Stripes are a favourite among designers for good reason. They draw the eye, play with proportion, and bring a sense of rhythm to a room that a plain or subtly mottled tile cannot manage on its own.
Laid vertically, a striped tile can make a wall or a narrow space feel taller than it is, while a horizontal run tends to do the opposite, widening a room and giving it a calmer, more grounded feel. They work well as a bold statement across a whole wall, or in smaller doses on a splashback or a single feature panel where you want rhythm without overwhelming the space. If you are not sure which orientation will suit your room, it is worth holding a sample against the wall in a few different positions before deciding, since the effect changes quite noticeably depending on which way the stripe runs.