Can Tile Be Used as a Baseboard in a Bathroom?

Uniform Materials

• Rather than bring in another accent material into the bathroom whose texture differs from the other permanent material choices in the bathroom, use the same floor tile material to make a baseboard. The uniformity created by continuing the floor tiles vertically in the space grounds the flooring's appearance and provides a functional purpose.

Six Inches or Less

• When installing tile as a baseboard, keep its profile low, with a maximum tile height of 6 inches, so the baseboard pleases the eye and doesn't distract from the room's other highlighted features. While a 6-inch height for the tiles can work in the design, a 3- to 4-inch tile baseboard presents better with its low-profile appearance. Cut 12-inch-by-12-inch tiles in half to make the 6-inch high tiles, or cut 3- or 4-inch pieces from the two opposite sides of the same tile. Cut the tiles with a tile saw, and install them with tile mortar and a trowel, in a horizontal row around the base of all the walls.

The Whole Wall

• With the tile already working as the baseboard, it makes sense to continue it over the walls of the bathroom. A bathroom's sleek appearance comes from the use of minimal materials. This also prevents mold from forming on the drywall, and you do not have to paint the walls.

Choice of Tile

• Choosing the same tiles as the ones on the floor seems like the understood choice for the tiled baseboard, but that does not limit the choices to that particular tile. A tile that stands out as an ideal complement to the floor tiles makes an interesting baseboard. Combine different types or colors of tiles that match very well together as the floor and baseboard tile combination. Try a slate floor with a multicolor glass tile baseboard, or a porcelain tile floor with a coordinating tumbled-stone baseboard as a complementary tile solution.