How to Add Earthy Appeal to Your Home with Slate Tile
In this article, we’ll show you how to add an earthy appeal to your homes with slate tile. As you probably know, slate is a homogeneous metamorphic rock. It is basically derived from sedimentary
Style Your Home With Slate Tiles
As the lockdown and resulting lack of outdoor living take its toll, now’s the time to start thinking about how you can bring that fresh ‘outdoor feeling’ into your home with your interior design. One way to create an earthy, sensuous indoor-outdoor aesthetic in your home is with slate tiles, which is both natural and contemporary.
For years slate tiles have been a go-to for kitchens, bathrooms, entranceways, and utility areas, which means there’s plenty of inspiration available for how to use slate in your home.
Interior designers using slate tile
If it doubts, look to the work of interior designers and architects and see how they’re using slate in properties of all shapes and sizes. We’ve compiled some of our favorite examples.
San Francisco Entranceway by Quezada Architecture
Nothing screams indoor-outdoor appeal quite like pairing slate tiles with natural wood, as seen here in this entranceway by Quezada Architecture. This design uses slate in the lead up to the property also, which boosts the outdoor appeal when it’s carried into the property. You could also consider this aesthetic at the back of your property, from the kitchen through to your garden, for instance.
Minneapolis Bathroom by Christian Dean Architecture
Here, architect Christian Dean creates a minimal, relaxing space using slate against plain white walls and ceramic fixtures with a dapple of natural wood. The slate adds an of-the-moment finish to this simple bathroom and draws the eye the length of the room, which makes the bathroom appear bigger than it really is, which is just what you need if you’re dealing in smaller spaces.
New York Kitchen by Katharine Jessica Interior Design
Slate tiles have increasingly become popular in country homes as it provides just enough traditional charm while remaining contemporary. Again, this design pairs the slate with natural wood in its furnishings and an all-white kitchen, which the slate helps to elevate. You could take this aesthetic even further with natural wood cabinets or a raw wood island top.
Berlin Bathroom by Conscious Design
Nothing portrays a love of the outdoors more than an all-slate walk-in shower or wet room, as seen here in this modern Berlin apartment. The natural ambiance is emphasized with greenery and a skylight, which provides plenty of natural light and reduces the need for harsh top lighting, which makes the space that little bit more immersive. Here the walls are left white, but you could equally opt for a sumptuous shade of blue to complement the blue-black tones of the slate tiles.
Toronto Staircase by Carriage Lane Design & Build
Staircases see some of the most wear and tear in any property, especially in family homes, which is why we love this slate-covered staircase in Toronto. Using a robust, durable material like slate means your staircase will stay looking its best for years to come, and also means you don’t need to worry about making sure everyone has their shoes off the minute they step into your home. This design could also be embraced in annex buildings, including home offices and studios.
Types of Slate Tiles
Now you have an idea of how to use slate in your home, it’s time to start considering the types of slate available.
Square format
Square-shaped slate tiles are the standard and are perfect for anywhere in the home. These tiles are especially popular in entranceways and kitchens as they work brilliantly in rooms that join to the outdoors. Use these tiles in your garden and indoors to provide that indoor-outdoor appeal.
Rectangular tiles
Longer slate tiles are excellent for the bathroom as they help to emphasize the length of a room and make it seem bigger than it really is. Similarly, you can use rectangular slate tiles vertically in a shower or wet room to draw the eye down the length of the wall, which will give the illusion of height.
Mosaic tiles
Mosaics are ideal for small details like mirror and kitchen splashbacks, but they can also help to add texture to a room when used on a scale. You can even pair mosaic tiles with larger slate tiles by using square tiles on the floor and mosaics around the bath to add another dimension to your design.
A note from our designers
If you’re striving for an interior with an air of the outdoors, make sure you embrace other design details that will help to bring your vision together. As well as using slate, you should have plenty of natural light and wood in your property, as well as foliage, like climbers and pot plants. These seem like small details, but they can make or break the illusion.
Browse our full range of Slate tiles here.