55 Grey Tile Bathroom Ideas That Are Anything But Bland

Grey tile is an easy pick for the bathroom, as it goes with nearly anything. There are plenty of options available, ranging from affordable picks to luxury splurges. But these two factors also make it quite difficult to pick the right grey tile for your bathroom, as there are so many options.

However, there's a grey tile perfect for every bathroom, and we've done the hard work of rounding up some of our favorites. Keep reading to learn about all the different things you can do with grey bathroom tile.

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Use a Different Tile for the Floor and Walls

Grey tile is a great choice for a more monochrome look. But if you want the single-color effect without it being too "blah," use similarly-colored grey tiles with different patterns on the walls and floor. Like what Mindy Gayer Design Co. did here by using classic subway tile alongside fish scale tile.

Match Your Counter to Your Tile

Worried about a bathroom countertop that clashes with your tile? Don't be. To avoid this, there's an easy solution. Use a countertop material that has traces of grey in it, like marble. This type of countertop will coordinate without feeling too alike.

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Go Vertical

Though much bathroom tile is laid in a horizontal pattern, tile can be laid in a vertical pattern too. A vertical tile pattern can give your otherwise-fairly-standard tile added visual interest and make the space feel larger.

Try Herringbone

A herringbone tile pattern is another way to shake up an otherwise-standard-grey-tile. Lined tiles are installed facing different directions, creating visual interest and a little bit of preppy style too.

Show Off Your Tile

If you're putting in all the hard work of looking at tiles, picking the perfect one, paying for it, and installing it, don't hide it behind a shower curtain. Instead, install glass shower doors that show off your grey tile 24/7, rather than hiding it away.

Try Starbursts

The iconic starburst pattern found its home in mid-century modern design, but it's still a great pick for modern homes everywhere. The grey starburst pattern above gives the bathroom a retro and slightly-Moroccan look.

Try Contrasting Patterns

Looking for a subtle, contrasting patterned look without having to buy two types of tile? Try laying the same tile pattern different ways, like Mindy Gayer Design Co did in this bathroom. One row faces towards the left, and the other towards the right, creating a unique flooring pattern.

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Add a Little Brass

The shiny vintage look of brass is an excellent contrast to the more toned-down and matte look of grey tile, making them an excellent bathroom combo. To bring this pairing into your own space, use brass faucets or hardware alongside grey tile shower surrounds or floors.

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Try Light Grey Tile and Countertops

For a modern and minimalist look, pair large light grey bathroom floor tile with a light grey countertop, like Devon Grace Interiors did here. The matching coloring keeps the space looking tidy and understated, perfect for a home with a similarly-minded minimal style too.

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Pair Shapes

Another winning way to bring some visual interest to the bathroom is by combining shapes, like square tile on the wall and circular tile on the floor. This combo works best if one tile is more simple than the other (like a subway or penny tile look) as to prevent the space from looking too busy.

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Use Blue-Grey

A deep blue-grey tile can make a bathroom feel moody and spa-like, all at once. We love the above bathroom from Mindy Gayer Design Co.as its richly colored tile contrasts beautifully with the white and pine accents throughout the rest of the space.

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Install "Wood" Tile

A new tile trend hitting tile aisles of home improvement stores everywhere are "wood" tile. These planking tiles are a cross between the traditional ceramic bathroom tile and wooden flooring. For a neutral and stylish colorway, look for them in grey.

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Have a Heart

For a one-of-a-kind primary bathroom tile pick, install heart shaped tile. The grey heart-shaped tile gives a romantic look to this bathroom, but its style is subtle enough that it doesn't feel tacky or overtly themed.

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Try Checkerboard

For a fun vintage look, try out a grey checkerboard pattern. This classic retro pattern is a great fit for half-baths, kids' bathrooms, and pool or vacation home bathrooms. You can also get this look yourself by painting a pattern onto larger tiles.

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Add a Historic Touch

Ever feel like your bathroom is more bland than anything else? It's time to change that. And though grey tile may not seem like an obvious answer, picking one in a unique pattern (like the historic, antique look of the tile above) can bring your bathroom to a whole other level.

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Combine Tiles

Whether you have the leftovers of two sets of tile or you're looking for a more visually interesting bathroom flooring option, combining tiles can be the way to go. Alternate different tiles for a cool look, but make sure the tiles themselves are the same size, or else you'll be in for a tile puzzle you may not be able to fit together.

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Try a Barely-There Grey

For a cool and easy tile look, pick a colorway that's barely grey. Lightly-colored tile like this still provides the beautiful look of tile without the distraction a bright color may bring to your space.

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Get Diagonal

Ready to get geometric? Break out the diagonal lines. We love the criss-cross look of the grey tile in the bathroom and it provides a fun visual distraction without being too distracting.

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Pair Grey and Black

For a similarly-colored color combo, pair grey and black tile in your bathroom. Look for a tile pattern that incorporates both, or use a more mosaic-style tile. Either way, grey and black tile can be an modern and grown-up look, perfect for a space that you don't want to feel too busy or styled.

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Use Grey as an Accent

Grey is a great accent color just about anywhere, and it's no wonder why. Its subtle color fits in and balances out plenty of patterns, like it does in this starburst tile flooring above. The bathroom uses grey accents elsewhere too, like in the hand-towels and countertops.

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Add Concrete

Naturally, grey tile looks good alongside plenty of other grey elements too, like grey wallpaper or grey concrete countertops. Concrete countertops are a beautifully brutalist pick for the bathroom that provide durability and utilitarian style.

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Get Southwestern

Want the look of southwestern style in your bathroom without all the color? Meet grey tile. A southwestern-patterned grey tile provides visual interest steeped in desert style, without becoming distracting or overpowering.

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Love Those Lines

It's one of the oldest tricks in the book—to make something feel taller, add plenty of vertical lines. The same goes for bathrooms too. To make your cramped powder bath feel a bit more spacious, look for wall tile with strong vertical lines.

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Pair Hexagons and Squares

A more subtle, shape-contrasting look can be found in pairing similarly angular bathroom tiles, like hexagonal and square tiles. The grey square floor tile provides a neutral base for the fun, black hexagonal tile to play off of.

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Install Penny Tile

Penny tile (named as such for its penny-shaped look) is a dainty bathroom tile pick that brings in some old-school vintage style. Grey penny tile is a great floor choice for a guest bathroom, powder room, or any other neutral-bathroom space, as its simple look and coloring gives the surrounding area a calm look.

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Add a Little Glass

Glass tile is known for its delicate and mirror-like look, as its slight imperfections and reflective surface bounce light around and create a shimmering effect. Grey glass tile is no different, and proves to be a great backdrop for an elegant bathroom look.

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Bring on the Buffalo Check

For a bathroom style that's distinctly farmhouse-inspired, add in a grey-black buffalo check tile. This classically rustic pattern meshes a down-to-earth pattern with bold lines and color. Pair the tile with a matte black hardware and your bathroom will be farmhouse-ready.

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Get Wavy

Get ready to bring the beach to your bathroom with wave-patterned grey tile. We love the subtle wave pattern of the floor tiles. It creates a sense of movement in a room that can sometimes feel so static.

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Pair Grey With Pink

Grey and pink may seem like an unusual color combo, but they're a great pairing in a bold and fun bathroom. The grey tempers down the vibrant pink (helpful for smaller or more busy bathrooms) without distracting from its wonderful color.

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Install Big Patterns

Some bathroom tiles have been designed to create large patterns when installed correctly, and they're a great choice for larger bathroom spaces like primary bathroom floors or shower walls. The deep grey floor tile demonstrates this perfectly.

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Get 3D

Ready for a more unusual grey bathroom tile? Add in a pattern with a little bit of an optical illusion, like the bathroom. And the 3D illusion of the grey floor tile is more than just a quirky visual effect—it also draws the eye to the tall window and stunning walk-in shower.

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Add in a Linear Shower Drain

If you're using grey tile in your walk-in shower, and you really want to show it off, consider installing a linear shower drain. These in-line shower drains are subtle and understated, ensuring they're not an eyesore alongside your picture-perfect grey tile.

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Pair Grey With Gold

The intricate design of penny tile also allows for some fun pattern-creating too. Light grey tile sits alongside gold tile accents for bathroom flooring that's eye-catching without being too busy.

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Add Wallpaper

The understated look of grey tile makes it a great match for boldly-colored or patterned wallpaper, like the half-bath above. For the best look, pick a grey with similar undertones as the wallpaper. Choose a warmer grey if your wallpaper has lots of warm colors, or a cooler grey should your wallpaper contain many cooler colors.

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Add a Little Marble

Marble is perfect companion to grey bathroom tile. Not only is it super on-trend (hello swanky countertops everywhere), but it also contains similar coloring to grey tile. Additionally, the swooshes and swirls of marble make it a nice contrast to the straight lines of grey tile.

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Try Tile Trim

Tile or stone may seem like an unlikely bathroom trim, but it's certainly a luxe one. To make this elegant grey tile look work, pair the bold tile trim with a more understated tile, like subway tile.

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Try Tricolor

The Moroccan tile in the bathroom contains three colors, which can seem like a bold pick in such a small space. But it works wonderfully! A yellow-grey serves as the background color for the tile, with the blue serving as an easy complement to it, and the orange-red as an eye-catching accent.

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Add Natrual Light

Few colors pair better with a window full of sunshine than grey. The neutral coloring shines in sunlight, especially if it's tile that's derived from stone, making each piece a slightly different shade. To finish this warming, natural-light filled look, pair shimmering grey tile with brass fixtures.

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Add a Rug

For a low-cost, low-commitment addition to a grey bathroom tile floor, add a rug (or two). It's more than just a soft place (for your feet) to land, and adding a rug also allows you to play with color and figure out which color and texture combos you like most in your bathroom.

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Try Grey-Beige

Ready for a more nature-inspired bathroom look? Try a light grey with beige tones. The sandy-colored tile brings a calming presence to any bathroom and pair wonderfully alongside oversized windows, off-white walls, and a houseplant or two.

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Let It Shine

Grey tile is a great base for a space in which you want another pattern or material to really shine, like the wall tile in the bathroom. The understated look of a simple grey tile provides a little style without detracting from the bold and fun pattern nearby.

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Get Rectangular

Few things bring more order to an oft-chaotic space like columns upon columns of perfectly-lined grey rectangular tiles. Add them to a bathroom that already has a lot going on to bring some structure, or install them in a more minimalist space for a linear touch.

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Try Three Types of Tiles

We've seen one type of tile in a space, and two types of tile too. But three? Believe it or not, it can work, as demonstrated by this shower. The secret to this trifecta is picking tiles in similar colorways and having the largest section of tile (the shower surround, in this case) be the most understated.

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Add Tile Accents

Tiles can be more than just wall coverings—they can also function as art installations too. We love the bathroom which uses grey tile to create "art" on the shower surround. This idea works best with tile in a unique shape or pattern.

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Use Tiled Grey Stone

Want the look of marble without the hefty price tag? Consider a similarly-marbled tile (be it from marble or another grey stone), which gives you the big-picture look of marble for a lower cost. You'll be left with an elegant look and a fuller wallet.

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Get Abstract

For a bathroom with an artsy and funky feel, look for a grey tile that's filled with abstract patterns. The unusual patterning makes a statement in any space, especially in one as compact as a bathroom.

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Consider (Faux) Concrete

Concrete is quickly becoming a favorite flooring look for many designers. But if you want the cemented look without all the hassle, consider grey porcelain tiles that have been designed to be concrete lookalikes. You'll have the minimal, moody, and industrial feel of concrete with a flooring pick that's far more suited to small spaces.

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Don't Forget Grout

Looking for a subtler way to bring grey into the bathroom? Don't forget about grout. Grey grout looks cleaner for far longer than white grout ever will, and it's not as intense as black grout. It's a good pick for bathrooms that already have some dark touches in them, like matte black hardware or an accent wall.

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Try Ombre Grey

Ombre may have been a trend that mostly stayed in the 2010s, but it still has some helpful style left in it. A subtle dark-to-light pattern in marbled grey tile creates a stunning and understated visual effect that shows off the veining of the stone.

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Add Wood Accents

Another material that meshes wonderfully with grey is wood, especially unfinished wood. The raw look of the lumber provides an excellent contrast against the smooth and polished texture of the grey tile.

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Get Dark

Ready to make your bathroom feel extra-moody? Break out the dark grey tile and some similarly colored paint, and get renovating. This bathroom makes this dark and richly colored look feel enchanting and elegant rather than dreary and drab.

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Use Two Shades of Grey

Another way to incorporate grey in your bathroom without it feeling boring is to use two different shades of grey. A light grey tile floor highlights the drama of the dark grey wallpaper. A match made in heaven.

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Try Penny Tile on the Walls

Though penny tile is most often seen on bathroom floors, it can have a home on your bathroom wall too. The delicate, circular pattern looks just as pretty at eye-level as it does looking down. Install some in grey for a minimalist and elegant look.

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Pair Grey and Navy

Rich navy is excellent partner alongside light grey above demonstrates how to pull off this color combo excellently. The touches of blue-grey tile in the shower don't hurt either.

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Install Interlocking Grey Tiles

Half the fun of picking bathroom tile is seeing all the different types of tile there are. And this grey floor tile has got to be one of our favorites. The interlocking star look is a unique touch to this pared-down grey tile option.