Style Secrets: Top Tile Trends of 2023

by Carlisle Homes

Thinking tiles? Our Carlisle design expert reveals the biggest trends in tile shape, colour and layout, and where to use them in your home.

Indoor, outdoor, walls or floors – tiles are more than just a hardwearing and easy-to-maintain finish, they can add a gorgeous hit of colour, texture and personality to just about every part of your home.

“At Carlisle, we use decorative tiles for a range of applications, including fireplace surrounds, entry walls, facade features and alfresco feature walls,” says Jessica Hodges, Carlisle’s Interior Design Manager. “Adding decorative tiles really livens up spaces like these, adding visual interest and an eye-catching detail.”

We have a huge selection of beautiful tiles for you to choose from, including practical, large-format floor tiles, stunning stone- and concrete-look styles for a natural touch, and coloured and geometric tiles so you can create a breathtaking feature wall or splashback.

And if you’re looking for a little inspiration, a visit to our expertly designed display homes will give you loads of ideas on how to get creative with tiles.

Here, Hodges reveals the hottest tiles trends of 2023 and how and where you can incorporate them into your home.

Stone- and concrete-look tiles

Bring an earthy, textural look to your interior with stone-effect tiles, which replicate the beautiful, natural aesthetic of marble, limestone and more. “People are really gravitating towards natural-look stone tiles these days,” says Hodges. “Colours like travertine, limestone and Calacatta and Carrara marble are timeless options that will never date.”

For a luxurious, hotel-like feel in a bathroom, consider running stone-look tiles from floors to ceiling. “It’s a great way to create a seamless sense of space, especially in smaller rooms,” says Hodges. “At Carlisle, we typically use larger floor tiles in large spaces and smaller ones measuring 300x600 millimetres in smaller spaces. Trends at the moment are shifting towards larger-format tiles. We’ve recently used 800x800 millimetre floor tiles for an added element of luxury in space that can take the scale.”

Or, if you’re looking to add warmth and a contemporary edge to your interior, consider concrete-look tiles.

Available in a range of textures and tones, including cool greys, warm beige and greige, concrete-look tiles bring a luxurious and contemporary feel to living spaces, entries, kitchens, bathrooms, laundries and alfresco areas. As with stone tiles, large-format concrete tiles are trending right now – and with their minimal grout lines, they require less cleaning, which is a win in a busy, family home. 

Mosaic tiles

Mosaic tiles – or mini tiles – are fun, flexible and make it easy to stamp your personal style on your new home. They usually come delivered on a sheet with a backing so they don’t have to be individually laid, opening up a whole host of possibilities when it comes to tile shapes and layouts.

“We regularly use mosaic tiles in our display homes – herringbone, arch, pickets and finger tiles are our go-to's,” says Hodges. “Mosaics are an effective way of creating little moments and interesting detail in otherwise dull rooms. They work particularly well in wet rooms like bathrooms, powder rooms and laundries – think of them as waterproof wallpaper!”

There’s a vast range of mosaics to choose from, including on-trend kit-kat (or finger) mosaics, which bring a modern, textural feel to a space, eye-catching fishtail shapes, penny rounds, arches and lantern-shaped mosaics, in a range of colours including soft and calming pastels, cheery brights and luxurious marble effects.

Eye-catching layouts

“There’s more than one way to lay a tile and choosing an interesting layout (or pattern) can add real impact to your home,” says Hodges. “You can even use a tile layout to change the visual proportions of a room – for example, laying tiles vertically makes your ceiling appear higher, or horizontally makes a space feel wider,” she says.

“Mosaic tiles laid in interesting patterns on splashbacks are still popular in kitchens, but we have recently seen a slight shift towards more organic and handmade tiles,” she says. “Less pattern in your tiles allows your cabinetry or stone benchtop to become the hero of your kitchen.”

Chevron and herringbone

Add a subtle but arresting pattern to a kitchen, bathroom or laundry – or even the wall around a fireplace – with a classic chevron or herringbone tile layout. With their distinctive, interlocking patterns, chevron and herringbone layouts are timeless and easy-to-live-with looks that sit beautifully alongside simple white or timber joinery.

See how effective a chevron-patterned splashback can be in a kitchen in our Amberley Grand Pantry 29 display home at Meridian Estate

Vertical stack

“Vertical stack bond patterns using kit-kat mosaic tiles are one of the biggest tile trends of 2023, particularly for kitchen, laundry and bathroom walls,” says Hodges. This pattern sees tiles laid vertically and in a straight line, drawing the eye upwards to visually enhance the height of your ceiling, while the textural finish of the kit-kat tiles adds depth and dimension.

Horizontal stack

“If you love a chic, contemporary look, consider a horizontal stack tile layout,” says Hodges. This simple tile layout sees rectangular tiles laid in a straight line to form a neat grid, creating a clean, modern look. “It’s a great way to show off other features in a room, such as a striking stone benchtop or a display shelf,” she says.

Horizontal brick bond

This traditional tile pattern mimics the layout of bricks. Tiles are laid in rows, with each row offset half a tile length from the row on either side of it. “This layout is traditionally used with 75 x 150-millimetre subway tiles, but also looks great with smaller, rectangular tiles,” says Hodges.

Vertical brick bond

Rather than laying tiles horizontally in a brick-like pattern, they are laid vertically. “This is a good choice for smaller rooms, like powder rooms, as it makes the ceiling appear higher,” says Hodges. Try this layout with classic subway tiles or, for a bolder look, larger-format rectangular tiles.

A note on grout

The grout colour you choose can have a big impact on the look of your tiles. For a seamless effect, select a grout in a colour that matches your tiles. Or, if you want to make the shape of your tiles pop and add a graphic feel to a space, choose grout in a contrasting colour.