If you are designing a bathroom and looking for the right tiles to use; Slate is a great material to consider. Slate is a great type of tile to use in the bathroom if you like the look of natural stone that is reflected throughout the bathroom. Slate is a natural stone that is now being used extensively as patio, floor, and bathroom tiles. It is becoming an increasingly popular material because it is generally a cheaper natural stone material than marble or granite tiles.
Just like granite and marble, slate is also made in nature and therefore not all slates look the same. Slate ranges in color from nearly black to dark gray, light gray, purplish gray, sienna orange, and earthier shades of gray-green. The slate can also be sharpened or polished depending on the degree of finish that is preferred on the slate. Polished slate can be slippery on a wet bathroom floor, but it is no more slippery than a marble bathroom floor. There is such a wide variety in slate colors that finding the right shade for your bathroom is not limiting and can be a fun process.
There are many different options for how to tile your bathroom with slate, depending on where you are using slate tiles in your bathroom. If your entire bathroom has slate tile, including the floors, walls, and shower walls, using a single color of slate can seem stark or bland. However, if you like a monochrome scheme of a slate tone, the overall effect can be very beautiful. Slate tiles are commonly used for shower floors and walls, but there is no rule against using slate tiles on a countertop.
Due to the variety of slate colors, different colored slate tiles can be patterned throughout the bathroom to create tonal variation and visual interest by creating a pattern or by using alternating slate colors that differ slightly in tone. When making a tonal pattern with many different colored slate tiles, it is often more visually appealing to use many smaller tiles. Color variation can be increased by using smaller tiles.
As for the finish of the tile, the slate tile can be honed or polished. Polished slate has a more refined texture than polished slate and can often look like marble. The slate has patterns that move across it and polishing the slate brings out that natural beauty and high gloss. This type of slate tile looks absolutely beautiful in bathrooms when cut into larger tiles so that the full beauty of the stone can be appreciated.