A kitchen with a statement oxblood-colour island and another with curved child-friendly counters feature in our latest lookbook, which spotlights eight worktops that are covered in tiles.
Tiled worktops can be a functional yet attractive addition to a kitchen, able to withstand hot pots and food stains while also creating an opportunity for decoration.
The examples in this lookbook range from tiled worktops designed as focal points to more utilitarian counters that blend in with surrounding walls, illustrating the potential of tiles in a kitchen and proving they are not limited to just splashbacks and flooring.
This is the latest in Dezeen’s lookbooks series, which provides visual inspiration from our archive. Other recent editions showcase wine storage solutions, bedrooms with desk spaces and interiors that draw on Mediterranean living.
Photo by Megan Taylor
Fruit Box, UK, by Nimtim Architects
London studio Nimtim Architects opted for bright white tiles to cover the worktops of this kitchen and teamed them with plywood cupboards, shelves and drawers for a deliberately simple look.
Some tiles have curved edges, helping to create seamless transitions between the counters and splashback while also eradicating sharp corners so the space is safer for the client’s children.
Find out more about Fruit Box ›
Photo by Nicole Franzen
East Village Apartment, USA, by GRT Architects
The focal point of this kitchen in an East Village apartment is an island covered in oxblood-coloured tiles, which stand out against a backdrop of white-oak cabinetry with oversized handles.
This rich, jewel-toned finish was complemented by chequerboard mosaic tiling across the floor and shiny brass legs for the end kitchen counters.
Find out more about East Village Apartment ›
Photo by Peter Bennetts
West Bend House, Australia, by Brave New Eco
Duck-egg blue tiles adorn the surfaces of this galley kitchen, which studio Brave New Eco created in West Bend House in Melbourne.
This includes an island running through its centre, where square tiles are used on the worktop and the sides are lined with long, slender versions. They are teamed with wooden joinery and slender bar stools.
Find out more about West Bend House ›
Photo by Stijn Bollaert
De Sijs, Belgium, by Officeu Architects
Officeu Architects combined a mix of pastel-hued square tiles to decorate the worktops in this kitchen, which features in the De Sijs co-housing project in Leuven.
The dusky colours of the surfaces are complemented by a mix of fern-green and wooden cabinets and help draw attention to playful furnishings and fixtures, including hanging lights and bright red pots.
Find out more about De Sijs ›
Photo by José Hevia
Palma Hideaway, Spain, by Mariana de Delás
Green tiles are used to create focal points throughout this lofty apartment, which architect Mariana de Delás has hidden in a former motorcycle workshop in Palma de Mallorca.
This includes the kitchen, where the tiles crown a statement island supported by chunky pink legs. This watermelon-like colour combination pops against a concrete floor and wooden cabinets.
Find out more about Palma Hideaway ›
Photo by Henrietta Williams
Screen House, UK, by Studio Ben Allen
This pared-back kitchen features inside Screen House, a north London flat that was modernised and reconfigured by Studio Ben Allen.
To align with a strict budget, the kitchen features utilitarian fixtures and combines simple wooden joinery with white-tiled surfaces. The end tiles are curved to form a smooth edge to the counter.
Find out more about Screen House ›
Photo by Joe Fletcher
Dawnridge House, USA, by Field Architecture
Large grey tiles are used across the countertops of this wooden kitchen, which Field Architecture designed within a house in California.
They form part of the natural-looking material palette used throughout the home, for which the studio drew on the surrounding Los Altos Hills landscape that includes a creek and large oak trees.
Find out more about Dawnridge House ›
Photo by Peter Bennetts
Bismarck House, Australia, by Andrew Burges Architects
At Bismarck House in Bondi, Andrew Burges Architects used a palette of what it described as “outdoor materials” across the ground floor.
Alongside exposed brick, concrete and steel elements, this utilitarian palette includes tiled kitchen worktops and is intended to blur the boundary between the inside and robust exterior of the home.
Find out more about Bismarck House ›
This is the latest in Dezeen’s lookbooks series, which provides visual inspiration from our archive. Other recent editions showcase wine storage solutions, bedrooms with desk spaces and interiors that draw on Mediterranean living.
Xie Ke devises a mixed-use sales office in Chongqing, China
A series of stepped modules, standing under intricate historic tiled roofs, integrate Xie Ke’s new Sales Office into the ‘ladder style’ traditional mountain blocks in Chongqing, China. The building consists of Canopée Café and Sihai Club and adjoins Huguang Club and overlooks East Watergate. The design concept deviates from pure commerciality and focuses on creating social mixed-use spaces which can restore a sense of community and the area all the while raising awareness for the brand’s sales center. Derived from the history of the Huguang region’s urban state, the project is driven by a goal for urban renewal and preservational design, retaining the original structure while breathing new life into the interior under a minimal contemporary renovation plan.
all images by Jonathan Leijonhufvud 雷坛坛
urban renewal project draws from the history of Huguang city
The project centers around fostering relationships between the urban fabric and communities. Over time during the process of urbanization, the upper half of Chongqing city has become an arena for modern architecture, leaving behind memories of the past. Meanwhile, the lower half city is filled with unmaintained antique structures. Seeking to reflect the simplistic culture of Chongqing and to cultivate the collective character of its community, the architect looks to his own memories of the city to devise the design concept – namely its ‘outdoors’ culture where people carry out their daily routines on the streets and in the pockets of the mountainous town, always interacting with neighbors.
As such, the design begins to form a connection between people and previous times, thus incubating and activating the endogenous forces of the city. ‘The steps covered with moss, Huguang Club standing still over time, the to-and-fro ropeway across the river, the close connection between houses and streets… All the characteristic memories of Chongqing were properly placed in people’s vision and became the background color of [the project]… and also the design basis of Xie Ke.’
the unmaintained antique structures of Chongqing stand under intricate historic tiled roofs
infusing contemporary interiors into the traditional structure
Nodding to the region’s traditional architecture, wooden structures are used to reinforce the wooden columns and to decorate the roof with old tiles, blending a harmonious fusion between old and new. The moderate renovative plan restores the old construction embracing the surrounding greenery and incorporating it into the design as a free-formed canopy of branches and leaves. Taking its name from the immersive natural element wrapping the structure, the Canopée Café, accessible from the second floor, overlooks picturesque views of the Yangtze River, engulfed by the shade of trees, and the peeling walls and the undulant eaves of Huguang Club maintaining a sense of stillness. The building ‘grows’ vertically tracing over the contours of the mountainous landscape of Chongqing.
The interior arranges low-standing walls and partitions to avoid permanent alterations to the original construction. The layout forms an open plan dividing several functions into blocks, such as the bar and facilities zones, reviving the old building’s scheme and circulation flow. The steel gallery bridge and large folding windows stand as the main modifying feature of the renovation. The interior fosters a sense of serenity with a pure, rhythmic white atmosphere and minimalist aesthetic, while the alterations between light and shadow accentuate the historic wooden frame.
the stepped volumes trace over the mountainous landscape of Chongqing
Making improvements to your home because you’re spending so much more time there? In our latest Dezeen Lookbook, we’ve rounded up 30 bathrooms designed by architects to give you some ideas.
Minimal Fantasy apartment by Patricia Bustos Studio
Designed by Patricia Bustos Studio, this pink bathroom has shiny pink curtains and mirrors with pink frames to match the rest of the apartment in Madrid, which is almost entirely pink.
Find out more about Minimal Fantasy apartment ›
Botaniczna Apartment by Agnieszka Owsiany Studio
This bathroom in a Poznań apartment designed by Agnieszka Owsiany Studio for a couple working in medicine has travertine marble walls and a travertine basin.
Find out more about Botaniczna Apartment ›
House 6 by Zooco Estudio
Zooco Estudio covered the walls and floors of this bathroom in Madrid with white tiles and blue grouting. A geometric counter clad with blue tiles snakes across the ground and up the wall to form a storage closet in the space.
Find out more about House 6 ›
Porto house by Fala Atelier
Fala Atelier used square white tiles for this bathroom in a house in Porto. The tiles are paired with marble countertops, blue cupboard doors and a large round mirror over the sink.
Find out more about Porto house ›
Makepeace Mansions apartment by Surman Weston
The bathroom in this apartment designed by Surman Weston is finished with hand-painted tiles that are arranged to form a black-and-white graphic pattern that mimics the housing block’s mock-Tudor facade.
Find out more about Makepeace Mansions ›
Unit 622 by Rainville Sangaré
Set in an apartment within Moshe Safdie’s brutalist Habitat 67 housing complex in Montreal, this bathroom designed by Rainville Sangaré has colour-changing shower screens.
Find out more about Unit 622 ›
Rylett House by Studio 30 Architects
Created as part of the renovation of a Victorian maisonette in London, this small en-suite bathroom is finished with a black grid of tiles and a bright yellow wall.
Find out more about Rylett House ›
Cats’ Pink House by KC Design Studio
This holiday home in Taiwan is designed with a focus on the owner’s cat and includes cat ladders, a rotating carousel-shaped climbing frame and a fluffy pink swing. Its bathroom combines larger square pink floor tiles with a wall made from terrazzo with large flecks of pink and grey.
Find out more about Cats’ Pink House ›
Borden house by StudioAC
This en-suite bathroom at the front of a house designed by StudioAC has pitched walls covered in grey tiles.
Find out more about Borden house ›
Spinmolenplein apartment by Jürgen Vandewalle
This bathroom in an apartment in Ghent’s tallest building is enclosed within a white lacquered-wood box and is accessed by a set of barn-style doors. Internally the bathroom is finished with earthy, pink-tone micro cement to contrast the white wood.
Find out more about Spinmolenplein apartment ›
Cloister House by MORQ
The rammed-concrete walls of Cloister House in Perth have been left exposed in the bathroom where they are softened with timber slatted floors and a timber-clad bath and sink.
Find out more about Cloister House ›
Akari House by Mas-aqui
Designed by Architecture studio Mas-aqui as part of a renovation of a 20th-century apartment in the mountains above Barcelona, this small bathroom combines red floor tiles with white wall tiles.
Find out more about Akari House ›
Louisville Road house by 2LG Studio
Created by 2LG Studio as part of a colourful overhaul of a period house in south London, this bathroom has pale marble walls and a baby-blue tiled floor. The baby-blue colour was also used for the taps and mirror surround, which contrast with the coral vanity unit.
Find out more about Louisville Road house ›
Apartment A by Atelier Dialect
This en-suite bathroom, which forms part of a large open-plan master bedroom in an Antwerp apartment designed by Belgian studio Atelier Dialect, has a rectangular freestanding tub at its centre.
The bath is wrapped in mirrored steel to compliment a stainless-steel basin, while the walls are finished with subway tiles and mint-green paint.
Find out more about Apartment A ›
House V by Martin Skoček
Martin Skoček used salvaged bricks throughout the interiors of this gabled house near Bratislava, Slovakia. The master bedroom has a dramatic en-suite bedroom with a freestanding bathtub that is alined with the apex of the pitched timber roof.
Find out more about House V ›
308 S apartment by Bloco Arquitetos
The bathroom in this 1960s apartment renovated by Bloco Arquitetos in Brasília incorporates white tiles as a reference to architecture in the city in the 6os. The white walls and ceiling are combined with a vanity counter and floor made from Branco São Paulo – a matte-finished granite.
Find out more about 308 S apartment ›
Mexican holiday home by Palma
This slim shower room is tucked behind a bedroom in a holiday home designed by architecture studio Palma. It has slatted wooden doors that open directly to the exterior.
Find out more about Mexican holiday home ›
South Yarra Townhouse by Winter Architecture
This bathroom designed by Winter Architecture in a Melbourne townhouse combines exposed-aggregate grey tiles and thin, horizontal white tiles with towels rails and taps made from gold-hued brass.
Find out more about South Yarra Townhouse ›
Edinburgh apartment by Luke and Joanne McClelland
The main bathroom in this Georgian apartment in Edinburgh has glazed green tiles on the lower half of the walls and the front of the tub. Alongside the bath, a sink was placed on a restored 1960s wooden sideboard by Danish designer Ib Kofod Larsen.
Find out more about Edinburgh apartment ›
Ruxton Rise Residence by Studio Four
Built for Studio Four’s co-director Sarah Henry, this tranquil house in the Melbourne suburb of Beaumaris has bathrooms with surfaces covered in tadelakt – a waterproof, lime-based plaster that is often used in Moroccan architecture to make sinks and baths.
Find out more about Ruxton Rise Residence ›
House with Three Eyes by Innauer-Matt Architekten
In House with Three Eyes, the bathroom has a full-height glass wall that has views out across the surrounding Austrian countryside. The marble-clad bath is positioned right next to this window so bathers can enjoy the views.
Find out more about House with Three Eyes ›
Hygge Studio by Melina Romano
Brazilian designer Melina Romano designed this fern green coloured bathroom to extend from a bedroom in a São Paulo apartment. It features a striking black toilet, a corner mirror and a vanity unit built from red brick that has an open slot for storing towels and toiletries.
Find out more about Hygge Studio ›
Ready-made Home by Azab
This en-suite bathroom in Azab’s Ready-made Home is separated from the bedroom by an angled blue curtain. The triangular bathroom space is differentiated from the bedroom by its blue tiles on the floor, which extend up the front of the bath and walls.
Find out more about Ready-made Home ›
Immeuble Molitor apartment by Le Corbusier
This small bathroom was designed by Le Corbusier in the Immeuble Molitor apartment in Paris that was his home for over 30 years. The room, which has walls that are painted sky blue and covered with small white tiles, has a short bath and sink.
Find out more about Immeuble Molitor apartment ›
Apartment in Born by Colombo and Serboli Architecture
Colombo and Serboli Architecture added a new guest bathroom to this apartment in Barcelona’s historic El Born neighbourhood, which has by blush-toned tiles and a circular mirror.
Find out more about Apartment in Born ›
130 William skyscraper model apartment by David Adjaye
Built within an apartment in David Adjaye’s 130 William skyscraper in New York, this bathroom is lined with serrated grey marble tiles and has a wooden sink unit with a matching profile.
Find out more about 130 William skyscraper model apartment ›
Pioneer Square Loft by Plum Design and Corey Kingston
The bathroom facilities in this loft apartment in Seattle are located in a custom-built L-shaped wooden box in one of the room’s corners, which is topped with a bedroom.
A washroom, shower, toilet and sauna are each located in different boxes that are each clad in wood charred using the traditional Japanese technique known as Shou Sugi Ban.
Find out more about Pioneer Square Loft ›
VS House by Sārānsh
The bathroom in VS House by Sārānsh in Ahmedabad, India, combines two clashing Indian stone finishes. Floors and walls are made from flecked grey tiles, while an emerald-coloured marble surrounds the toilets and mirror.
Find out more about VS House ›
Nagatachō Apartment by Adam Nathaniel Furman
Forming part of the brightly coloured Nagatachō Apartment, which Adam Nathaniel Furman designed to be a “visual feast”, this bathroom combines blue and milky-orange tiling. A sky-blue vanity unit, lemon-yellow towel rail and taps, and a pink toilet complete the colourful composition.
Find out more about Nagatachō Apartment ›
Kyle House by GRAS
This holiday home in Scotland was designed by Architecture studio GRAS to have a “monastically simple” interior. This is extended into the bathroom, which has grey walls and a shower space clad with large black tiles.
