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Writer's pictureNina Di Marco

5 unusual ways to lay your subway tiles

One of the fun things about subways is that you can lay them in different ways to create completely different looks. In one of our previous blog post, we explored five classic and creative ways to lay subway tiles. However, if you're looking to push the boundaries of traditional tile design, this post is for you. Here, we dive into five unconventional and inspiring approaches that blend different tile sizes, shapes, and colors with subway tiles to create truly unique and captivating spaces.



1 | Combine vertical and horizontal stack

There is no reason why you need to stick to vertical or horizontal only - combining these two directions can actually make the tile feel a lot more interesting! There are two main ways that you can do this, as shown in the images below. One way is to interchange between the two every row or few rows. The other way is to have a section at the bottom of it laid one way, then swap to the other way above. In both options you can play around with how many rows of horizontal and vertical you'd like to have.

Project by Three Birds Renovations
Image from Yabby Tapware

2 | Combine short and long subways

Similar to above, combining two lengths of the same subway tile can create more interest and texture. We recommend selecting two tiles from the exact same range to ensure that the finish and colour will work well together. Many subway tiles will come in both 75x300 and 75x150 sizes so this makes them perfect for combining. You can interchange between one or more rows of 150 and 300, or you can make it more random and combine the two sizes on all rows.

Image from the Tile Cloud website

3 | Combine subway and square tiles

This is one of our favourite looks! Many tile suppliers already have ranges available that come with both the square and subway tile to combine together. However, if you are planning to do this yourself, we recommend selecting a square tile that is the same size as either the height or the length of the subway tile. As mentioned above, pay attention to the colour and texture of the tiles to make sure they work well together.

Image from the Tile Cloud website

4 | Create a checkerboard pattern

We are currently loving the come back of checkerboard tiles! Another interesting way to create this look is to combine 2-3 subway tiles (depending on the size) in a box-weave pattern like below. This way also allows you to be more creative with the colours that you'd like to pair together.

Image from the Tile Cloud website

5 | Add thick feature grout lines

Most often clients ask for grout lines that are as small as possible, but you can actually use the thickness of your grout to create more interest on a feature wall. As shown below, making the horizontal grout lines thicker creates a more interesting texture on the wall!

Project by Three Birds Renovation

I hope these ideas have been helpful! If you want to find out more about how we can help you with your project, get in contact with us below:



Have a wonderful week!


Nina xx

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