How Wide Should Shower Accent Tile Be?

Designing your shower's look should be appealing and functional. Especially, choosing the right dimension for the accent tiles. Let's say you're remodeling your shower and wondering how wide should the accent tiles. Well, wonder no more! We researched this for you, and here's what we've discovered below.

Depending on what design you want to achieve and the shower room size, the proper width of the accent tile should not be less than 4 feet wide by 10 feet tall. This avoids creating a busy, overwhelming shower design.

Stay with us! There are tons of tips waiting for you below. The right placement level and the best materials are some answers you need to explore. That said, let's dive right in!

modern washroom condo and shower, How Wide Should Shower Accent Tile Be?

What's The Importance Of Designing A Shower Accent Tile?

Installing an accent tile should be in the right placement to create dramatic detail for the entire shower tile design. You should also consider the accent tile materials being used to ensure they are long-lasting while providing great visuals.

What's more, accent tile dimension also plays a curial role in the overall tile layout of your shower. If you want your shower accent tile project to have a more appealing result, you should follow all those considerations.

What Is The Best Placement For Shower Accent Tile?

Remodeling your shower with accent tiles will allow you to break up the tile pattern to add color or design flair. The following are common shower accent tile locations:

The Baseboard 

Your shower area will have an anchored appearance if you add a bottom border of accent tile. It is a subtle approach to infuse elegance into the room. Plus, an accent tile in the baseboard also allows you to hide the untidy gap between the shower wall and floor.

Waist Level

This particular level is the best for a shower room with an existing wainscoting tile design. However, if you have a low-level ceiling, this can result in an awkward look. So make sure to adjust installing your accent tiles a little lower than your actual waist level.

Eye Level

The other perfect placement level that most tile setters would agree to install the accent tile is at eye level. The eye level is the most attractive level to incorporate accent tiles into your shower.

About roughly 59 inches to 64 inches is the ideal eye placement level. Doing so helps create the impression that the shower is taller.

Ceiling Trim

Installing an accent tile in the top row features the effect of crown molding. It works especially well to combine it with your baseboard accent tile border, framing the entire shower area.

modern bathroom interior with glass door shower and white cabinet with mirror.

However, be extra careful of placing your accent tiles at ceiling height because it works best for a taller shower area. Otherwise, the ceiling of your shower area will look much lower.

Can I Add A Larger Accent Tile In My Small Shower Room?

One of the golden rules when designing your shower room is to consider how big the shower area is. When opting to add a large piece of accent tile to your shower wall, measure first the shower room size.

In the U.S., a small shower ranges around 32 and 36 inches. For this reason, you can add four inches by four inches accent tile on both walls and floor. In contrast, a mid-range shower in the U.S. has a size of about 32 by 32 inches.

For a mid-range shower, you can place an accent tile from four inches upwards. If you have a considerably large shower area, then you can certainly add a larger accent tile.

Otherwise, adding a larger accent tile is not ideal for a small shower area. This will only create a busy style that is not very coherent looking.

How Far Should The Tile Wall Be From The Shower Door?

You must maintain at least two inches distance between the shower doors and the tile walls. However, extending it up to three inches is even greater for opening and closing purposes. Appropriate spacing prevents damage to your shower doors.

Modern en-suite bathroom with shower cabin, basin and mirror.

First, begin by measuring the bathroom's total length. Next, is to measure the tile wall and door distance. Now to give you greater detail, for 48 inches by 48 inches shower area, you'd typically use a tile size of six to 12 inches.

What Is The Best Accent Tile Material For My Shower?

Interior of a bathroom with windows

Among the many available tiling materials, two types stand out:

Ceramic Tile

Ceramic tile comes from a combination of natural clay, sand, and water. This is the most cost-effective, durable, and highly resistant to water.

Buy this ceramic tile on Amazon.

Porcelain Tile

A porcelain tile also has the same mixture compound of clay, sand, and water. But porcelain is significantly denser than ceramic.

Moreover, porcelain tile undergoes an extreme melting process with a thermal level between 2,200 °F and 2,600 °F. This is what makes the porcelain tile even more resistant to water than ceramic.

Click this porcelain tile on Amazon.

Major Takeaway When Selecting Tile Material

Choosing the right materials is as tricky as you'll also want to comply with the minimum DCOF (or dynamic coefficient of friction) rating for precautionary safety measures.

DCOF is the test to measure the necessary friction force to keep an object in motion when sliding over a tile. You must also refer to the DCOF rating when opting for a tile project prone to moisture exposure or exposure to oil, water, or grease.

According to the American National Standard Institute (ANSI) of A137.1. Any flooring tile products must have a DCOF rate of 0.42 or higher when supposed to be walked in wet condition.

How Do You Make Your Shower Accent Tile Stand Out?

Accent tile layout can really be a method to showcase your shower.

Glass walk-in shower with white subway tiled surround accented with vertical mosaic tile strip in brand-new home bathroom.

Trendy Accent Layouts

  • Adding vertical accent tile crosses the line in the center from the baseboard to the top row.  This layout will emphasize the falling water effects within your shower area.
  • You can also use a wide accent tile behind your freestanding tub. This makes your tub the main attraction area. In addition, adding a pendant light boosts the backdrop effect on your shower area.
  • An accent at the ceiling level offers an illusion of a shining sky above your shower.
  • You could use accent tiles for your entire shower. In this way, you can effectively create a glaring look for your shower.

To Wrap Things Up

The width of the accent tile in the shower is just one consideration to ensure the best tiling project results. Throughout this article, we've shared with you the significance of following the right placement of your accent tile.

You also learned the ideal materials for the shower accent tile for safety concerns. We hope that all this knowledge you've learned from us will benefit you in your shower accent tile projects.

If you find this article helpful, please read as well our other post below.

Is A Shower Base Better Than Tiles?

What Wall Color Goes With Brown Bathroom Tiles?

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