Bathroom tiles - is it okay...

[Sorbustree123]

...not to tile the whole bathroom and to just do the areas around the shower and bath? I prefer this look but wonder if I'm missing something practical or some other benefit of tiling the whole room? What have you done in your own home and how do you find it? Photos welcome!

I prefer the 'necessary areas only' look... I feel wall to wall/floor to ceiling tiling looks rather stark and utilitarian!

Of course it's ok!
That's how we did our bathroom last year. We just tiled the bath/shower area and a splash back behind the sink. We then painted the other walls with bathroom paint.

One of ours is half tiled and half painted. It was like that when we moved in. It's fine, and I actually prefer it to our other bathroom that's fully tiled, even though it's less modern.

Yes it is.
We have a shower room with floor to ceiling tiles on all four walls, and it's really not a look I love - too cold and clinical. However it has 2 external walls on a cold corner of an older detached house and I think the previous owners did it to minimise the risk of mould etc due to condensation. That's the only possible advantage I can think of.

I’ve got tongue and groove with just tiling where needed. I love it!

@Flexitarian

I’ve got tongue and groove with just tiling where needed. I love it!

Such a beautiful bathroom, I hope we end up with something close to this! Would love to know what tiles and grout you used?

Not only fine but usual I think. We kept a lot of untiled wall to keep costs down, and so we could change the colour when we got bored without having to retile. Maybe tile beside the loo too if you don't do the tongue and groove.

We prefer our bathroom fully tiled. The entire room gets steamy when someone's having a hot shower, and to me a partially tiled bathroom looks unfinished. We have large rectangular tiles which makes it look less utilitarian. But just go with whatever you prefer!

Think fully tiled bathrooms look a bit dated now but also depends on the type of house. We’ve always just part tiled then painted with breathable paint such as Earthborn

Hate fully tiled bathrooms - they always look and feel cold.
Much prefer the essential area only look.

I have a dated fully tiled bathroom, and although it's mostly inoffensive white I'd prefer to change things every now and then without the trouble of a complete refit. I'd rather have a bathroom where there's a painted area in part.

Another area in my house that gets steamy is the kitchen. That has only essential areas tiled and is partially painted with wipeable paint. I thought I might come to regret that, but it's worked out well over the past few years.