ᐅ Tiling or painting drywall partitions – Recommendations and considerations

Hello everyone,

We have three pre-wall installations where, due to the pipes and other elements within the drywall, ledges of 16 to 21 cm (6 to 8 inches) have been created.

In the children's bathroom, the entire pre-wall including the ledge is going to be fully tiled (120 x 60 cm (48 x 24 inches) tiles with mitered edges).

For the other two bathrooms/WCs, I am currently considering some aesthetically pleasing alternatives.

In the guest WC, I’ve seen the idea of tiling the pre-wall itself and placing a wooden board on the ledge. It looked very nice, but is this practical?

In the master bathroom, there is a pre-wall with a ledge in front of the T-wall. When tiling, the idea was to tile only the pre-wall and the ledge, leaving the side panels untiled. You can see the exposed tile edges, but I don’t mind that. What I would prefer even more would be to simply paint the T-wall or pre-wall in a different color. Behind the sinks this doesn’t seem to be a problem with the right kind of paint, but what about the ledge? It will be wiped down very frequently...

I would really appreciate recommendations or experiences.

I don’t see why the stringers shouldn’t be tiled, forcing you to look at an exposed tile edge. Personally, I wouldn’t like that at all. We tiled our L-shaped section completely and finished all edges with stainless steel trim. The tile edges around the bathtub and elsewhere are also finished with stainless steel profiles. I wouldn’t personally use wood on a bathroom shelf unless you never place anything damp on it and always wipe it dry. However, it’s all a matter of personal taste, and I would do it the way you prefer.

Best regards
Sabine

Thank you very much for the comments... Yes, the edges are definitely a matter of personal taste. For example, we don’t like stainless steel edges, so everything will be cut with miters...

Wood would be the idea for the guest bathroom since the moisture levels might be limited there, as the shelf will mainly be used for decoration...

What I’m most curious about is whether there is an alternative to tiling the T-wall including the shelf...

I also really like wood; I recently used it in the guest bathroom on the wall-mounted installation and as a window sill because it was previously just tiled, which we didn’t like as much. So far, no "wet" items have been placed there, and since it’s only been like this for two weeks, I don’t have any experience to share yet. Visually, we like it, and it’s currently trendy.

I wouldn’t want to use miter-cut tiles because they can often have sharp edges, which poses a risk of injury. In addition, corners can easily chip if bumped, which looks unattractive. It also depends heavily on the patience of your tiler how uniform it will look afterward. It’s quite a difficult job. So, if you don’t like stainless steel or plastic profiles, you might want to consider butt joints instead. They may not look quite as neat but are acceptable and much more durable.

As an alternative, there are, of course, natural stone slabs like granite. Many people choose this option, especially if the window sill is made from the same material.

Yes, our tiler was not happy about the extra work, but that’s why he charges a lot for the miter cuts... I haven’t thought about potential sharp edges and delicate corners yet; I assumed that wouldn’t happen if everything is cut and grouted professionally... I will look into that further... Thank you very much for the suggestion...

Acacia wood sealed twice with parquet oil.
A shelf with concealed brackets will also be installed above the bathtub.

Well, mosaic isn’t to everyone’s taste