The Sophisticated New Tile Trend We Can’t Get Enough Of

I’m very into tile. I have favorite kinds of tile. I watch tile trends. I have joked about starting a blog called ‘Tile Therapy’, but it is not really a joke. You may think of tile as a dull subject, but that’s where you’d be wrong. There’s always something new in the tile world, some new shape or texture or color or configuration. Lately, I am very into the look of matte black tile paired with black grout. It’s sophisticated, it’s modern, it doesn’t show dirt — a win all around.

This bathroom from Emma Jane Nation pairs shiny white wall tile with matte black floor tile, adding a modern twist to an otherwise very traditional bathroom.

From Elle Decoration via SF Girl by Bay, a kitchen backsplash with tiny black mosaic tiles set in black grout. One of my favorite things about this particular combination is that way that having the tile and grout in the same color and sheen makes the whole thing read as a fascinating new texture, rather than just a wall of tile.

In this image from Decorist via Simply Grove, a black-on-black tile fireplace surround adds a modern touch to a traditional fireplace.

These black-on-black tiles form the backsplash of a particularly modern kitchen from Est Living.

I love the look of penny tile in the bathroom, and I particularly love this bathroom, from Interior Collective, with its black-on-black penny tile wall.

The look is especially nice with smaller tiles, like the hex tiles that cover the walls and floor of this shower from Inside Living (via Fireclay Tile). The texture it creates is so intriguing, and you don’t have to worry as much about scrubbing all those grout lines because they won’t show dirt.

From Homes to Love, another instance of black-on-black tile on the floor. This is a great way to get a sophisticated modern look on a tight budget.

In this bathroom spotted on Caesarstone, a wall of black hex tile, set in a black matrix, adds texture to a modern space.

The dark gray grout makes the herrigbone pattern of the tile floor in this bathroom from Varpunen especially subtle.

This example, from Active Kitchens, might be my favorite of all, for the way it uses matte black beveled subway tile to enhance the textural effect of the black-on-black tile. Whatever way you choose to do black on black, it’s sure to be arresting.