Large tiles can seem a bit linear and rigid in a small room when installed in a simple stacked or bond pattern. Sometimes if you rotate and install them in a 45-degree pattern you can still use large tiles but it softens the look considerably. But that's simply my opinion.

As to "three across", yes, I personally prefer odd numbers over even. It makes the tile the center of the pattern instead of a grout line. More opinion.

I am in process of doing my very small bathroom... The floor was done in 16x16 tiles and I LOVE it!

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I agree with the above. If you set the 16"s on a diagonal, I think it'd look fine.

Biggest tiles I've used on a bathroom that size were 18x18's, and the smallest were 1x`1's. Both looked just as nice.

Tile is very accommodating. Size, style and layout make all the difference.

This past winter we updated a small bathroom (5 x 8 with 30 sq. ft. of tile) and decided on 12" tile, laid diagonally. In our case the 12" just fit the room better than larger ones. We actually taped a grout pattern onto the old floor to evaluate sizes better.

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I was actually planning on doing a staggered pattern(I know that is not the proper terminology). Basically one and the one under it moved 1/2 way over. Would this look ok?

This one's 36x72. The tiles are 14x14. I came up with this more because I was lazy, than anything else (it's my sister's bathroom in Southington, Ct.). I figured rather than putting one full piece down the middle and cutting in the two sides, how about instead, putting full pieces on both sides, and cutting pieces for down the middle!

My bathroom is 5 x 7 including the tub. Personally I think 16 x 16 is too big. I like the size 13 x 13 set on the diagonal. I think that alternating layout you describe is running bond. You can google words like running bond tile layout and see different looks and pick your favorite.

I love the floor in fnmroberts post above. It really makes the room.

I know these are 12"X12", not 16"X16", but to give you an idea you can see my running bond layout before we went diagonal. It's also a 5'X5' floor space.

Hellonasaty:

Would love to see your floor tiles. I am debating on which way to tile my floor.

Thanks.

I plan to lay 16x16 unglazed porcelain in the master bath. It will have two halves to the bath, one is 5x6feet, the other 4x6 feet. The 5x6 area is the one which will have the large tiles. Then in the tub alcove, 12" square mesh-backed sheets of 2x2" porcelain mosaic tiles. That way, the water supply lines which come up through the floor (free standing claw foot tub) will be easier to install.
Both the 2" squares and the 16" squares will be the same color and will be straight laid, no running bond, no diagonal, nothing.

We put the same product in a different color and the 12x12 square size on our sun porch. DH said the floor would not take a large tile because it was not a good underlayment. He did a lot of restructuring of the subfloor of an old screened porch, and so I did not push him with the tile size. It looks gorgeous, and it is a straight laid porcelain too.

minette99, fnmroberts, and sue_b, could you tell us more about those floor tiles? I'm in the oh so early stages of planning my project, so I'm really new here. I hope it's OK to ask for this information. Sorry if it's not, I'm not sure of the etiquette on this site. Learned so much already, and hope to learn more.

Hellonasty: Would love to see photos as well of yours as we are going to do grey porcelain in our small bathroom. The tile is 19x19 and I'm concerned but everyone says it will be ok. (PS love your handle!!)

You can go with large tiles. 12x12, 16x16, 18x18 or even larger. If you decide not do diagonal, try a rectangular 12x24. Looks awesome in a small bathroom.

In general, but not always, less grout is a good thing, both aesthetically and practically :)

Clueless -- My tiles are called "Marmi Statuario" and they are porcelain and 16x16... hope this helps!

clueless_70

The tile is 12 x 12 marble. We purchased from a firm named The Tile Shop. They have stores in quite a few cities, we're suburban Chicago. They called it Siena Silver though that could be their private name.

They're set with about a 1/32" unsanded grout.

More photos are viewable from the link on "my page"

Hope that helps.

Sorry clueless I was away for awhile. The tiles in my bathroom are this and the price was really reasonable from a local floor store that carries American Olean.
Porcelain 13 x 13 American Olean Alysse color Café, high recycled material content

Here is a link that might be useful: my Bathrooms Forum post about my finished bath

techiestar - that diagonally set slate is STUNNING and just the right size for the room. That's what I would do in a 5 x 5 space.

Minette99:

Just saw your beautiful bathroom porcelain marble tiles. Can you tell me the grout color you used? Also, what size is your bathroom?

I looked the name of your tile up, but only found it in 18x18. Does yours have another name? Also, is this a matte finish?

Thanks so much.

Should 12x24 inch tiles be laid stacked or staggered on the 5x5 ft. floor (before the shower)? Should the floor tiles and wall tiles (same tiles) be laid in the same pattern?

In response to marleenr:

I think staggered would look great, but stacked will give you a more contemporary look, especially with those large tiles. Hope that helps!