Designer's Guide: A Curated Approach to Mixing Tile Patterns with Style
By Union Tiles
Tiles have evolved far beyond function; they’ve become a language of storytelling in contemporary architecture. With each surface, shape, and subtle finish, designers are now crafting narratives that reflect individual taste and refined style. This art lies in mixing patterns, finishes, and shapes with restraint; curating layers that speak to personality while preserving visual harmony. This balance is especially relevant within the South African context, where a deep appreciation for natural stone and textured surfaces adds richness to interior spaces.
This curated approach is aesthetically demonstrated at the Union Tiles Bedfordview Sanware Lifestyle showroom. The showroom showcases how refined blends can transform ordinary spaces into quietly luxurious statements, inviting you to experience this crafted composition where design feels tailored through texture, colour and patterns to achieve effortless elegance.
Interior Designer, Nellie Botha, Union Tiles shares that modern kitchen and bathroom designs continue to unfold, embracing an artistic use of space and textural contrasts. Trends that have changed the compact kitchen and bathroom tiling the most are vertical subway stacks and KitKat mosaic tiles, two design elements that not only make the room work efficiently but also make it undeniably sophisticated. She goes on to add that vertical subway stacks are a minor variation in the traditional horizontal setting, giving an optical effect of the height by focusing the attention to the upper part of the room and thus the space is perceived as larger.
The clean, elongated lines lend a sense of rhythm and modernity, offering a subtle nod to urban minimalism while remaining timeless. Large-format marble-look slabs act as calm visual “breathers” beside petite penny mosaics.
Another notable tile pattern showcased at Milan Design Week 2025 was layered satin-finish terracotta with high-gloss emerald mosaics—a tactile way to separate zones in open-plan kitchens without partitions. Gloss bounces South-African light deeper into a room; matte absorbs glare. A 70/30 ratio (dominant matte, accent gloss or vice-versa) keeps the eye curious but not overwhelmed.
Experience the Union Tiles Difference
Our Union Tiles showrooms host life-size mood boards that show how various tiles and slabs interact under South African light. Trained specialists guide you through proportion, grout choice and slip-rating turning “too many options” into a confident signature mix.
Ready to compose your own tile symphony? Connect with Union Tiles’ specification team or visit one of our showrooms to start mixing, matching and mastering surface stories that stand apart, beautifully.
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