The Home Design Cheat To Hop On The Luxurious Marble Bathroom Trend For Less

A marble bathroom just screams luxury. When you walk into one, it feels elegant and invokes a design that makes you think of ancient Greece. This essence is of course because of the nature of marble as a material. The uniqueness of marble slabs means that you're always getting a one-of-a-kind product, and this appeal is a big part of why they are sold at a premium. It isn't always possible to spend the big bucks to get this elegance, however, which is why it's good to look for alternatives. A great substitute for marble slabs in your bathroom is marble effect, or faux marble, tiling.

Using marble-effect tiles offers the luxurious look of marble at a fraction of the cost. A few of the things that make marble so expensive are its rareness, its thickness, and the process of sealing it. The installation of real marble is also a lot of work. You need to consider how to arrange the slabs because you never really know what the exact colors and veining will look like until you get them out of the package, and then they require a lot of waterproofing and foolproof adhesion when used in a space like the bathroom. With marble effect tiles, you can get the look without having to worry about these things, and at a much lower cost.

How to design with marble effect tiles

Faux marble tiles are not made from real stone but from something cheaper and easier to create, like porcelain. While the design on porcelain can mimic marble, they actually have a uniform pattern so you always know what you'll get. They are also highly durable. While you need to learn how to best protect and care for marble to avoid damage and staining, marble effect tiles are low-maintenance. Still, you have to know how to select and install your marble effect tiles to achieve the luxurious marble bathroom trend for less. This is already the cheap option, so don't skimp out on the product. 

Look for high-quality tiles that closely resemble the real thing and make sure they are durable as well. A simple and classic product is the glossy 12 by 24 inch Calacutta Bianco Gloss Porcelain Wall and Floor Tile, which costs $7.69 per square feet from The Tile Shop. For reference, the same size of tile, but in marble, like the Arctic White Brushed Marble, is $21.79 per square foot. There's also the 10-inch Calacatta Gold Hex Porcelain Wall and Floor Tiles in two different design at $10.19 per square foot. The veining coupled with the shape makes these tiles look really authentic and fitting for a bathroom. In fact, hexagonal tiles bring in texture, which is a popular tile trend in 2025, so you can hop on two trends at once. For the installation, you can DIY to save on labor costs if you have the experience. It's possible to DIY your shower tile.

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