Black And White Tiles

About

Black and white is the safest bold decision in tiling. It has been used in entrance halls, dairies, bathrooms and kitchens for a hundred and fifty years, and it still looks deliberate rather than dated — because the contrast does the work, not the colour. Our range runs from true Victorian geometrics in Dover White and jet black, through hexagon and octagon-and-dot mosaics, to plain squares you can lay as a chequerboard at whatever scale the room can take. Getting the scale right The single biggest decision is tile size, not pattern. A narrow hallway is usually better with a 100–150mm chequer or a geometric border; the pattern repeats often enough to feel intentional. A large kitchen or garden room can carry 300mm squares or more, where a small chequer would read as busy. If you are unsure, chalk the grid on the floor before you order. Which black, which white Blacks vary more than people expect — a true jet reads graphic and modern, while a softer charcoal or a slightly mottled black sits more comfortably in a period house. Whites run from brilliant to a warm off-white like Dover. Mixing a brilliant white with a soft black, or the reverse, is usually the more forgiving combination in older properties where nothing else is pure white. Grout changes everything On a chequerboard, grey grout is the usual choice: it flatters both colours and disguises the traffic that a white grout will show within a season. On black-grouted metro the grout becomes the pattern, so keep the joint even and the line width consistent. For heavily used hallways an epoxy grout is worth the extra work. Where it works Hallways and porches first — this is where the pattern earns its keep and where a period property expects it. Then kitchens, utility rooms and boot rooms, where it hides a great deal. In bathrooms, keep the pattern to the floor and let the walls stay quiet, or the room will feel smaller than it is. Explore more: Victorian floor tiles · hallway floor tiles · geometric tiles