How Tiles Can Enhance the Illusion of Space

When considering ways to add more space to your home, or at least the visual illusion of it, few people ever consider their tiles.

Yet, whether you’re planning a full-scale home renovation or exploring ways to make your property feel more spacious and open, tiles can utterly transform your perception of a room. Whether you’re going for a single colour and texture or plan to mix and match your tiles, it’s entirely possible to transform a room’s openness with quality tiles.

At Stone Superstore, we recognise that creating an expansive, airy and open feel doesn’t have to involve knocking down non-load-bearing walls, adding more windows, or building an extension. From where we stand, making a few key decisions regarding your tiles can be a hugely cost-effective and beneficial alternative to a large, disruptive renovation. Here are our top tips on how to use tiles effectively to maximise the sense of space in your home.

_{Onyx Oro Beige Porcelain}

Why and When Do We Perceive Rooms to Be Bigger?

Properties can, at times, feel cramped and cluttered even if they’re tidy and there’s a fair amount of floor space.

The human brain is complex in the sense that when rooms look a certain way, it can feel more spacious. Perspective, items, placements, and other psychological factors can influence how we perceive and interpret space in a room. One of the many selling points of properties and their architecture is how they appear in photographs, and it’s why many strive to create the sensation of additional space, given how people often crave it.

_{Vogue Perla Porcelain}

Interior design techniques like using light and colour can draw the eye to specific areas, creating a sense of openness. The perception of multiple individual rooms can make us feel that rooms are more spacious collectively, rather than the entire property when it’s looked at from the outside.

Unsurprisingly, tiles, much like walls and their respective colours and textures, rarely cross our minds when assessing how spacious a room is. But with some subtle changes, rooms can feel brighter, more open, and airier, which can alter our perceptions slightly.

Large Format Tiles

Larger tiles can undoubtedly make smaller spaces appear bigger. When using smaller tiles, the grout lines create a busy and cluttered grid pattern, whereas with large format tiles, these visual interruptions are fewer and further between, creating a more seamless surface. This tricks the eye into perceiving more space.

This applies whether using porcelain tiles or stone tiles in compact kitchens or bathrooms. The surface they create together establishes a uniform, consistent flow that visually expands the room.

_{Dakota Bianco Porcelain}

Smart Tile Colour Choices

Lighter colours naturally reflect more natural light. Whites, soft creams, pale greys, and other lighter tones are effective at bouncing light around a room, creating an atmosphere that makes rooms feel more open.

Similarly, pastel shades like pale blues and greens also reflect light well while adding character and nuance to a room.

The key is to be consistent; contrasting colours can segregate a space while a consistent palette creates continuity and makes rooms appear bigger.

_{Valentina Matcha Green Metro Tiles}

Reflective Finishes

The more light a surface reflects, the larger a space will appear. Glossy tiles and polished surfaces create an almost mirror-like surface that reflects both artificial and natural light, which can create a sense of depth and openness. This is helpful in small bathrooms and kitchens, where waterproof tiles with high-shine finishes serve a practical and aesthetic benefit.

_{Volakas Bronze Polished Porcelain}

Tile Layouts and Orientation

Tile arrangement also affects spatial perception. For example, in rooms with low ceilings, consider installing rectangular tiles vertically to draw the eye upward. On the contrary, in narrow rooms, laying rectangular tiles horizontally can make these rooms feel wider. Diagonal patterns, with the right tile colour and size, can also subtly expand the width and length of a room.

_{Marlborough Green Metro Tiles}

Minimising ‘Disruption’

In smaller spaces, simplicity helps make rooms feel less busy. Patterned tiles, while they can add character, sometimes overwhelm compact rooms and make them feel more cramped. While we implore homeowners to choose patterns they love, consider them sparingly placed on feature walls or borders rather than occupying every millimetre of open space. The difference in visual quality, consistency and the illusion of spaciousness can be astounding.

Marble-effect and lightly textured tiles, as well as gentle veins in natural stone porcelain tiles, provide an element of detail while achieving the same goals of creating more space inside.

_{Serenity Almond Porcelain}

Get Quality Tile Samples Today

When you consider the value, placement, type, and size of tiles, as well as how they complement your existing spaces, you can create a much brighter, airier space in your rooms that makes them feel surprisingly more open and inviting.

At Stone Superstore, we’re committed to helping homeowners make smart choices that help them achieve their interior design goals while maximising the available space in their homes as much as possible.

If you’re considering renovating your kitchen, updating your bathroom tiles, or looking for ways to create a continuous flow throughout your home, our team is always happy to talk you through the process of choosing the best tiles to improve your space.

_{Written by Annie Button}