When you think of tiles, perhaps you imagine that they’re just things that you lay over the ground or kitchen backsplash for practicality. With so many beautiful and elaborate glass tiles and porcelain tiles out there, you have a world of possibilities to use them to beautify your home—even if it’s in an unusual and unexpected way.

First, think about what you want to do in a particular room. Do you want to make it look more exciting? Give it a much needed facelift? Make it look unique? Well, integrating tiles into your design can make all of those thoughts come to life. Consider these ideas to make your home a little more invigorating just by the addition of tiles into unlikely areas and corners.

Source: dezeen.com

Put Tiles on the Wall Behind Your Bed

You don’t need a headboard for your bed if you’ve got a stunning mural of tiles behind it. Besides, would you really want one if you had a wall like this in the first place? Perhaps you don’t have exposed brick or cement in your bedroom like in this example here, but you can still add some European flair with azulejos tiles.  With a little bit of DIY work, you can install a wall of unique tiles to create a statement wall in the bedroom.

Source: apartmenttherapy.com

Take Your Fireplace to Another Level With These Bold Tiles

The fireplace will certainly be a conversation starter if you’ve got one that looks like this. This idea would be one way to draw the eye to the fireplace and make people want to spend some extra time around it. If you’d like, you can even tile the inside of the fireplace with a different design or colour for more contrast to kick it up a notch.

Source: vosgesparis.com

Add an Element of Surprise Underneath Your Dining Area or Office Desk

Instead of placing a rug or carpet, how about laying down some hexagonal tiles underneath the dining table? It’s a daring move, but when done right, it will certainly make your dining area pop. The stark contrast between the wood and monochromatic hexagonal tiles is an unexpected but cool element in this room.  If the dining area isn’t an option, you could take this design idea into your home office to liven it up a bit.

Source: decoist.com

Add Colourful Porcelain Tiles on Your Staircase

If you really want to put tiles in an unexpected place, try your staircase. That’s somewhere where peaks of design and colours will really make a big impression. Tiled staircases look great inside and outdoors.  As you wouldn’t need a ton of tiles (unless you have a super long staircase), any leftover porcelain tiles you have from your last project could work just fine here.

Source: apartmenttherapy.com

Update Your Bathtub with Tiles

Consider layering beautiful tiles on the outside of the tub. To add in even more spice, add a contrasting patterned tile on the wall or floor. Most people tend to keep their bathrooms in a neutral colour scheme. This bathroom here has certainly adopted white as its predominant colour, but there are three different types of tiles going on in here. It may sound crazy, but it all ties in together beautifully. It’s a deceptively simple bathroom at first glance, but you’re actually looking at a variety of shapes and tiles in here.

Source: architecturaldigest.com

Make Your Mirror the Centrepiece with this Idea

Whether it’s a mirror in your bathroom or living room, one way to freshen up an old mirror is by framing tiles around it. A burst of colourful tiles can easily transform a dull mirror into one that is screaming to be looked at (and looked into). Think about installing glass tiles on the wall in your bathroom or powder room like this example above. The shimmery and colourful tiles add animation and beauty into the room.

When done properly, tiles can totally brighten and give your home that makeover you’ve been thinking about. They don’t have to be confined to just your kitchen backsplash or bathroom walls. Once you browse through a tile supplier, you’ll see that there is a huge variety of styles, types, colours and patterns that could work for you and your home. Sometimes it really doesn’t take too much to create your ideal home.

Beautiful and Unusual Ways to Use Tile