3 clever tile layouts and combinations that will give your bathroom an original and stylish refresh (and still look good five years on)

Choosing the tiles for your bathroom can be a daunting prospect. There are so many choices of colour, texture and layout, and how do you make sure you pick something you'll still love in five years' time? To help you avoid the overwhelm, Ideal Home has partnered with Topps Tiles on a 20-piece capsule tile collection of timeless designs.

This capsule collection focuses on the classic tiles that form the foundation of any stylish look, from statement marble look tiles like the Bellingham to the zellige-inspired Tanjin tiles available in six colours. The beauty of this collection is that while the tiles are all classics, they offer endless opportunities for you to get creative with your tile pairings and layout.

I've been writing about interiors for over six years now, and what I've learnt in that time is that the most stylish bathroom tile ideas aren't about going bold with the tile itself, but being creative with how you use the tiles. Whether that is tile drenching a space or using a herringbone layout. When choosing your tile scheme, head to a Topps Tiles store and play around with the different tile combinations in the Ideal Home collection to get an idea of how they look and fit together.

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As a starting point here are three creative and original ways you can turn these classic and timeless tiles into an original bathroom scheme that will look stylish for years to come.

1. Play with scale

The large marble-effect Bellingham tiles are perfect for wrapping around a shower enclosure to create the illusion of a grand and luxurious marble wall. However, throwing in a block of the Tanjin tiles in Olive adds texture and a pop of colour.

The beauty of the Tanjin zellige-inspired tiles is that their small scale and undulating finish create a variety of green shades depending on how the light hits them. Keep the grout colour and layout consistent across the large and smaller tiles so as not to detract from the beautiful marble finish and that pop of green.

2. Go for stripes

The small square zellige-inspired tiles are incredibly versatile for creating different geometric designs. Stripes are a timeless look that will never go out of fashion, and this simple layout of blue and white Tanjin tiles, tiled 3mm apart, will still look as striking in five years.

The Tanjin tiles are available in gold, white, blue, forest, sand and olive, so the potential combinations are endless. Alternatively, for a sleeker look, you could try the Principle, a glossy design available in white, amber, blue and green, or the Briks, arranged in a stripe formation.

3. Try a herringbone layout

Tile drenching is a huge trend at the moment, and it can look incredibly effective when done with a statement tile like Statements Capello in forest green. However, the secret to this look's success is the pairing with a green rectangular tile, which creates a focal point around the mirror.

The Principle tiles are very simple but are instantly elevated by their layout. Recreate this look by laying them in both a stack around the edges and in herringbone to fill the box. These different layouts add texture, visual interest and make a feature of how the light can change the colour of the tiles.

But you're not limited to a stack or herringbone, be adventurous and try a basket weave, or a windmill layout.

You can find the new range instore at Topps Tiles, and to celebrate the launch of the Ideal Home collection Topps Tiles is offering Ideal Home readers a one-time 20% discount on all finishing touches (from grout to trims) until 31st August. To get the discount online add code IHXTT2620 at checkout.