Shabby Chic Kitchen Tile Ideas – 11 ways to get the cosy, distressed look
Few things are cosier than a well-worn, vintage-style kitchen. Packed with antique finds, distressed furniture and natural materials, the relaxed yet luxurious shabby chic look is one of the most popular and stylish design trends.
Whether you’re adding vintage style to an existing kitchen, or creating the look from scratch, you’ll need to select the right tiles to help you achieve the shabby-chic vibe. Keep reading for plenty of shabby-chic design inspiration.
Image credit: @sixat21
Recommended Tile: St Andrews
What is shabby chic style?
Shabby-chic style encompasses everything that is old and distressed-looking (whether age-old or deliberately distressed) and combines vintage elements with modern styling. When done well, the shabby chic style looks effortlessly chic, cosy and elegant.
When it comes to colour, shabby chic interiors often veer towards pale neutrals like cream, beige, white and grey. Pale pastels are a popular choice if you want to inject some colour into your home and natural materials like wood and stone are key features of this look.
Romantic and calming, the shabby chic style is an eclectic mix of vintage and new pieces.
Shabby chic kitchen tile ideas
Tiles provide the perfect backdrop to a shabby chic kitchen and can completely change the feel of a room, whether you have a period or modern property.
When it comes to choosing tiles for your shabby chic style kitchen, there are no hard and fast rules, you can choose traditional-style tiles for a vintage look or pair contemporary tiles with distressed kitchen cabinets. Keep reading to discover some seriously stylish shabby chic tile ideas:
Cream tiles
Soft neutrals like cream and beige are often used in shabby chic style homes. Cream is a warmer colour than white and an ideal choice if you’re going for a vintage, traditional look.
Worn shabby chic furniture and kitchen cabinets often have a distressed, matt finish. With that in mind, you can opt for contrasting glossy tiles. Glossy tiles are easy to clean, look fabulous and are great for bouncing light around, helping to brighten a kitchen, even on grey days.
Image credit: @dianazzura63
Recommended Tile: Emilia Blanco
Patterned wall tiles
Get the traditional, cottage-style, shabby chic look with beautifully patterned tiles. Whether you use them on the walls or floors, patterned tiles are full of character and look perfect next to plainer kitchen cabinets.
You can choose from a huge range of patterns, from traditional style to bold Moroccan-inspired designs and pick colours in neutral or slightly bolder colour schemes, depending on your preference.
Image credit: @fansofshabbychic
Recommended Tile: Provenza
Tumbled stone splashback
It’s hard to beat the beauty and timeless elegance of real stone tiles. Stone is one of the best options if you want to add a rustic look to your kitchen. It’ll go with every other colour, it’s virtually indestructible and can even add value to your home.
If you’re going for the shabby chic look, you might prefer to go for tumbled stone. The worn, pitted texture and muted, neutral colours are a perfect fit for this style.
Image credit: @home_at_the_fleurs
Recommended Tile: Mink Tumbled
Embossed tiles
Textured tiles are perfect for pepping up splashbacks and adding interest to kitchen walls. Group ornate vintage-style patterns together, add a decorative border or dot them amongst plainer tiles for a quirky look
Image credit: @originalstyleuk
Wooden floor tiles
Natural materials like wood and stone often feature heavily in shabby-chic interiors. Wood adds warmth wherever it is used, and its versatility means it’ll look great next to all other colours and styles.
Wood-effect porcelain tiles are a practical choice for kitchens and utility areas. You can choose from a wide range of colours and styles from whitewashed oak and rustic pine planks to beautiful herringbone designs.
Image credit: @the_cozy_house_on_a_hill
Recommended Tile: Timeless
Stone floor tiles
Get the rustic, lived-in look with real stone or stone-effect porcelain floor tiles. This is about as classic as flooring gets and although real stone can be expensive, it’ll last you a lifetime.
If you’d prefer less-maintenance, stone-effect porcelain tiles look almost as good as the real thing, in fact, unless you’re a couple of centimetres away from the floor, you’ll be unlikely to be able to tell the difference! Porcelain is stronger than real stone and it won’t need to be sealed, making it an attractive alternative.
Image credit: @imrich_lodge
Recommended Tile: DD Ivory
Patterned floor tiles
One of the best ways to add character to a neutrally decorated room is by adding patterned floor tiles. Perfect for adding interest, patterned tiles can be bold in design, or more subtle. Although the thought of tiling an entire floor with patterned tiles may seem daunting, keeping the rest of the room a bright, neutral colour will stop it from feeling overpowering and result in a beautifully balanced, undeniably striking look.
Image credit: @homes_antiques
Recommended Tile: Damask Décor 3
Mismatched tiles
What better way to add quirky charm to a kitchen than with handpicked mismatched tiles? As long as the tiles are the same shape, you can easily mix colours, patterns, textures and finishes to get the perfect look. It’s one of the best ways to customise your kitchen design and achieve a unique result.
Image credit: @inspire_me_
Star tiles
Vintage-style star tiles are perfect for adding a shabby chic twist to your kitchen or utility area. These porcelain tiles have been designed to mimic the traditional encaustic designs and they’re ideal for adding interest to your kitchen walls or floors.
Image credit: @the_salty_abode
Recommended Tile: Regal Negro
White metro tiles
Always classic and somehow working in every style of kitchen imaginable, white metro tiles are always a wise choice.
White tiles will go with every other colour and they’ll add subtle elegance to vintage and rustic-looking kitchens. They’re one of the best options if you’re on a budget too. Because metro tiles are one of the most popular tile styles, there’s a wide range of sizes and textures to choose from. Stick to plain gloss tiles, add vintage glamour with bevelled-edge styles or create subtle interest with textured white tiles.
Image credit: @sixat21
Recommended Tile: Dorset Smooth
Tiled worktop
We usually think of tiles for walls and floors, but tiled worktops can look fantastic, especially in a characterful kitchen. Tiles are often more durable than wood or laminate worktops, are very easy to clean and you have a much wider choice of colours and styles to choose from.
Image credit: @anndalucia
Shabby chic style kitchen tile tips
- The shabby chic style is incredibly versatile so you can use this to your advantage when selecting tiles. If you’ve got distressed-looking kitchen cabinets and furniture, you can complement them with glossy tiles. Similarly, match more modern units with vintage-style floor or wall tiles.
- Shabby chic colours are often neutral and understated but you can add pops of colour with soft pastels or introduce bolder colours with patterned tiles.
- Part of the shabby chic style is all about upcycling old pieces. Although it’s not always easy to reuse old tiles as they tend to snap when removed, you can opt for distressed-style tiles or pick a vintage design; embossed and patterned tiles will work well.
Atlas Ceramics has an extensive range of modern and traditional-style tiles to help you nail the shabby chic look in your kitchen. Browse our collection yourself or call one of our experts for advice