AW26 is the season tiles stop sitting politely in the background. They are framing floors, climbing onto ceilings and carrying colour across entire rooms. Pattern is no longer being rationed to a single feature wall, while stone-effect surfaces are becoming far too interesting to disappear behind the furniture.
Baked Tiles is calling it now: the tiled room is back. Lesley Taylor, founder of Baked Tiles and BIID registered interior designer, says: "The plain tile with one decorative feature has had a very long innings. There is nothing wrong with it, but people are ready to have more fun.
"Tiles are becoming the starting point for the room rather than the practical surface chosen at the end. A floor can dictate the colour palette, a border can change the proportions of a space and a heavily veined stone can do the job that wallpaper or artwork might once have done. My advice for AW26 is to choose the tile you cannot stop thinking about first, then build the room around it."
Here are the tile looks Baked expects to lead the season.
Floors get their frame:
Borders are returning, but forget anything fussy or overly traditional. The new tile border is cleaner, bolder and often created using the same tile as the main floor.
A change in direction, format or tone can be enough to frame a room, define a dining space or make a straightforward layout appear completely bespoke.
Lesley explains: "I love a border because it gives a floor a proper full stop. Without one, a pattern can sometimes appear to run away into the edges of the room; frame it, and the whole layout suddenly has confidence.
"It does not have to involve another decorative tile. Turn a rectangular tile through 90 degrees, introduce a narrow strip in a deeper version of the same colour or take one shade from the main pattern and use that around the edge. Draw the complete layout first, including every doorway and cabinet run, because an awkward half-border will undo all the cleverness."
Products Shown: 1860 Templeton Floral Decor 15cm x 15cm, 1860 Templeton Border 15cm x 15cm, 1860 Templeton Corner 15cm x 15cm
One colour is no longer enough:
Colour drenching is loosening up. AW26 schemes will use several related shades rather than repeating one exact colour across every surface.
For tile, this opens up far more interesting combinations: blush with oxblood, sage with bottle green or pale clay against a darker rust. Gloss can sit beside matt and smoother surfaces can meet more irregular finishes without leaving the colour family.
"Matching everything perfectly can kill the character of a room," says Lesley. "You want the colours to feel related, not cloned.
"Tile is brilliant for this because a glaze naturally changes with the light and a patterned surface can introduce several versions of a colour at once. Put every sample together in the actual room and remove the one that looks too neat. The slight odd one out is often what stops the scheme feeling flat."
Products Shown: Little Italy Sky Blue 6.5cm x 20cm, Khadi Earthen 22.5cm x 22.5cm, Little Bricks Gloss Blue 5cm x 15cm, Little Bricks Gloss Sky 5cm x 15cm
Pattern stops asking permission:
The single patterned feature wall is giving way to rooms where several prints happily live together.
A tiled floor might meet striped fabric, a small-scale wallpaper or a second tile used in a different format. The aim is not to make every surface compete, but neither is it to dilute the scheme until the pattern has lost its point.
Lesley says: "Pattern mixing only becomes chaotic when everything is shouting at the same volume. Let one pattern be the boss and give the others a supporting role.
"A large repeat on the floor can cope with something smaller on the wall because furniture breaks up the floor and changes how much of it you see. Colour is what holds it together, so take one less obvious shade from the main tile and repeat that elsewhere rather than matching the most dominant colour."
Products Shown: Lava Burgundy 6.5cm x 20cm, 1860 Malvern 15cm x 15cm, 1860 Josephine 15cm x 15cm
Take the colours of the coast and leave the costume:
Coastal interiors are moving away from anchors, rope and anything that announces itself as seaside décor.
The AW26 version borrows weathered blue, chalky white and faded terracotta, with uneven glazes bringing the softness of colour that has spent years in the sun.
"No anchors. No signs saying 'beach'. No ornamental fishing nets. Take the colours of the coast and leave the costume behind.
"A handmade-look blue tile with natural variation will give you far more atmosphere than a wall of nautical accessories ever could. Mix tiles from every box before they are fixed so the deeper and paler tones are scattered naturally rather than gathering in obvious patches."
Products Shown: 1860 Blue 15cm x 15cm, 1860 Vanilla 15cm x 15cm, Rapture Gloss Blue Grey 3.8cm x 23.5cm, Elysse Denim 20cm x 20cm
Stone gets loud:
Stone-effect tiles have spent years being sold as the safe neutral. AW26 gives them a much bigger role.
Stronger veining, richer colour and larger formats allow stone markings to travel across a surface with fewer interruptions. The result can carry an entire shower wall, fireplace or kitchen backdrop without needing much decoration around it.
"A bold vein needs elbow room. There is no point choosing the most expressive stone in the collection and squeezing it into a splashback barely wider than the basin.
"Use enough of it for the markings to travel and make sense. Always ask to see several tiles from the design before ordering, because one small sample cannot show the movement, variation or how the repeats will meet across a full wall."
Products Shown: Bordeaux Marble 60cm x 120cm, Kitkat Lustre Speckled White 29.5cm x 28.4cm, Venetica Terrazzo Taupe 60cm x 60cm
Tiles reach the fifth wall:
In bathrooms and cloakrooms, tiles are continuing beyond the walls and onto the ceiling.
It is a gutsy move, but it can make a compact room feel far more complete by removing the strip of painted ceiling that would otherwise cut across the scheme. Continuing one tile overhead works particularly well in showers and smaller rooms where every surface is seen at once.
Lesley explains: "The ceiling is the surface everyone forgets until the room is nearly finished. In a small bathroom, that white rectangle can break the spell completely.
"Continuing the wall tile overhead can be fantastic, but this is one trend where design enthusiasm has to meet technical common sense. The ceiling must be able to carry the weight and the preparation and adhesive need to be right for overhead fixing, so involve the installer before choosing the final tile."
Products Shown: Tuscany Lattice 20cm x 20cm, Tuscany White 20cm x 20cm, Zellige Muse Mocha 10cm x 10cm, Zellige Muse Creme Brulee 10cm x 10cm
The smallest room gets the biggest idea:
Cloakrooms and powder rooms are becoming the testing ground for the strongest tiles of the season.
Because the area is limited, homeowners can use a richer colour, bigger pattern or more premium surface without committing to it across a vast room. One confident choice will usually make more impact than several smaller decorative gestures.
"A cloakroom is not where you need to behave yourself," says Lesley. "It is often the only room guests see on their own, so give them something worth looking at.
"Start with the tile and plan the sanitaryware around the best part of the pattern, rather than choosing a beautiful design and then hiding its central motif beneath the toilet. Lay the floor out dry before anything is fixed and decide exactly where you want the eye to land."
Products Shown: Journeyman Zellige White 10cm x 10cm, Bordeaux Marble Novo Matt 60cm x 60cm, Zellige Muse Mocha 10cm x 10cm, Zellige Muse Creme Brulee 10cm x 10cm
