Ty Pennington Gave a Glimpse Into His New Bathroom, and It’s All About Layering “Imperfect” Tiles

For many tile projects, people are only interested in matching, uniform, and symmetrical pieces of ceramic, porcelain, or glass. After all, one imperfect tile can offset the entire look of a space. However, Ty Pennington’s latest project in his Savannah home offers a contrasting style strategy: Instead of layering several perfect tiles together for a seamless look, he is using only imperfect zellige tiles. The result? Total perfection. 

In a recent Instagram photo and video sneak peak of Pennington’s bathroom project in Savannah, the HGTV star wrote: “Tile tease…. little preview of the guest bathroom in Savannah and it’s a beauty! #antiquetiles.” When the video starts playing, you can hear the excitement in his voice: “I want to show you a sneak peek of just how incredible I think this bathroom is going to be, especially with the floor tiles.”

After first showcasing some beautiful hand-painted floor tile from Europe, Pennington moved onto the shower, featuring penny tile that covered the basin and standout blue zellige (glazed Moroccan tiles made of terracotta) on the walls, which he opted to run all the way to the ceiling. While most would aim to achieve a somewhat smooth and uniform look, Pennington took the opposite approach. 

“We used these tiles that when you install them, the more imperfect I think, the better they look,” he explained. “I just cannot  even. This combination, plus the penny tiles plus the floor tiles… it’s just really incredible. As imperfect as these are, they’re really looking pretty perfect.”

While zellige tiles are nothing new, the trend took off a few years back, and it doesn’t seem to be going anywhere. Pennington pointed out that because the tiles are hand-shaped, dried, fired, and then hand-glazed, no two will be alike. An added bonus? Grout lines are on the minimal side.

The end result is a perfectly imperfect textured tile look with a little bit of shine.