Not Traditional Tile: Erin Napier's Contemporary Design Is Worth Checking Out

Erin Napier and her husband Ben have built both a business and a hit "HGTV show," "Home Town," based on their signature Southern style — warm, welcoming, and vintage-inspired. Then again, as any good designer would be, Napier is ready to roll with the punches and adapt to ensure client satisfaction, which is exactly what she does in Season 8, Episode 2 of the series. The episode, called "Chasing Waterfalls," saw the couple designing a home for a client who specifically stated he wanted a modern vibe. "This house is a little bit dramatic, a little bit mysterious, a little bit sexy," Erin said of the project. "That's not a word we use a lot for houses on 'Home Town.'"

Napier embraced the client's modern sensibilities in particular when it came to the bathroom, where she brought in a design element which gave the episode its name. "This is your waterfall moment here," she explained to the client while walking through the design, which featured a strip of matte, hexagonal black tiles running down the back wall of the shower, over its shelf, and all the way across the floor. The result was both striking and masculine, but not overly severe, and the client was ultimately thrilled.

Conscious of the risk of black tile making the space feel too dark, Napier offset the waterfall feature with a lighter taupe tile and warm gold fixtures, allowing for a sleek, contemporary design that still aligned with her signature warmth. These finishing touches softened the overall look, balancing the ultra-modern tile with her more typical vintage aesthetic. If this shower wall and bathroom flooring idea is calling your name, Floor & Decor's Opal Black Matte Cement Look Floor and Wall Porcelain Tile, as its name suggests, is approved for both floors and walls. This makes it a solid match for a waterfall installation à la Napier. Alternatively, TileBar's Level Black 1-inch Hexagon Matte Porcelain Tile is a smaller-format option if you want a similar graphic look with a more toned-down feel.

To follow Napier's example when it comes to balancing the finished space, you could use a lighter tile for other parts of your bathroom, or even use a black tile with a bit of white marbling running through it. Whatever tile you land on, it's important to choose the best grout to finish off the waterfall section. A charcoal or near-black grout will cause the hexagon pattern to blur into one dark plane, which was how Napier achieved her seamless waterfall effect. A lighter, warm-gray grout, on the other hand, will keep each tile visible and add texture to the wall, which could also help to create a softer finishing touch.