Tile selection is where most people start enjoying a bathroom project, and it is also where decisions get made on appearance alone that have practical consequences for the next fifteen years. The showroom encourages this. Tiles are displayed dry, vertical, and under flattering light, which is close to the opposite of how a bathroom floor is actually experienced.
A few practical filters make the choice considerably easier.
Porcelain, ceramic and natural stone
Porcelain is denser and less absorbent than standard ceramic, which makes it well suited to floors and wet areas. It resists water penetration and wears well under traffic.
Ceramic is lighter, easier to cut, and generally less expensive. It performs well on walls, where abrasion and water exposure are lower.
Natural stone is a different proposition. Marble, travertine, limestone, and slate are porous and require sealing, and they need periodic resealing through their life. Some stones react badly to acidic cleaners, which rules out a range of common products. Stone can be beautiful and it carries a maintenance commitment that should be understood rather than discovered.
Glass tile is generally a wall material. It shows water spots and is slippery underfoot.
Slip resistance is a specification, not a guess
Floor tile in a bathroom is rated for slip resistance, and those ratings exist precisely because appearance gives no reliable indication of performance when wet.
The practical relationships are straightforward. Matt and textured finishes outperform polished ones substantially. Smaller tiles create more grout lines, and grout lines provide grip, which is why mosaic tile remains popular in shower floors despite the additional grout maintenance.
Polished porcelain on a bathroom floor looks superb and is genuinely hazardous wet. This is a decision worth making consciously rather than aesthetically.
Size and format have practical implications
Large format tiles produce fewer grout lines, which means less grout to clean and a calmer visual field. They also require a flatter substrate, because a large rigid tile cannot follow an uneven surface, and lippage between tile edges becomes visible.
Small tiles and mosaics conform better to slopes, which is why shower floors often use them. They also involve considerably more grout, which is more cleaning.
Where the room is small, larger tiles generally read as more spacious rather than less. The common assumption that small rooms need small tiles is usually wrong.
Grout is a material decision in its own right
Grout receives almost no attention at selection and generates a large share of subsequent complaints.
Cement-based grouts are standard, economical, and porous. They stain, they need sealing, and they discolour over time, particularly in light colours on floors.
Epoxy grouts are considerably more resistant to staining and water absorption. They are more difficult to install, which raises labour cost, and they are worth considering in showers and other high-exposure areas.
Colour choice matters practically as much as visually. Brilliant white grout on a shower floor will not stay brilliant white. A mid-tone that relates to the tile conceals ordinary use far better and looks intentional rather than tired within a year. Discussing this with your Bathroom Renovation contractor early avoids the common outcome of a grout colour chosen quickly on installation day.
Joint width interacts with tile type. Some rectified tiles allow very narrow joints, others need wider ones to accommodate dimensional variation.
Movement joints and silicone
Tile assemblies move, and they need somewhere to do it.
Internal corners, the junction between wall and floor, and perimeters should be filled with a flexible sealant rather than rigid grout. Grout in these locations cracks, and cracked grout at a wall-floor junction is a direct route for water.
Matching silicone to grout colour is standard practice and worth confirming.
Practical selection advice
Get physical samples and view them in the actual room under its own lighting, since bathroom lighting differs markedly from showroom lighting.
Wet a floor sample and stand on it. This one test eliminates more unsuitable choices than any amount of specification reading.
Order sufficient overage for cuts and breakage, plus a small reserve stored for future repairs. Tile lines are discontinued regularly, and dye lots vary between production runs, which makes a matching replacement years later close to impossible without a reserve.