Watch the full video here: Bathroom Finishes That Should Be ILLEGAL
Quick Answer
Five common bathroom finishes cause real problems: solid hardwood and standard laminate flooring absorb moisture and can cup, warp, or rot; high-gloss polished tile or stone flooring is a slip hazard when it falls below a dynamic coefficient of friction (DCOF) of 0.42; standard flat or matte wall paint is too porous to hold up to steam; penny tile on shower walls means too much grout and a mold-prone surface; and large-format tile can’t bend to follow a shower floor’s slope to the drain, which causes lippage and pooling. The fix for each: choose waterproof flooring, ask for a tile’s DCOF rating before you buy, use at least a satin paint sheen, keep penny tile on the shower floor instead of the walls, and keep shower floor tile in the 1 to 4 inch range unless you’re using a linear drain.
Key Takeaways
- Standard hardwood and laminate flooring are not designed for moisture-prone rooms; look specifically for a product marketed as waterproof.
- Before buying bathroom floor tile, ask for its DCOF rating — it should be at least 0.42 under the ANSI A137.1 standard for wet-area safety.
- Skip flat or matte paint on bathroom walls. Use at least a satin finish, and go semi-gloss or gloss on the ceiling directly above the shower, where steam hits hardest.
- Penny tile is a smart, slip-resistant choice for a shower floor but a maintenance headache on shower walls, where all that extra grout invites mold and mildew.
- Large-format tile can’t flex to follow a shower floor’s slope toward a center drain. Keep shower floor tile between 1 and 4 inches, or ask your installer about a linear drain if you want the bigger look.
- Three finishes are trending for good reason right now — unlacquered brass, terracotta tile, and a bold painted vanity — but each one has a correct and incorrect place to use it.
If you’re planning a bathroom remodel, the finishes you pick matter as much as the layout. Carrie Gonzalez of Penny Modern has remodeled bathrooms on a budget for more than ten years, and in her video Bathroom Finishes That Should Be ILLEGAL, she walks through five finishes she’d avoid — some are a genuine safety hazard, others are just a nightmare to keep clean — plus three on-trend finishes that are worth using once you know how to use them correctly.
Why Does Hardwood or Laminate Flooring Fail in a Bathroom?
Wood absorbs moisture, and Bruce, one of the largest hardwood flooring brands in the country, says outright on its own site that solid hardwood isn’t recommended for moisture-prone rooms like bathrooms. Flooring industry standards put wood’s ideal performance range at 30 to 50 percent relative humidity — and a single hot shower can push a small bathroom well past that in minutes, every single day.
Repeated exposure like that causes cupping: the edges of each board absorb water and swell faster than the center, so the edges rise relative to the middle. Keep that up long enough and you’re pushing the wood toward the moisture level where actual rot and decay can set in.
Standard laminate has a different version of the same problem. It isn’t solid wood — it’s a printed layer over a fiberboard core, and that core acts like a sponge. The North American Laminate Flooring Association is blunt about it: standard laminate “is not suitable for outdoor use or areas with excessive moisture such as bathrooms and saunas, unless specified as waterproof by the manufacturer.” Once water gets into the seams and the fiberboard swells, there’s no fixing it — the floor has to be replaced.
If you love the wood look, look specifically for a floor marketed as waterproof — that’s a different, sealed-core product than the standard version of either material. Luxury vinyl plank and wood-look porcelain tile are both good alternatives that hold up to daily moisture.
What Makes High-Gloss Tile Dangerous on a Bathroom Floor?
High-gloss, polished porcelain or natural stone flooring photographs beautifully, but it’s one of the more dangerous choices for a bathroom floor. According to the CDC, over 200,000 bathroom injuries land people in the emergency room every year in the U.S., and 81 percent of those are falls — most of them at the tub or shower.
There’s an actual industry number to check: any tile marketed as safe for a wet floor needs a dynamic coefficient of friction (DCOF) of at least 0.42 under the ANSI A137.1 standard. Polished, high-gloss finishes routinely fail to hit that number, which is exactly why Daltile, one of the largest tile manufacturers in the country, states on its own website that it doesn’t recommend polished tile anywhere water, oil, or grease could hit the floor. Before buying a single box of floor tile for a bathroom, ask for the DCOF rating — if it’s under 0.42, or the salesperson doesn’t know the number, that’s a sign to walk away.
Why Should You Avoid Flat or Matte Paint in a Bathroom?
Ordinary flat paint has a much higher ratio of pigment to binder than higher-sheen paint — that’s paint chemistry, not opinion — which gives it a more porous, less continuous surface once it dries. That porous surface doesn’t hold up to steam and humidity the way a tighter film does, so you’re more likely to see water streaking, and it can’t take a real scrub without burnishing or wearing away.
That’s exactly why Sherwin-Williams and Behr’s own paint guides steer people toward satin or semi-gloss for bathrooms, and why Benjamin Moore’s Kitchen & Bath line comes in a mildew-resistant satin finish. Paint companies do make specialty flat-finish bathroom paints with different technology built in, so a flat can isn’t automatically banned — but for a standard, off-the-shelf flat or matte, go up to at least a satin sheen on the walls, and semi-gloss on the trim or the ceiling right above the shower, where steam hits hardest.
Is Penny Tile a Good Choice for Shower Walls?
Penny tile — those tiny circular mosaics everyone’s using right now — causes trouble specifically on shower walls. All those small circles mean dramatically more grout joints per square foot than a standard tile, and grout, especially standard cement grout, is porous and holds onto moisture, which is exactly what mold and mildew need to take hold. Tile manufacturers themselves point out that penny tile needs more frequent cleaning simply because of how much grout is exposed.
Here’s the twist: that same density of grout is a good thing on a shower floor. More grout joints mean more traction underfoot, which is exactly why tile companies recommend a matte penny tile for shower floors. So if you love the look, put it on the floor, where the grout is working for you, and use a larger-format tile with fewer joints on the walls, where it’s working against you.
Can You Use Large-Format Tile on a Shower Floor?
Large-format tile — the same big, sleek pieces that work beautifully on walls and the main bathroom floor — is one of the worst choices for the floor inside a shower. A standard shower floor with a center drain has to slope in every direction toward that drain, and large, rigid tile can’t bend to follow that slope.
The tile industry’s own trade publication spells out a size limit because of this: for a standard center-drain shower, it recommends tile in the 1 to 4 inch range. Going much bigger risks lippage — uneven, raised tile edges where the slope forces neighboring tiles to sit at different heights. That’s not just an installation headache; it’s a real trip and slip hazard, and it means water pools in the low spots instead of draining properly. If you love the large-format look, put a smaller mosaic or penny tile on the shower floor specifically, or ask about a linear drain instead of a center drain — that only requires the floor to slope in one direction and can safely handle larger tile.
Comparing the Five Risky Finishes to Safer Alternatives
| Finish | Where It Causes Problems | Safer Choice or Placement |
|---|---|---|
| Solid hardwood / standard laminate | Any bathroom floor | Waterproof-labeled laminate, luxury vinyl plank, or wood-look tile |
| High-gloss polished tile or stone | Bathroom floor | Tile with a DCOF rating of 0.42 or higher |
| Flat or matte wall paint | Bathroom walls and ceiling | Satin on walls; semi-gloss or gloss on ceiling above shower |
| Penny tile | Shower walls | Shower floor (use larger-format tile on walls instead) |
| Large-format tile | Shower floor with a center drain | Shower walls and main floor; 1–4 inch tile or a linear drain for the shower floor |
3 Trending Bathroom Finishes (and How to Use Them Right)
Unlacquered brass hardware. Sometimes called a “living finish,” unlacquered brass is bare metal designed to age into a warm, uneven patina the more it’s touched. It’s a safe, low-maintenance bet on cabinet pulls, door hardware, or a light fixture — things you touch a lot but that don’t sit in constant standing water. On a shower valve that’s wet nonstop, expect more upkeep, or choose lacquered brass there instead.
Terracotta and clay-toned tile. Designers describe it as the new neutral, warmer than the all-white bathroom that’s dominated for the last decade, and it pairs well with brass or matte black fixtures. Real terracotta is porous, though, so it needs to be sealed before grouting and again after, and typically resealed about once a year if it’s near water. The safer bet for less maintenance: use it on the main bathroom floor or a feature wall, and only bring it into the shower itself if you’re willing to keep up the resealing schedule.
A bold, saturated painted vanity. A deep green, navy, or rich chocolate brown vanity can make a small bathroom feel intentional rather than cramped, especially with good lighting — the “dark colors shrink a room” rule is more myth than fact when the color is used with intention. Use an actual cabinet-grade paint in a satin or semi-gloss finish, not leftover wall paint; a flat finish will scuff and stain fast on a surface that gets splashed and wiped down daily.
Frequently Asked Questions
What flooring is safest for a bathroom?
Look for flooring specifically labeled waterproof rather than merely water-resistant. Waterproof laminate, luxury vinyl plank, and porcelain or ceramic tile (including wood-look tile) all hold up to daily moisture far better than solid hardwood or standard laminate, which are built for dry rooms and can cup, swell, or rot when they’re exposed to a bathroom’s humidity day after day.
What DCOF rating should bathroom floor tile have?
Look for a dynamic coefficient of friction (DCOF) of at least 0.42, the ANSI A137.1 threshold for a tile considered safe for a wet floor. Polished, high-gloss tile routinely falls short of this number, which is why manufacturers like Daltile don’t recommend it anywhere water, oil, or grease could land on the floor. Always ask for the DCOF rating before buying bathroom floor tile.
What paint sheen should I use in a bathroom?
Use at least a satin finish on bathroom walls, and semi-gloss or gloss on the ceiling directly above the shower, where steam concentrates most. Flat and matte paints are more porous once dry and don’t hold up as well to humidity, water streaking, or regular scrubbing. Specialty flat-finish bathroom paints with added moisture resistance do exist, but a standard off-the-shelf flat paint isn’t built for the job.
Is penny tile a good choice for a bathroom?
Penny tile works well on a shower floor, where its dense grout pattern adds traction underfoot. On shower walls, that same density of grout becomes a liability — more grout means more surface area for moisture, mold, and mildew to collect, and more frequent cleaning to keep it looking good.
Can I use large-format tile in a walk-in shower?
Large-format tile works well on shower walls and the main bathroom floor, but it’s a poor choice for a shower floor with a standard center drain, since it can’t bend to follow the required slope. Industry guidance recommends keeping shower floor tile in the 1 to 4 inch range unless you install a linear drain, which only requires the floor to slope in one direction and can handle larger tile safely.
Is unlacquered brass a good choice for bathroom fixtures?
Unlacquered brass works best on fixtures that get touched often but don’t sit in constant water, such as cabinet pulls, door hardware, and light fixtures. On a shower valve that stays wet all the time, it typically needs more upkeep, so lacquered brass is often the better choice there.
Is terracotta tile safe for bathrooms?
Terracotta can work well in a bathroom when it’s properly sealed before and after grouting, and resealed roughly once a year if it’s exposed to regular moisture. Because it’s a porous natural material, it’s best used on the main bathroom floor or an accent wall rather than inside the shower itself, unless you’re committed to the maintenance schedule.
What color should I paint my bathroom vanity?
Bold, saturated colors like deep green, navy, or chocolate brown are trending for vanities and can make a small bathroom feel more intentional rather than smaller. Use a cabinet-grade paint in a satin or semi-gloss finish so it can handle daily splashing and cleaning — a standard wall paint will scuff and stain quickly on a vanity.
Resources to Plan Your Bathroom Remodel
If this list has you second-guessing a finish you already picked out, Carrie built the Bathroom Remodel Workshop to walk you through planning your entire bathroom — finishes included — step by step, so you’re making these decisions on purpose instead of finding out what’s wrong with them after they’re installed. The Ultimate Bathroom Remodel Planner is another good starting point if you’re still in the early planning stages.
Want to see how a new tile or vanity color would actually look in your own bathroom before you commit? Try Bathroom Design Magic, Carrie’s free AI bathroom design tool — upload a photo of your bathroom and try on different finishes and color palettes (the first two designs are free).
For the paint call-outs above, Carrie references Benjamin Moore’s Kitchen & Bath Paint for walls, and Heirloom Traditions All-In-One Paint for her own painted vanity.
For more bathroom planning tips, don’t miss Carrie’s Dream Bathroom Playbook Series, and watch the full breakdown of every finish in this article in the original video, Bathroom Finishes That Should Be ILLEGAL.
Carrie Gonzalez is the self-taught interior designer and founder of Penny Modern. For more than a decade, she has helped everyday homeowners decorate and remodel kitchens and bathrooms with designer-level ideas on a realistic budget.
Last Updated: October 2026