Black and white are common selections in bathroom décor, whether you use them separately or combine them. They both have the effect of enlarging small spaces by visually receding the walls and psychologically enlarging your square footage. They also offer a lot of styling versatility.
You could get natural stone in one color with striation in the other. You could finish the room in one shade then highlight it with accessories, towels, and bath linens in the opposite shade. Or you could craft grayscale mosaics. Let’s look at more black and white bathroom tile ideas.
1. Color Blocking
Your black and white bathroom tile ideas don’t have to be literal. You can choose to make one section of the bathroom black and the other sections white. In this case, the wall behind the bathtub is glossy white tile arranged in brick-like grids. The sidewalls are black to enhance the visual size of the bathroom while the floor brings both sides together in a neutral gray.
2. Marble Diagonals
Black and white make gray – everybody knows this. But on this bathroom wall, the white marble tiles have gray veins and black grouting. The tiles are cut into elongated rectangles and laid in a herringbone pattern for added style. This tile works equally well on walls, floors, or backsplashes. It may be tricky on countertops though because the seams attract dirt.
3. Darker Grays
If you’re not ready to fully commit to black-and-white, you can use slate grays or darker shades to achieve the same effect. This bathroom has white brick-pattern tiles on the walls, bathtub shell, and backsplash. The floors are dark gray tile to match the upper half of the painted walls.
4. Black, White, and Both
In this bathroom, we see a sample of the herringbone tile switch we looked at earlier. The diagonal tiles make a rear accent wall in the shower enclosure. The shower’s sidewalls are black tile while the front shower door is glass. Outside the shower, a white vanity supports a marble countertop and a white vessel sink. The bathroom floor is slate gray.
5. Black-and-White Highlights
When you walk into this bathroom, blue is the first color that catches your eye. White is used liberally too, on the lower half of the walls. The white sections have mixed textures, from the brick patterns behind the tub to the vertical PVC paneling near the pedestal sink. Black accents appear on the linens and doorknob, and the floor is a black-and-white tile mosaic.
6. More Black Accents
This bathroom is largely white. The black appears in hints and dribbles. The faucets and other bits of bathroom hardware are black, but the tile, cabinets, and appliances are white. Behind the shower glass, white marble with black and gray veining. White can lights maximize the effect.
7. Grout Definition
There are several ways you can grout your tiles. You can pack the tiles close together, creating a seamless appearance. You can use grout of the same shade as your tile, keeping things subtle and understated. Or you can use grout in a contrasting color for aesthetic effect. In this case, white brick-patterned tile is laid with black grout. The white sinks have black faucets too.
8. Grout and Gray
This example exhibits two of the black and white bathroom tile ideas we’ve reviewed. It’s a base of white tile with distinct black grout. But the tiles are white marble, with traces of gray veins. The tiles are glossy and make full use of that tell-tale marble translucence. The tiles have hexagon shapes, so the black grout in between makes pretty shapes and patterns.
9. Patchwork Printing
This is probably what comes to mind when you think of black and white bathroom tile ideas. The wall creates a patchwork ‘quilt’ of tiles with different patterns. It can be a bit unsettling because there’s so much visual stimulation and the prints are tight and busy. But if you enjoy textures and shapes, you can spend many happy hours watching those lines as you soak in the tub.
10. Bold Divisions
The color blocking works beautifully here. The white top-mounted tub has a white rim that sits on black tile coping. The ceiling is black while the walls are white glossy tile. The floor blends both into a black-and-white tile mosaic formed from overlapping circles and squares.
11. Mostly Gray
This black-and-white bathroom is built on a base of gray. The walls are dark gray and the cabinets are light brown. The white tiles have triangular prints in black and gray. The vessel sink and bathtub are white with black hardware, and the doorknobs are black as well.
12. Dark Dividers
Partition walls are sometimes seen as tacky, but they can be a useful design tool. In this bathroom, the divider is built from black herringbone tile and mounted with a round gilded mirror. The bathtub is an equally sleek black. The walls are white marble with black veining.
13. Gray Scale Mosaic
This bathroom takes a slight shift. The top half of the walls are painted gray. The lower half is tiled with white, black, and gray mosaic. The platform beneath the tub is made of the same mosaic material. Curvy copper lampshades hang over the tub, which is tucked into a bay window.
14. Black Tub Beauty
Colored bathtubs are more expensive than white ones. And black bathtubs are so beautifully striking that they’re worth the extra expense. In this example, the soaking tub is black on the outside and white on the inside. The walls are regular white tiles with black grout. The faucets are black as well. The floor tiles are white with dense black patterns printed on them.
15. Hints of Black
In a light-colored bathroom, black draws eyes. So you need to apply it carefully. The architect here preferred to go gray for the floors and walls. The tub and sink are white, as well as the accent tile behind the tub. To introduce a bit of black, some dark tiles were sprinkled into the mosaic backsplash over the tub. The same black-and-white mosaic forms the shower floor.
16. Wavy Whirls
This luxurious bathroom is quite elaborate in its black and white bathroom tile ideas. The pretty pedestal sink and soaking tub. Some of the walls are black tile with white grout while other walls reverse the colors. Some accent walls have large tiles printed with black-and-white swirls. Conical lampshades highlight the pretty darks and lights on this bathroom.
17. Stripes and Squares
This bathroom looks quirky in a mad hatter kind of way. But as long as the shapes and patterns won’t trigger seizures, it’s a striking selection. The chairs and window shades have black-and-white stripes while the floor is black-and-white checked tile. The commode and mirror frames have elaborate shapes, and the black soaking slipper tub is topped with black wallpaper.
18. Bold Black
Going all black is a bold bathroom choice. But it does work. In this room, only the ceiling, sink, and bathtub shell are white. Everything else is a glossy black. The gloss matters, because that reflective property brightens the bathroom. Excessive matte black may affect your mood.
19. Subtle Shading
Because black and white have such strong effects, you don’t need much to make an impact. The bathroom here has pale grays and some beige. But almost every surface has a black border, from the shower enclosures and mirror frames to the grout lines between the tiles. This creates an overall black-and-white tile effect. Even the windows have narrow black trim.
20. White Wall Accents
The styling here is extremely simple and just as effective. The wall behind the bathtub is painted white to match the tub, though you can also paint it a pale gray. The shower wall and floor are black tile. The other bathroom walls (outside the shower glass) are black tile too. The tub faces a French door letting in daylight that pleasantly reflects off the glossy black tile surfaces.
21. Sofa Ceramics
Are you a fan of sixties sofas? The type with poufy vinyl and cute sunken studs? You can achieve the same effect in your bathroom tile. This sample shows diamond-shaped tiles with black boxes between the seams. This creates a puffy textured effect. Strategically placed lights heighten your results by casting pretty reflections and exaggerating the inflated façade.
22. Black Borders
We’ve previously reviewed black bathroom bordering as a tiling tool. This bathroom applied it well. The room is mostly white and the floors are gray. But the bathroom hardware is black bronze, and the windows and the shower door edges are finished with black trim.
23. Tubs and Toes
Baroque beauty was all about bold patterns and bright colors. The word means ‘irregular shapes’ so this slipper tub is very baroque. It has a black shell with white insides and white claw feet. The rest of the bathroom comprises glossy blackish-brown backsplash and a black-and-white tile floor. The vanity has white floating cabinets and a black countertop.
24. Cantilever Sink
Overhangs can be visually disorienting, but if they’re properly laid, they’re far more stable than they look. The bathroom here has a white sink that seems to precariously hand off a black vanity. The cantilever effect is carefully done, and the mirror reflects the black tile walls opposite the vessel sink. Black bathroom accessories highlight the use of darker tones behind the glass.
25. Screening and Framing
A lot of homeowners prefer frameless glass doors because they look more stylish. But frames can be a strong aesthetic tool too, as we see here. The shower glass has pretty black munchins. The whole shower is done in plain white tiles from the floor to the ceiling, but the black grout offers definition. The white floor tile has black diamonds at its seams. The mirror has a black frame.
26. Big Bathtub
The massive trapezoid soaking tub dominates this gray concrete bathroom. But because concrete is sometimes dismissed as cheap and unattractive, the bathroom designer introduced some sleek black elements to the room. The black towel prettily contrasts the white bathtub. The doors of the vanity are black wood, and the main bathroom door is black too.
27. Long and Lanky
Some people like every bathroom surface to be tile. Others prefer to paint the top half and tile the bottom half. In this bathroom, the lower half of the walls are white. This includes painted surfaces, bathtub coping, and vanity cabinet doors. The top halves of the wall are covered in elongated black tiles that are grouted in white. The floor has the same black tile and white grout.
28. Mosaic Madness
How brave are you? The design we’re looking at here is in an empty corporate bathroom, but if you’re daring enough, you can try it at home. Large sections of the wall are covered in monochromatic mosaics. One wall is all red while others are all black. In both cases, tile gradients and white grout make the tile design pop. The walls and ceilings are white.
29. Ladder and Lather
In many bathrooms, the bits of silver in the taps, lights, and beauty bottles make a big impact. They’re tiny metallic bits, but they catch the light in striking ways, so they stand out in the sea of white. In this bathroom, black takes that role. A ladder doubles as a storage rack for towels, while the soap dispensers and tumblers make pretty black trinkets in this otherwise white room.
30. To a Tee
The distressed wood panel flooring here offers a solid base for your black bathroom décor. The black tub has a white inner surface but the tub is held in place by a black metal frame with open sides. A white conical vessel sink sits on the black floating countertop. The massive mirror and French window have black trim, and a black sideways T embellishes the white tile wall.
31. Mints and Checks
Mint is a niche shade of green that’s becoming increasingly popular for bathroom décor. This bathroom has an odd mix, with the main vanity and a secondary pedestal sink positioned below a wall-mounted medicine cabinet. The floor uses tiny checked tiles in black and white.
32. White Trim
We’be looked at white bathrooms with black detail. This time we have a black bathroom with white details. The walls and ceramic storage shelves are made of tiny black tiles with dark brown tints. The towels, bath linens, and flower pot are white to lighten the bathroom tone.
33. Mini Mosaic
For the last item on our list, we’re focusing on mosaic as the lynchpin of these black-and-white bathroom tile ideas. Blocks of mosaic surround the mirror. The same pattern is used for the rear shower wall and a decorative recessed backsplash next to the toilet. The floor is black tile while the walls are whitish-gray hones marble. Its translucence works well with the can lights.
