When designing our kids bathroom remodel, I ultimately decided on a classic white subway tile bathroom. Not only is a white subway tile bathroom timeless and beautiful, but there are many reasons why you may want to consider it for your bathroom, too. Let’s take a look!
*Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links. All opinions and recommendations are my own.
Why You’ll Love White Subway Tile For Your Bathroom
- Classic and Timeless: White subway tile has been around for a long time, and the style isn’t going anywhere! Especially when installed with a softer white or light off-white grout, the design element is seamless, crisp, and adds a classic and timeless touch to any bathroom.
- Versatile: Think of white subway tile as a classic staple in your wardrobe. You can dress it up or down and accessorize how you’d like. White subway tile creates a blank canvas for other design elements to shine. For example, it will create a seamless and serene spa-like setting surrounding your white bathtub, or it will compliment ANY beautiful wallpaper you choose for your bathroom walls!
(**Be sure to check out The Most Beautiful Green Wallpaper and The Most Beautiful Blue And White Wallpaper)
- Inexpensive Options: While you can definitely splurge by purchasing a handmade zellige tile, which is essentially an ancestor to a more traditional subway tile, there are so many affordable options for white subway tile. White subway tile can actually be one of the most budget-friendly tile choices, as it’s available from small boutique tile shops to nearly every big box store that sells tile.
- Easy To Clean: The most traditional material for subway tile is ceramic, which happens to be stain-resistant and easy to clean, thanks to its glossy, glazed finish. Although the term “subway tile” has become a loose term, which often refers to the “look” of tile vs. the actual material, always check your material for ease of cleaning. For example, there are handmade clay tiles, glossy ceramic tiles, and even natural stone tiles, yet they will all have a similar “subway tile” appearance.
Where To Buy White Subway Tile
White subway tile is available nearly anywhere tile is sold! You can find higher-end tiles at boutique tile stores or inexpensive subway tile at any big box store like Home Depot, Lowes, or Floor and Decor. If you’re going for a classic ceramic subway tile, they’re most often uniform in appearance without variation (although the ‘zellige’ style can have more variation), so ordering online tends to work as well without too many surprises!
Which Paint Color Goes With A White Subway Tile Bathroom?
As mentioned previously, a wall of white subway tile is like a blank slate for bathroom design. The classic white will compliment nearly any bathroom paint color.
If you’re looking for a soft, yet crisp white to give your bathroom a more serene, spa-like and seamless feel, I often recommend Benjamin Moore Chantilly Lace. We used BM Chantilly Lace on the walls and ceiling in our recent bathroom remodel to compliment our artisan white subway tile, and it not only turned out beautifully but it made the bathroom appear MUCH bigger than before the remodel. It’s amazing what a beautiful white paint can do!
(*You can use some of these tips and tricks from How To Make A Small Kitchen Look Bigger: A Kitchen Remodel On A Budget for a bathroom remodel as well.)
Which Wallpaper Goes With A White Subway Tile Bathroom?
Oh, wallpaper! If there’s any room in the house to try out a beautiful wallpaper, it’s in a bathroom with white subway tile. The white bathroom tile will really make any gorgeous wallpaper shine and have its moment- from a coastal blue to an earthy green, any wallpaper would look fantastic in this space.
(*For gorgeous wallpaper inspiration, be sure to check out: The Most Beautiful Blue And White Wallpaper and The Most Beautiful Green Wallpaper)
Why We Chose A White Subway Tile Bathroom
When I first started to design our kids bathroom remodel, I initially wanted marble floors. I’ve waited forever to remodel this bathroom and I knew I wanted to incorporate the most beautiful marble flooring. BUT, I have six kids all under the age of 10 sharing this bathroom, 3 of which are boys. And let’s just say I’ve had too many people warn me about boys’ “aiming” (or lack-there-of) and marble floors. Despite getting marble sealed, there’s still no doubt that marble is more porous, more likely to stain, more maintenance and can also be pretty slippery under all those little wet feet!
Long story short, we ended up skipping the marble floors, but I still wanted to incorporate some marble where I could- on the natural oak-look (Pottery Barn Sausalito dupe!) vanity , as well as in a shower niche.
Again, knowing the kids won’t take care of the marble as much as I would hope, I decided it wasn’t for the full shower walls surrounding the bathtub, but rather it was perfect for 3 shower niches.
I love, love, love this blue and white thassos marble mosaic, and knew the best tile to make the stunning light blue marble have its moment would be to surround it with a beautiful white subway tile. There’s something about blue and white that just works. It’s a classic color combination, it can feel fresh and coastal, yet it can feel comforting and traditional at the same time.
I wanted something classic, something that had more of a handmade appearance/edging, and something a little more on the budget-friendly side, as I’d rather splurge in other areas of the bathroom!
I looked at countless white tile ideas for the bathroom, but I kept coming back to the SAME tile we had in our kitchen- the affordable ‘Artisan Frost Ceramic Tile’. If you only knew how many tile samples I went through to ultimately end up with the same tile installed in our kitchen- ha! But I guess that shows how much we like it!
This inexpensive white subway tile actually has a more high-end and artisan look to it as the edges aren’t perfect (in a good way!), and gives more of a handmade tile appearance, without looking very handmade like a true zellige tile. (Zellige tiles can also have many cracks and chipped edges, have more variation in color, and are not always meant for the perfectionist). So this white subway tile is the perfect balance of crisp white color, some texture, some movement, a more expensive look, at an affordable price tag!
Another main factor in choosing white subway tile for our kids bathroom remodel is for its ease to clean! With 6 kids sharing a bathroom, we need to take as much “easy to clean” as we can get! And ceramic tiles fit the bill- they are both durable and easy to clean.
(*Subway tiles are meant for the walls only, so you’ll need a different option for flooring!)
I love how using Benjamin Moore’s Chantilly Lace for the bathroom walls and ceiling worked so well with the Artisan Frost Ceramic Tile to make the bathroom appear a seamless white and so much larger than it was before. However, the wallpaper-lover in me still wants to take the plunge and find the perfect wallpaper for this space. But after having our 6th baby, some projects have been put on pause- more time for newborn snuggles! So the kids bathroom remodel is still a bit TBD, but for now we’re loving it!
A white subway tile bathroom is classic, timeless, and beautiful, and you may just want to consider it for your next bathroom remodel, too!
Additional Sources:
Some Other Posts You Might Enjoy:
Timeless Tile On A Budget: Floor And Decor Tile
Pottery Barn Sausalito Vanity Dupe
The Most Beautiful Green Wallpaper
The Most Beautiful Blue And White Wallpaper
How To Make A Small Kitchen Look Bigger: A Kitchen Remodel On A Budget
Hi Steph! Your kid’s bathroom remodel is beautiful! I love the white tile, your marble niches and especially your genius vanity dupe. Wondering what you used for the gray floor tile? It complements the white and natural wood really well. I totally agree that a marble floor would have been more trouble than it’s worth. Thanks so much!
Hi Sue! Thanks so much! I ended up choosing this Keystone tile from the Tile Shop (in grey), and I really love it! It has the right amount of soft veining that still looks very natural, plus it’s durable and super easy to clean. https://www.tileshop.com/products/keystone-grey-porcelain-wall-and-floor-tile-12-x-24-in-681935
Thank you, Steph! Really appreciate you sharing as it’s exactly what I’m looking for – natural looking plus easy care.
Hi! What did you use (if anything) when stopping the tile at the edges of the niche as well as the wall.
Thanks…it is such a lovely bathroom!
Thanks Carrie! I actually didn’t use anything. The white tile was cut to have an “organic look edge”, but because the color wasn’t fully white, we actually ended up painting the edges just slightly with Benjamin Moore Chantilly Lace, the same as our walls! The color was perfect for it. Hope that helps!
Do you happen to remember what color grout you used for this tile? I am considering a similar tile but can’t decide on a grout. There’s too many to choose from!!!
Hi! I’m 90% sure it’s Mapei Avalanche! Agree- it’s so overwhelming to choose from!