Tile Sizes Explained

From mosaic to 320cm slab — how tile size affects the look of a room, where each format works best, and what installers need to know.

Walk into a showroom and the same material in three different sizes will look like three different products. Tile size affects perceived scale, the number of grout lines, installation cost and the substrate you need underneath. This guide explains the standard formats and where each one works.

Mosaic (under 5cm)

Mosaics are anything below about 5cm per tile, usually supplied on a mesh-backed sheet for easier installation. Their main use is curved or sloped surfaces — wet room floors, curved shower seats, and feature bands where larger formats can't follow the geometry.

Mosaics also work well as feature splashbacks behind hobs and basins, where the high grout-to-tile ratio adds texture. The trade-off is more grout to keep clean and slower installation.

Small format (10×10 to 20×20cm)

The traditional kitchen and bathroom format — square or hexagonal, typically in encaustic, terrazzo or ceramic. Small format suits period properties and wherever you want a busier, more pattern-driven floor.

Grout lines are frequent, so colour choice matters: contrasting grout emphasises the pattern; matching grout lets the tile colour read more cleanly.

Medium format (30×30 to 60×60cm)

The default for most domestic floors. A 60×60 tile gives a calm, contemporary read without being so large that cutting and waste become problematic. Ideal for hallways, kitchens, bathrooms and open-plan living.

Lay in a straight grid for the cleanest contemporary look, or offset (brickbond) by a third or half to disguise minor lippage.

Large format (60×120 to 120×120cm)

Large format has become the modern standard for minimalist interiors. Fewer grout lines mean the material reads as a continuous surface — particularly powerful with marble-effect or concrete-effect porcelain.

Large format needs a perfectly flat substrate (3mm tolerance over 2m) and an experienced installer. The tiles are heavy, harder to cut, and intolerant of any movement in the floor.

Slab (160×320cm and above)

Full slab porcelain — 320×160cm or even 360×120cm — is used for floors, walls, worktops and bookmatched feature walls in high-end interiors. It's the only way to achieve a genuinely seamless look across a large surface.

Slab installation is specialist work: dedicated frames for handling, diamond-blade cutting, and often two installers minimum. We strongly recommend our installation team or a recommended slab specialist.

Plank (15×60 to 30×180cm)

Plank-format tiles are designed to look like timber boards — long and narrow. They suit wood-effect porcelain and stone-effect ranges where you want the rhythm of a board floor.

Lay straight, herringbone or chevron. Herringbone needs careful planning around the room — start from the centre and work outward, with the central diagonal aligned to the longest sightline.