I think so many of us fear that we can’t renovate a room in our home, like the bathroom, the way we want without breaking the bank. But as far as tiles go, subway tiles and neutral porcelain and glass tiles in soft shades of neutrals can go a long way and they are very inexpensive. Here are a few tips to get the biggest bang for your buck. Choose an accent wall, a small pattern in the floor or just as a backsplash behind your sink for the more costly tile.

Tiles come in lots of sizes, not just your standard rectangle. This shower has a larger 4″ x 12″ subway tile to make it feel more contemporary. Still want marble? Use smaller sized tiles in the bottom of the shower like you see here. It’s when you get into large sheets of a marble that the cost goes up. You can still use a tile that might be very expensive that you love, but if you use it in small doses, you might not spend your whole budget just on tile.

Creating a pattern in the floor with tiles can make a big impact. This floor even takes it one step further and combines two different colors together in a herringbone pattern.

Large porcelain tiles in a soft shade of gray can look beautiful on the floor. Use beadboard on the walls with a high gloss paint to save a little bit of money instead of tiling the entire wall. This is a more country feel but you can see with the larger tiles it’s a nice mix of contemporary and casual elegance.

Porcelain tiles that look like wood planks have come along way in the past several years. They now look so realistic you sometimes have to look twice and feel them to know they are not real wood. These tiles are about $4-6 a square foot and are great to use on walls and floors and come in shades from white to gray to tan to dark brown.  Even if you use all white subway tile in your bath, add in some wood in the way of a framed mirror, shelves, a stool etc. to warm it up a little.

This is such a standard cream 12″ x 12″ tile that you could get anywhere, but they made the bath interesting by using a unique cart with vessel sink for their vanity and splurged on the hatbox toilet. Mixing high end with low end and being a little creative with your choice of vanity can really elevate a standard tile.