its use dates back to the early 1900’s when it was featured in the New York subway system and hailed for it’s durability and washability.  Since then, it has remained a classic and even though the traditional white rectangle is still the standard, these days subway tile is available not only in dozens of colours and materials, it can also also be artfully installed in the most amazing patterns!  Plus at a very reasonable price point, subway tile can be an affordable way to update any space from the kitchen to the bathroom.

When we were updating our small bathroom at home, I made the decision (which I regret just a TINY bit) not to replace the tile on the wall.  Even though it’s not my favourite colour, it really is in pretty good shade and installing new tile would have put our small project way over budget.  In a weak moment, however, I did consider subway tile and when I did a search on Houzz, I was truly amazed how this inexpensive material could be both stunning and functional.  If you really want to give it some drama, try a dark grout for contrast or add glass/coloured tiles if you want to introduce some colour.

TIP:  There are A LOT of different shade of white. The white on your tile may be different than the white on your sink/toiled/cabinet/floor etc. Make sure you get samples of everything to avoid a mismatched look.  Also, when you’re buying tile (or flooring) try to get enough to finish the job.  Tile is made in batches and tiles from one batch may not be exactly the same as tiles from a later production run.

Below are some of my favourite spaces.  Click on each for more detail and don’t forget to Pin your favourites.