What is herringbone?
In a herringbone pattern, narrow rectangular tiles are laid at an angle against each other, alternating, so a V-pattern appears. It comes from classic herringbone parquet and in a bathroom it can look sleek or warm, depending on the tile.
Herringbone is not the same as chevron. In herringbone the short side of one tile butts against the long side of the next. In chevron the ends are cut at an angle, so the points meet exactly.
Vertical or horizontal
On a wall the tiles are usually laid at 45 degrees, with the points facing up. That creates vertical lines that make the room look taller. Laid horizontally, with the lines running sideways, a wall looks wider instead.
Which size?
Herringbone uses elongated tiles, such as 7.5 × 30 or 10 × 40 cm. Smaller tiles give a busy, lively pattern; larger tiles a calmer look. The grout colour matters a lot: grout in the tile colour keeps it calm, a contrasting grout makes the pattern stand out.
Where does herringbone look good?
Herringbone works best as a focal point: on the shower wall, the wall behind the vanity or behind the toilet. On the other walls you then choose a calm tile in the same or a matching colour. Herringbone also works on the floor, for example with wood-look tiles.
What to watch for in the tiling
Herringbone takes more cutting than a straight pattern: along the edges, the corners, a niche and around the taps every tile is cut to size. That also means more waste; ask your tile shop how many extra tiles you need. For a good result a centre line is marked out first, so the pattern runs straight and centred on the wall.
Try it yourself
In the bathroom planner you can choose herringbone as the wall tile, and a different tile for each wall. Put herringbone only on the shower wall, for example, and see in 3D how it works with the rest.