Bathroom flooring ideas
Bathroom flooring will add the finishing touch to your brand new look. Bathroom flooring needs to be both durable and stylish to meet all of your needs and should give your bathroom a strong and solid foundation.
With so much choice available, it can be hard to decide on one option. Take into consideration your daily routine and lifestyle: Do you have children who will need a slip-free and hardwearing floor? Or do you have a glamorous and grown-up bathroom suite that requires an equally chic floor?
Don’t be afraid to try unusual materials, such as wood, which can work well in a bathroom, despite any concerns you might have about the humid conditions affecting the wood. Try hardwood, laminate or PVC flooring to get the same effect, but without the damp results.
Floors in marble, granite or polished concrete will also create a dramatic effect and lend a chic, polished finish to your bathroom. These are all hard-wearing materials that will look stunning and last for years.
For something truly unique, try cork or rubber. Popular in the 1960s and 1970s, cork is back in a big way and is one of the most eco-friendly floor options around. Rubber is warm, waterproof and easy to keep clean, so a great option for anyone with children.
Warm wood
Solid wood or laminate floors aren’t usually suitable for bathrooms as the humidity will cause the material to discolour, swell and warp. But hardwood floorings, such as teak and bamboo, can work well (double-check with the manufacturer first) and engineered wood and bathroom-specific laminate – made with PVC – are designed to withstand moisture.
Rustic-style bathroom flooring
For a country-style bathroom terracotta ceramic tiles work perfectly. Ceramic tiles and porcelain tiles come in a huge range of colours, textures and finishes, which imitate the look of natural stone. Porcelain is more hardwearing than ceramic tiles and better for high traffic areas.
Chic polished flooring
Polished concrete or stone looks fabulously stylish in a chic, grown-up bathroom like this one, but it’s not so practical in a family bathroom as polished concrete or stone can be slippery when wet. Bespoke resin or acrylic flooring could give you a similar affect but with a bit more grip – you’d need to speak to your bathroom designer about this, though.
Luxe granite
Natural marble, granite, limestone, slate and travertine are all porous but, if sealed, will last for many years. Granite comes in a wide variety of colours, while the distincitve patterns in marble and onyx can look stunning. The beauty of natural stone is that you can have one uniform colour but a random pattern to add interest.
Dramatic marble
Marble flooring isn’t just for glamorous bathrooms, it also provides an excellent canvas for hot, on-trend bright colours and modern bathrooms. It’s also very hardwearing and versatile, such as seen here where it covers the bath and walls.
Flooring for small bathrooms
When it comes to small bathrooms a lot can be achieved with the right flooring. If you use the same tiles on your floor as your walls it visually expands the space, and medium to large tiles are better as small or mosaic tiles can make the bathroom look even smaller.
Cool cork flooring
Once de riguer bathroom flooring in the 1960s and 1970s, cork flooring has seen a sudden resurgence in popularity. The great thing about cork is that it is naturally mould resistant and eco-friendly; harvesting is just a matter of trimming the bark off the tree rather than cutting the tree down.
Modern rubber flooring
Rubber, vinyl, linoleum and marmoleum are warm underfoot, affordable, waterproof and easy to keep clean. Clever digital photography reproduction means that there are limitless design options, while textured finishes help with slip resistance and emulate the feel of stone or wood.
Hot metallics
For a touch of glamour with a practical edge choose bathroom flooring that has a metallic sheen or metallic-effect tiles. They are a great way to reflect and redirect light, as well as creating an opulent look.
Underfloor heating for toasty toes
Underfloor heating is fast becoming the most popular choice for bathroom flooring. There’s nothing worse than stepping onto a cold floor in winter – plus, a wet floor dries quicker with underfloor heating, and you don’t need radiators if you have heated floors. There are two systems to choose from: ‘wet’, where the floor is heated by hot water pipes under the floor. And ‘dry’, where electric cable is laid down. Both systems need to be installed by a professional. Speak to your bathroom designer or builder about which is best for your home.