Do Subway Tiles Ever Go Out of Style?

Subway tile isn't going out of style, but its most common combination of color, size, layout, and grout is starting to look dated. That's a bright white 3x6 tile in a horizontal brick pattern, with each row offset by half a tile. It's usually finished with bright white grout, which shows stains, or dark grout, which outlines every tile. Each of those is a choice you control. Change one or two of them, starting with the layout and the grout, and the same tile looks current.

At Bedrosians Tile & Stone, we've been in the tile business since 1948, and today we have 44 showrooms across 11 states. We carry subway tile in many more sizes, colors, and finishes than the classic white 3x6.

Why has subway tile lasted so long?

Subway tile has lasted because it's easy to clean, it reflects light, and its plain rectangle fits almost any style of kitchen or bathroom. When New York's first subway station opened in 1904, its walls were lined with white glazed ceramic tile. Ceramic was chosen because it was durable and easy to clean at a time when hygiene was a major public concern. The white glaze also reflected light through the underground station.

From the subway, the tile spread to bathrooms, kitchens, and butcher shops, places where a wall had to stay clean. We cover more of its history in Why We Love Subway Tile.

Has subway tile gone out of style before?

White subway tile has fallen out of favor before. According to the real estate company HomeLight, it lost popularity during the 20th century and came back in the 2000s.

Why do some designers say subway tile is overdone?

Some designers call subway tile overdone because one version of it has gone into so many homes since white subway tile came back into fashion in the 2000s. Isabella Pacelli, a designer at Roundhouse, objects to the usual layout. She told Homes & Gardens in August 2026, "Subway tiles are a classic, but using them in the default horizontal brick-laid pattern has become very common and can feel a bit outdated." Interior designer Juliette Byrne objects to white tile paired with contrasting grout. "Many designers are moving away from the highly predictable white subway tile with contrasting grout," she told Livingetc in June 2026. "It's losing momentum because it became overused."

What makes subway tile look outdated?

These are the choices that make a subway tile wall look like a basic builder installation:

• Stark bright white tile. This is the brightest white, with a slightly cool blue or gray tint rather than a warm, creamy one.

• 3x6 tile in a horizontal brick pattern. This is the pattern Pacelli calls the default.

• Bright white grout or dark grout on white tile. Bright white grout picks up stains along the counter and behind the stove. Dark grout draws a line around each tile, so the wall looks like a grid.

• Tile that stops at a random height. When the tile stops short of the upper cabinets, or ends at a height that doesn't line up with anything else in the room, the wall looks unplanned.

A wall with one or two of these choices can still look classic. The more of them it has, the more it looks like the basic version people have seen in so many homes.

How to keep subway tile looking timeless

You don't need to change every one of these choices. If you change only two, start with the layout and the grout. Pacelli objects to the brick pattern. Byrne objects to white tile with contrasting grout. A different layout and a grout close to the tile color take care of both complaints. That leaves you free to keep white tile if that's what you love.

Change the layout

Laying the same tile in a different pattern is one of the simplest ways to move away from the default. In a vertical stack, the tiles stand upright in straight columns. "Opting for a vertical stacked position in your installation introduces a subtle contemporary twist," Debbie DeMarais, owner of DeMarais Home Staging & Design, told Homes & Gardens in 2023. Herringbone, with tiles set at angles in a zigzag, adds pattern behind a range or in a shower niche. Our guide to the best subway tile for kitchen backsplashes walks through more layout options.

Match the grout to the tile

Tonal grout is grout close in color to the tile. With it, the grout lines are hard to see from across the room, so the wall looks like one surface instead of a grid of separate tiles. For white subway tile, that means a grout a shade off the tile, such as a soft white, light gray, or beige, rather than bright white or a dark color. It also hides everyday stains better than bright white. For examples, see our post on Choosing Grout for Cloé's White Subway Tile.

Choose a warmer white or a color

A white with a warm undertone, meaning it leans slightly toward cream or beige instead of blue or gray, looks softer than stark bright white and still works as a neutral background for cabinets and counters. Color is a bigger change. Soft blue, green, and pink suit a bathroom or a smaller backsplash, while black or a deep teal gives strong contrast behind a range or on a single feature wall. Our Cloe ceramic tile and Marin ceramic tile both come in a range of whites and colors, and our 2026 kitchen tile trends guide covers the shades designers are choosing this year.

Go longer than 3x6

Even in white, a wall of longer tiles looks different from the standard 3x6, because it has fewer grout lines. Sizes like 2.5x8 and 2.5x10 keep the slim shape of a classic subway tile but are longer. Sizes like 3x12 and 4x16 are longer still, so the grout lines are even farther apart. Our Traditions ceramic tile comes in 3x12, 4x10, and 4x16 as well as the classic 3x6, and our Sahara porcelain tile comes in a matte 3x12.

Pick a glaze with some variation

A handmade-look glaze varies slightly in tone and surface from one tile to the next, so a wall of it looks less uniform than a flat, perfectly even white. Cloe is a handmade-look glossy ceramic made in Spain. If you want tile that's actually made by hand, look at our Zagora zellige. Zellige is glazed terracotta tile made by hand in Morocco. Because each tile is handmade, no two are exactly alike in color or surface. If you're also deciding between materials, our comparison of ceramic vs. porcelain vs. glass subway tile covers where each one works best.

Plan where the tile stops and finish the edge

Decide where the tile will stop before it goes up. The stopping point should line up with something in the room:

• In a kitchen, run the tile to the underside of the upper cabinets, or up to the ceiling behind a range.

• In a bathroom, take the shower tile all the way to the ceiling, or run the wall tile around the room at one consistent height.

Then finish the edge where the tile stops with a trim piece, so the wall ends in a rounded, glazed edge rather than the flat side of a regular tile. Traditions has a 3x10 glossy bullnose, a trim tile with one rounded, glazed edge, and Sahara has a 3x24 bullnose.

Our subway tile collections at a glance

You'll find Traditions, Cloe, Marin, and Sahara on our subway tile page, and Zagora on our zellige tile page.

Is subway tile a safe choice for resale?

Subway tile is a safe choice for resale, especially in white. Melanie Giglio, a top-selling Chicago real estate agent, was quoted in HomeLight's guide to subway tile, first published in 2020: "I think subway tile will always be here."

How safe to play it depends on when you plan to sell. If you're selling in the next few years, HomeLight's guide suggests classic white, horizontal subway tile "to appease the masses." If you go that way, we'd suggest a grout a shade off the tile and trim on the edges, so the wall still looks finished rather than basic. If you plan to stay for many years, HomeLight suggests choosing the tile you like, since no one can predict what buyers will want that far ahead.

Is subway tile riskier in a shower than on a backsplash?

A subway tile backsplash is less of a risk than a shower, because it's much easier to replace if you get tired of it. A backsplash covers a small area, so replacing it is a contained project. A shower or a fully tiled bathroom wall is a much bigger job to redo. That's why we suggest choosing a bolder look for a backsplash, such as a strong color, a herringbone pattern, or a glaze you love, and choosing shower tile you're confident you'll still like in 10 years. For a shower, a warm white or soft neutral in a longer size with grout close to the tile color is a good place to start.

More questions about subway tile

Is white subway tile out of style?

White subway tile is still in style. The version that looks dated in 2026 is stark bright white 3x6 tile in a horizontal brick pattern with bright white or dark grout. A warmer white, grout a shade off the tile, or a vertical or herringbone layout keeps white subway tile looking current.

What is replacing subway tile?

Subway tile is still widely used, but homeowners who want a different look often turn to zellige, handmade-look tile, or a slab backsplash. Our explainer What Is Zellige Tile and Why Do Designers Love It? covers zellige in more detail. A slab backsplash is a large piece of stone or porcelain that runs up the wall with very few seams and almost no grout lines.

Should subway tile be glossy or matte?

Subway tile works in either finish, and the better choice depends on where it goes.

• Glossy reflects light and wipes clean easily, so it's the easier choice behind a range, where grease splatters. It shows fingerprints and water spots.

• Matte has a softer, more earthy look and hides smudges. Baked-on grease clings to it more, so it's better suited to walls away from the stove.

See subway tile in your own space

The best way to choose subway tile is to see it in your own kitchen or bathroom light, next to your cabinets and counters. We sell tile samples for $1 each, so you can compare a few colors side by side at home and think about which grout color you'd use with each one. If you're considering a tile longer than 3x6, mark its size on the wall with painter's tape, for example a 4-by-16-inch rectangle, to see how it looks at full scale. If you'd rather see tile on display, visit one of our showrooms. You can find the nearest one at local.bedrosians.com, or call us at (559) 275-5000 and we'll connect you with the right showroom for your project.