How To Shop For Bathroom Tile
If you are remodeling your bathroom, naturally, you want to pick tile that you love and that you see daily – in this blog, I’m going to tell you how I buy bathroom tile so when it comes time for you to buy your tile, you can buy with confidence.
Why Does Bathroom Tile Matter?
Bathroom tile encompasses the tile on the shower walls and shower floor, a tub surround, and the bathroom floor. Buying tile for all these areas within one room can be a lot, so I’ve developed a way to make it manageable.
How To Shop For Bathroom Tile
Know What You Want
How do you know what you want before you go shopping? Shop from photographs! When designing a bathroom, either for myself or for a client, I get on Instagram, Houzz, Pinterest, or I look through my design books and magazines. When I see a picture of what I love or can imagine seeing in the bathroom I’m working on, I keep that photo as a guide to show the sales associate at the tile store what I want. I do this so they will only show me tile that will help my bathroom look like the one in the photo. Browsing through a store is just way, way too overwhelming and confusing.
Set A Budget
Don’t shop for tile without knowing what you have to spend, because if you are anything like me, you’ll pick out the most expensive thing in the store. And once you fall in love with a gorgeous, expensive tile, it’s tough for any other tile to measure up. I have experienced this first hand more than once. Probably more than ten times! Don’t do this.
Schedule An Appointment At A Tile Specialty Store
Go to an actual tile store where there are associates that do nothing but sell tile. Share a photo of the tile you want and your budget with them. The help they give you will be instrumental to a successful bathroom remodel. Please don’t make the mistake of assuming that they are too expensive. They have tile at every price point. But they know so much about tile – way more than you will typically find in the staff at a big box store.
Pick Out Everything When You Go
When shopping, plan to pick out field tile, accent tile, floor tile, trim pieces, grout color, and even work out the pattern you want the tile laid in. Doing this saves so much time down the road. Make really good notes so you will easily be able to show/explain to the tile setter what you want. This information will also ensure the labor bid from the tile setter is accurate.
Tips And Reminders For Shopping For Bathroom Tile
When planning your bathroom remodel, or shopping for bathroom tile, first get an idea of the look you want by searching for photos that have tile you like. Then do your work to set up a budget so you’ll not fall for really expensive tile. Next, shop at a tile specialty store. The sales associates should have a lot of knowledge and be very helpful to you. And last, when you are there, ask the sales associate to help you decide on everything you’ll need, including the tile’s pattern.
Closing
I hope you found this bathroom tile buying guide helpful! If you want more of my wisdom about buying tile for a bathroom remodel, sign up for a FREE copy of the Tile lesson out of my course, How to Remodel a Bathroom. I want you to remodel your home without fear of being ripped off, going massively over budget, or having your home torn up for months. My course teaches you everything you need to know to manage your bathroom remodel or confidently enter into a contract with a general contractor.
If you are already working on a bathroom remodel and need some friendly, honest advice on what to do next, sign up for my 1-on-1 coaching! For 30 minutes, I will answer any question you have about bathroom remodeling and work as hard as I can to get you over whatever is hanging you up.