Can floor tiles be used on walls and vice versa? The short answer is yes—with one critical rule. You can almost always use our porcelain floor tiles on your walls, however, it is worth considering a few guidelines. Here’s our full guide on how to mix, match, and swap wall and floor tiles safely and stylishly.
Most of our tiles are incredibly versatile and can be used on walls and floors, however there are a few exceptions.
Let’s look at porcelain tiles first. Most of our porcelain tiles are in an 8mm, 9mm or 10mm thickness and are available in a wide spectrum of finishes including Polished, Matt, Natural, Antislip, Antislip Soft and more. All these finishes have various slip ratings and some tile finishes are smoother than others.
Pretty much any of these finishes can work for walls, however, higher slip rated tiles can have more of a textured finish and that can sometimes make them slightly harder to clean – particularly on walls. Higher slip rated tiles are mainly used for wetroom floors and outside areas and are usually rated R11 A+B+C or R12 A+B+C. These tiles have more grip than a matt porcelain tile for example, and that can make them trickier to clean.
The good news is we have a range of Antislip Soft tiles in an R11 A+B+C rating that can be used for all floors including wetroom floors aswell as walls and these tiles are also designed to be easy to clean.
Ceramic tiles also offer a range of exquisite surfaces – think high gloss tiles with a handmade look and feel, matt finishes and textured tiles, however, not all ceramic tiles can be used on floors so it is always worth checking suitability before choosing your tiles. Many textured ceramic tiles with embossed designs cannot be used on floors but may well have a co-ordinating tile for the floor. In this case, you can easily combine your ceramic wall tile with a suitable floor tile!
There are so many benefits to using the same tile on both walls and floors where tiles are designed for this purpose:
Seamless Aesthetics: Using the same floor tile for the wall creates a dramatic, uber-contemporary look. It minimises visual clutter and helps open up smaller spaces like wet rooms and shower enclosures – especially with larger format tiles.
Superior Durability: High-traffic and wet-prone zones — like shower areas and kitchens — benefit immensely from the stain-resistant, non-porous nature of hardwearing porcelain tiles across walls and floors. Co-ordinating kitchen splashbacks with floor tiles can work really as porcelain is easy to clean.
Maximising tile usage: by using the same tile across both walls and floors rather than opting for two or three different tiles can help keep wastage at a minimum.
Weight Considerations: Before fitting tiles vertically, always ensure your wall substrate can safely support their weight especially for porcelain tiles as they tend to be heavier than ceramic tiles. Your installer should advise on this.
Cohesive Design: One clever, stylish way to create a cohesive space whilst keeping refined design is to use two different shades from the same collection – take our Blend collection where the whole tile palette blends so beautifully together so you can combine colours with ease. This way you can use one colour on the floor and another on the walls or use a different colour tile to create a feature wall behind the vanity unit or bath.
To help you navigate our portfolios and provide some inspiration, here is a showcase of standout ranges for walls and floors:
A Fantastic Wall-Only Highlight
Docklands Thread Wall Cement Ceramic Tile (900 x 320mm): Featuring a tactile relief texture with linear grooved detailing, this ceramic tile is designed purely for creating statement-making walls. It’s ideal for kitchen splashbacks, vanity surrounds, and bathroom feature walls.
Q: Can Docklands Thread Wall Cement Ceramic Tile be used on the floor?
A: No. These tiles have an embossed pattern specifically for walls and therefore are not suitable for floors. However, the Docklands collection features a range of tiles that co-ordinate and with the Thread Wall tiles and are a brilliant option for floors.
Standout Floor-First Porcelain Ranges
Here are two superb tiles that can be used across floors:
Louis Marquetry Wood-Effect Tiles (900 x 900mm): A rich, warm wood-look porcelain tile featuring exquisite marquetry detailing. Louis is perfect for floors – and can be used on walls too but mostly floors and is paired up with other beautiful tile options for walls like our Carerra Oro or Argent marble effect tiles.
Knot Porcelain Wood-Effect tiles: A Scandi-inspired, long porcelain plank available in warm natural hues like Ash, Honey, and Taupe. Engineered with 36 distinct face patterns per shade to mimic real timber knots and gnarls, its silky Natural finish (R9) allows you to flow realistic hardwood styling across open-plan living floors and straight up feature walls or wetroom shower enclosures.
Q: Can large format wood plank tiles be used on walls?
A: Whilst these tiles can technically be used on walls, their long length doesn’t make them very practical so they really are a floor first option. However, there are very often co-ordinating wall tile options in ceramic that are lighter and more versatile and specifically designed for walls. Check out our Season collection.
Versatile Ranges: Floor & Wall
And here are a trio of collections that can be installed across floors and walls to cater for stunning seamless designs:
Blend Cement-look Collection: Minimalist, urban-inspired porcelain tiles available in soft natural hues like Peat, Twine, Matchstick and Dove. These work effortlessly across ground-floor living spaces (with a R10 slip rating) and extend seamlessly up bathroom shower walls for a continuous design. As we have already mentioned, the Blend collection works beautifully together so you can mix and match the shades to your hearts content creating a sophisticated space.
Abode Limestone-Effect Collection: A soft, cloud-stone porcelain tile that offers a subtle, Natural finish underfoot. The R11 A+B+C antislip soft slip rating makes these tiles ideal for use across the home especially areas where more water is present eg bathroom, kitchen, utility rooms. These tiles are designed to bring a little extra grip with easy cleaning.
Metro Cement Look Porcelain Tile: Metro is a staple of our collections and has been part of our tile portfolios for over 5 years. This really is the go-to collection if you are seeking a well-priced, elegant cement effect porcelain tile. These tiles are a delightful mix of great design and a soft feel finish. There are three perfectly balanced shades to choose from and in the Soft R10 A+B+C finish they work beautifully across walls and floors.
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The TilePortfolio specialise in Italian and Spanish Porcelain and Ceramic tiles, in particular large format Porcelains and Porcelain tiles for inside and outside. Our carefully curated, stunning tile portfolios are beautifully presented online and supported by our fuss-free ‘go-the-extra-tile’ service. In addition, you can view our entire tile collection at our Northamptonshire Showroom. Visit our website for unmissable interiors inspiration. The TilePortfolio team are always available to chat, we’d be delighted to help with your project so please do get in touch.
Please note: We strongly recommend using a professional tiler for your project. Installation requirements may vary depending on the tiles you choose, the fixing products used and the specific conditions. Always check with your tiler regards the suitability of the tiles. Please get in touch with us if you have any questions.
