Large format tiles.

The visual effect. Each grout line is a visual interruption. Reduce the number of lines and the eye reads the floor as a continuous plane. In open-plan living areas a 600×1200 tile has roughly a quarter of the grout area of a 300×300 tile across the same floor, and the room feels measurably calmer.

Small rooms feel bigger, not smaller. This is counterintuitive but well-established. In a small bathroom, fewer grout lines mean fewer visual stops for the eye, so the surface reads as larger than it is. The traditional advice to "use small tiles in small rooms" is the opposite of what actually works.

Substrate preparation. Large format is unforgiving of an uneven floor. Industry standard is 3mm flatness under a 2m straightedge — tighter than the 6mm acceptable for small-format work. If your slab doesn't meet this, a self-levelling compound is needed before tiling starts.

Back-buttering. Tiles 600×600 and larger must be back-buttered — adhesive applied to the back of the tile as well as the floor — to achieve full coverage. Without it, voids beneath the tile crack under load.

Sizing. 600×1200 is the workhorse — broad enough to feel modern, manageable for a competent tiler. 800×1600 is the current high-end default for ensuites and feature walls. Slabs (1200×2400+) are for splashbacks, vanities and walls where you want zero grout joints.

Lippage. Lippage is the height difference between adjacent tiles at a grout line. On large format, even minor cupping is amplified by the long edge, so brick offsets above one-third are risky. Use a 1/3 brick offset or straight lay, and lippage levelling clips during install.

The tiler matters more than the tile. Ask any tiler bidding the job how many 600×1200+ jobs they've completed in the last twelve months. If the answer is vague, find someone else. A bad large-format install is expensive to fix.

Ordering. Add 10% for straight lay, 15% for brick or diagonal. Always order from a single batch. Get a quote →