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Turn your leftovers into Stocking Stuffers!
This easy DIY coaster project is perfect for using up offcuts, saving waste, and creating thoughtful little gifts.
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Some trends fade. Others shape the next generation of renovations.
As we move from 2025 into 2026, bathroom design is shifting in a more thoughtful, elevated direction. Homeowners and designers are choosing materials that feel good under hand, silhouettes that soften the space, and surfaces that bring calm without compromising on character. These are the trends that aren’t just having a moment but becoming the building blocks of the contemporary Australian bathroom.
Keep reading as we break down the ideas you’ll see everywhere next year, why they work, and how to recreate them in your own space.
Tactile Tiles & Natural Surfaces: The Trend Leading 2026
Tactile surfaces are shaping the bathrooms we’re seeing moving into 2026 and for good reason. As design leans toward warmth, softness and subtlety, textures are doing the heavy lifting in creating spaces that feel layered rather than loud.
In this beautifully balanced bathroom, the pairing of a soft stone-look tile with gloss Casablanca subways creates a touchable contrast that brings depth without overwhelming the room. The large-format surface keeps the space visually calm, while the smaller textured tile adds movement and interest.
Rather than placing the mosaic behind the vanity, the designer used the tile layout here to break up the larger wall planes and add depth where the room needed it most. In this space, separating the textures creates balance; the stone-look tile grounds the quieter zones, while the matte Casablanca squares bring movement and tactility to the main wall.
Other bathrooms in the same home take the opposite approach, using a single tile across all surfaces to create a completely immersive, tone-on-tone feel. Both methods work, it’s simply about reading the room. In spaces with wide, uninterrupted walls, contrast helps add interest; in smaller or more enclosed rooms, drenching the space in one material enhances calm and cohesion.
Tactile surfaces are shaping the bathrooms we’re seeing moving into 2026 and for good reason. As design leans toward warmth, softness and subtlety, textures are doing the heavy lifting in creating spaces that feel layered rather than loud.
In this beautifully balanced bathroom, the pairing of a soft stone-look tile with gloss Casablanca subways creates a touchable contrast that brings depth without overwhelming the room. The large-format surface keeps the space visually calm, while the smaller textured tile adds movement and interest.
Rather than placing the mosaic behind the vanity, the designer used the tile layout here to break up the larger wall planes and add depth where the room needed it most. In this space, separating the textures creates balance; the stone-look tile grounds the quieter zones, while the matte Casablanca squares bring movement and tactility to the main wall.
Other bathrooms in the same home take the opposite approach, using a single tile across all surfaces to create a completely immersive, tone-on-tone feel. Both methods work, it’s simply about reading the room. In spaces with wide, uninterrupted walls, contrast helps add interest; in smaller or more enclosed rooms, drenching the space in one material enhances calm and cohesion.
Wellness-Led Layouts: Bathrooms as Retreats
Bathrooms are shifting from functional spaces to personal sanctuaries. In 2026, the biggest luxury isn’t minimalism for the sake of minimalism, it’s design that feels restorative.
Tiles play a major role here: calming stone looks, matte finishes, warm neutrals and soft greens all create the grounding energy that defines this trend.
Expect More:
1
Wet room layouts
Open plan, even in bathrooms - without needing a screen or curtain, wet room layouts contribute to the seamless feel of contemporary designs.
2
Seamless floor-to-wall finishes
Using the same, large-format tiles from floors to walls 'colour drenches' the room and encases it in modern stone-look feels.
3
Soft, tonal palettes
Our most popular tiles from 2025 have been travertines with low tonal variation and gorgeous natural veining - giving a softened-stone look.
4
Considered lighting
Lighting in both mirrors and niches are user-friendly and add to the design by reintroducing brightness to the spots that need it most.
5
Natural textures and matte surfaces
Matte is in. Real stone and stone-look tiles are the most popular because their texture feels organic and helps to ground our spaces.
Why this trend will last:
Wellness-led spaces are less of a design trend and more of a lifestyle shift. Homeowners are prioritising restorative environments that support day-to-day living not just high-impact visual moments.
As bathrooms become places to unwind, reset and slow down, the materials we choose need to feel grounding. Tiles play a major role in shaping that experience, forming the foundation of how these rooms look, feel and function long-term.
Curves & Organic Shaping: The Softening of the Modern Bathroom
Curves and organic lines have been building momentum since 2024, and they’re poised to be one of the defining design ideas of 2026.
This bathroom layers curved elements across every touchpoint from the rounded vanity and fluted bathtub to the curved shower seat, tapware lines and the mosaic fish-scale feature wall. Together, these shapes guide the eye gently through the space, making the room feel more welcoming and considered.
Organic shapes don’t just look good; they feel good. They naturally soften hard edges, create flow, and help bathrooms transition from purely functional to soothing, wellness-led spaces.
Why this trend will last: Curves create visual movement without adding clutter. They also align with the broader shift toward softer interiors and spa-like bathrooms, a direction that’s only growing stronger.
Curves and organic lines have been building momentum since 2024, and they’re poised to be one of the defining design ideas of 2026.
This bathroom layers curved elements across every touchpoint from the rounded vanity and fluted bathtub to the curved shower seat, tapware lines and the mosaic fish-scale feature wall. Together, these shapes guide the eye gently through the space, making the room feel more welcoming and considered.
Organic shapes don’t just look good; they feel good. They naturally soften hard edges, create flow, and help bathrooms transition from purely functional to soothing, wellness-led spaces.
Why this trend will last: Curves create visual movement without adding clutter. They also align with the broader shift toward softer interiors and spa-like bathrooms, a direction that’s only growing stronger.
As we move into 2026, popular design choices are focused on influencing how we feel and function every day. Each trend offers a way to build a space that’s both contemporary and genuinely liveable. And while every room in this home approaches design differently, the through-line is the same: thoughtful materials, balanced layouts and tiles chosen with purpose.
If you’re ready to bring these ideas into your own renovation, explore the curated combinations below and shop the looks trusted by the designers who created them.
Catch Up on the Blog
Some trends fade. Others shape the next generation of renovations.
As we move from 2025 into 2026, bathroom design is shifting in a more thoughtful, elevated direction. Homeowners and designers are choosing materials that feel good under hand, silhouettes that soften the space, and surfaces that bring calm without compromising on character. These are the trends that aren’t just having a moment but becoming the building blocks of the contemporary Australian bathroom.
Keep reading as we break down the ideas you’ll see everywhere next year, why they work, and how to recreate them in your own space.
Learn More
A collaboration between The Tile Collective × Gold Coast Superior Tiling
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