The Bathroom Tile Design Joanna Gaines Uses For A Clean, All-White Look

While there are many colors that go in and out of style — just look to Pantone's Colors of the Year campaign (this year is Mocha Mousse, ICYMI) as proof that there really are trending hues at a given time — it seems like the basics will simply never leave the zeitgeist. Neutrals are pretty often safe color choices for your home design, and home decor experts have time and time again proven that white will always be a clean and classic color. Joanna Gaines has tackled and elevated the all-white bathroom decor strategy for years now, and a recent bathroom makeover post let us into some of the ways she achieves the look: Gaines uses various tile shapes, like hexagons and rectangles in the same room, and fine marble tile to help her create fresh and dynamic bathrooms. 

The project for which Joanna Gaines and her husband and co-creator Chip Gaines needed a sleek, all-white bathroom was actually a massive undertaking they call "The Castle." What was once an old castle in their town became its own mini-series as the two partners renovated and completely fixed up the place to give it a clean, chic touch and make the home livable. "For nearly 20 years, we imagined what it would be like to breathe new life into this abandoned, century-old castle in the heart of Waco, TX," Chip and Joanna Gaines said of the project on the Magnolia blog. "Finally having the opportunity, we've been reminded that there's great reward in restoring beauty in forgotten places." The bathroom is just one piece of a larger puzzle, but shines for its fresh feel.

Shopping for bathroom tiling can be incredibly difficult, especially when many of the top search results from online retailers are peel-and-stick tile sheets, which can be messy, tricky to apply, and lack the waterproof function that's necessary for bathrooms. Gaines makes it easier for her followers by detailing the tiles she uses in many of her projects, which is the case for her recent all-white makeover: in a blog post about the bathroom renovation on her site Magnolia, Gaines said that she used Carrara marble tiling for much of the project. More specifically, Carrara hexagon tiles were used for the bath and shower floor, and "Carrara marble wall tile with marble tile trim and base throughout the bathroom and full-height marble tile in the tub and shower area." 

For those unfamiliar, Carrara is a type of marble, not a brand. It's named after Carrara, Italy, which is where the marble comes from, and is known for being mostly white with soft, gray lines that provide that chic marbled look. Because it's a category of marble, it's far easier to find Carrara in your own price point, so you can have the castle look on your own budget. Most tile retailers will carry Carrara marble, so simply look for hexagon shapes and 3 inch by 6 inch subway tiles if you'd like to match Gaines's project. 

If retiling your bathroom's walls, bath, and floors aren't in your budget right now, but you still want to lean into the all-white bathroom trend of the moment, there are plenty of other white bathroom design ideas that are instant classics. The most simple pathway is to change over one thing at a time, so that you don't have a high upfront cost of creating an all-white bathroom. For instance, if your shower curtain is in need of a swap, opt for an all-white, simple curtain, or invest in a glass shower door that will make things look even more high-end. Similarly, start replacing old bath towels and wash cloths with white ones, like these Hawmam Linen White Bath Towels that are available for just $39.99 for a pack of four on Amazon. 

Although peel-and-stick tiling is perhaps not a great option for bathroom floors or shower walls due to the potential for water to seep in over time, you can apply it as a backsplash in parts of your bathroom to see how a white marbled look will feel before committing to the Carrara marble mentioned above. Consider something like these Vaovi Peel and Stick Backsplash Kitchen Tiles ($25.99 for 16 tiles on Amazon), which mimic the real thing and will give you a sense of whether or not you want to invest in Carrara for the rest of the room. We recommend calculating your backsplash's square footage (which you can do easily with simple online tools) before shopping so that you'll get a real estimate for how expensive the tiling truly is.