This year’s Zellige tile trend will continue until 2025 |
Tiles add beauty and functionality to many rooms in the home. From kitchens to bathrooms to fireplaces, they’re a foolproof way to add color, pattern and interest to spaces. And like any other element, certain styles and designs become trending.
Zellige tiles are popular with designers and homeowners alike. These handcrafted clay designs are glazed and fired to create an irregular texture and finish that adds a unique feature to any scheme.
But how can you make sure your design looks unique while they continue to prove popular, and most importantly, introduce them in a way that keeps up with the tile trends of 2025? Well, House of Hive Design Co. just took to Instagram to share some ways to make zellige tiles look more unique. Here are some “cool ways to install them that aren’t so easy.”
How to make Zellige tiles more unique
How you lay your tiles will depend on your space, your style, and the shape of the tiles. And usually, you can be more creative in a bathroom than in a kitchen, simply because bathroom tiles tend to take up the most space, giving you more room for creativity.
“One of my favorite uses is laying tiles in strips. You can do this with smaller square tiles, with 2x6s to get a double-wide strip, or with an equally beautiful alternating single strip,” says Kailee Blalock, co-founder of the design studio behind the roller.
A stripe design is truly enduring. It’s a classic design that never goes out of style, but still offers enough versatility to create something unique. You can also play with size here – create stripes that are the same size, or use different colors and sizes for a more intricate design.
(Photo credit: Ca’Pietra)
Or if you want a tile design that is still classic but has more detail, opt for a woven or checkered design. You can bring in more color combinations and create a design that is as simple or busy as you like.
“My next favorite is a woven or checkered pattern. A woven pattern uses four tile colors, while a checkered pattern only uses three. It kind of reminds me of a staggered version of the woven pattern,” explains Kailee.
“One of the simplest but most impactful ways to lay tiles is to lay them in a checkered pattern. I love having a monochromatic moment with two tones of the same base color, and I also like the idea of creating squares with 2×6 or 2×4 inch tiles, or even four square tiles,” she adds.
A checkered pattern works in almost any room, but is particularly popular on floors in utilitarian rooms and hallways. For a more unique approach, opt for checkered zellige tiles around a fireplace to add a more decorative detail where original tiles are no longer present.
In her second part of the video, Kailee focuses on variations of these classic designs and how you can completely change the look by simply changing the number of tiles used in a pattern or even just the colors.
“I love this version of the double basket weave,” she says, referring to one of her inspiration images. “A change as small as changing the center color makes it so much more dynamic.”
With a double basket weave pattern, you essentially add groups of rectangular tiles in alternating orientations and different colors, creating the appearance of a woven pattern on a larger scale.
“In my last video I mentioned that I was doing a four-color weave, but I found a similar one that uses three colors. Simply swapping the colors creates a completely different look,” she says.
(Photo credit: Cate Black Photography / Audrey Scheck Design)
Although some of these zellige tile patterns are bolder and more intricate, you don’t have to use them in the entire bathroom, kitchen, or whatever other room you plan to use them in.
A shower niche is a great way to add a vibrant design without overwhelming the overall look. In a kitchen, the wall behind the hob is the perfect place to create a focal point with tiles.
Zellige tiles are a design trend that’s here to stay, and taking inspiration from these designs can help make your designs feel unique and timeless. “As you can see, it’s pretty easy to get creative with zellige, so don’t be afraid to try lots of different patterns,” says Kailee.
