5 Tile Updates to Make Before the Festive Season Begins
There comes a point every year when the house suddenly becomes very important. Perhaps it’s the first date in the diary for festive drinks. Maybe you’ve agreed to host this year. Or perhaps the darker evenings have simply made you notice all those corners you’ve spent the summer happily ignoring. We all do it.
Whatever prompts it, the weeks before the festive season are prime time for giving your home a little attention. This is about clever updates that make the rooms you will use most feel warmer, smarter and ready for a houseful.
Products Shown: Bibury Stone - Kingham Limestone Tumbled
Give the kitchen splashback its moment
If there’s one room that works particularly hard over the festive season, it’s the kitchen. And a splashback is one of those relatively small changes that can completely shift how the room feels. Whether you go for rich colour, an interesting glaze or a little pattern, it’s a chance to add character without rethinking the whole space. Come December, with the lights on, something bubbling on the hob and people inevitably gathering around the kitchen, you’ll be glad you did.
Products Shown: Mercer Fluted Emerald, Town & Country Glazed Ivory
Make an entrance
Hallways have a lot asked of them at this time of year. Coats, boots, bags and a steady stream of guests all come through the front door, so it’s worth giving yours a little attention before the festive rush begins. A tiled floor is practical enough to cope with muddy footprints and wet shoes, but it can also completely change the first impression of your home. Go bold with pattern, bring in some colour or keep things classic with natural stone, after all, it’s the first thing your guests will see.
Products Shown: Tetbury Parquet
Give the fireplace a glow-up
Few things earn their keep quite like a fireplace once winter arrives. Whether yours is roaring every evening or purely decorative, refreshing the tiles around it can turn it into a real focal point. Think glossy glazes that catch the firelight, rich colour or a pattern that gives the room a little more personality. It’s a relatively small area, but one that can make the whole room feel warmer and more considered, just in time for evenings spent firmly fireside.
Products Shown: Zellige Muse Mocha, Journeyman Zellige Green
Refresh the downstairs cloakroom
The downstairs cloakroom may be one of the smallest rooms in the house, but when you’re entertaining it’s also one almost every guest is likely to see. Which makes it the perfect place to have some fun. Bold pattern, unexpected colour, an interesting layout, this is a room where you can be a little braver and create something that guests will remember.
Rather than trying to make it feel bigger, why not lean into its proportions? Wrap the room in colour, take tiles right up the walls or choose a pattern with plenty of personality. Small rooms can handle surprisingly bold ideas, and in a cloakroom, that slightly cocooning feeling is all part of the charm.
Products Shown: Lava Pink, Marrakesh Terracotta Square Light Matt, Tuscany Botanical Décor
A floor made for gathering
Christmas has a habit of rearranging the way we use our homes. Dining tables extend, extra chairs appear, people congregate in kitchens despite your carefully arranged living room. Children sit on floors and someone inevitably spills something.
This is where a floor with a little character of its own comes into its own. Rather than choosing something pristine that you’ll spend the day worrying about, look for natural stone with variation, texture and a gently lived-in feel. Tumbled edges, tonal shifts and natural markings are all part of its charm, and only get better as the room is properly lived in. Because at Christmas, you want a floor that can handle a houseful, not one you’re asking everyone to tiptoe around.
Getting your home ready for the festive season doesn’t have to mean decorating every room from scratch. Sometimes it’s one hardworking splashback, a smarter hallway or a downstairs loo with a little more personality that makes everything feel refreshed. And unlike the Christmas decorations, you won’t have to take your new tiles back down in January.
Products Shown: Baked Real Terracotta Parquet