Square Tiles

Square is the plain-spoken format most people picture first when asked to imagine a tiled surface, and it works equally well underfoot or up a wall, in almost any room of the house. It has made something of a comeback recently, turning up at small, medium and large scales across every kind of room.

Much of that comes down to how adaptable a plain grid of squares turns out to be. Laid square to the surface, it gives a calm, orderly repeat that most tile patterns are still designed around; turned onto the diagonal, set into a brick bond, or combined within a single run to build a feature panel, taking on a different character with each change of direction. Even the grout plays a part, since changing its colour against the tile can shift the character of a whole room without changing anything else.

Scale and joint width finish the job: a bigger tile means fewer lines across a large floor or wall, a smaller one brings more grid texture to a tight space, and joints can sit tight for something seamless or open a little for a more rustic finish. It is this flexibility across format, direction and finish that makes our square tiles as suited to a whole-house scheme as to a single feature wall.