All right, welcome back to the Tile Experts YouTube channel. I’m Trevor and I’m here interviewing, of course, Oscar Hungsberg from the Tile Experts and today we’re going to be talking about tile trends for homes in the Edmonton region. So, let’s jump right into question number one. So, what are some of the big tile trends that you guys are noticing right now and that you’re installing for Edmonton homeowners?
One big one is tile with depth. So we’re seeing a lot of like, you know, extrusions, intrusions in a mosaic tile. Also like larger format. And then, yeah, some specialty grouts that we’ve tested. Those are some of the first ones that I can think of. Yeah. Okay. Let’s get into some of the features that you guys build into your custom showers. So let’s talk about tile niches. Yeah, the niche. Yeah.
So let’s get into that a little bit. So when did this really start and, you know, what is the use and function of a niche? Yeah. So the niche—the biggest thing about it is when you, you know, you have a shower space and all of a sudden you have your products, your wife’s products, and your children’s products, it all becomes very cluttered. You know, some on top of the bench or on the edge of the tub or just… and then you start getting those corner units, you know, from floor to ceiling.
Yeah. Black metal it starts with, but then, you know, a few months later, you start to see rust and it just becomes more of an eyesore. So then, yeah, these niches are pre-manufactured with our systems that we install in our showers. There are Schluter systems which are the main one that we use. And yeah, you could have a 12 by 28 wide. You could have a 12×12. You could have a 12×6 and then you could go vertical or horizontal, whichever way you want.
For example, the last one we did was for a client that wanted it in the entire back wall of the shower. So, we were able to custom make this one, but it was a 60-in wide and then it bleeds into the left and right wall and it just became like one like the main feature of the shower as you like see it. Mhm. And then they use the back tile of the niche as an accent as well. So, it really enunciates the space. Okay. So, not only for aesthetics and looks, there’s a function to it. So holding all your soap, your shampoo bottles, razors, whatever else paraphernalia you have for your shower.
Yeah. So then, you know, easily with a 12×28 niche and a vertical shelf, you could fit all the products for a family. And if you don’t have the space on the vertical or there’s utilities in the way, we can always work, you know, only with interior walls. We do face that challenge with exterior walls where they’re like, “Well, we want it here,” but then we would have to build a warm wall inside that eats into the shower. Maybe there’s space in the bathroom. And so that’s where we kind of have to work with the client space.
Yeah. Because otherwise, like what are the problems if you do try and build or if somebody was to build a niche in an outside wall? Well, we have yet to say yes because we don’t want to see what happens. The biggest thing that I would say would happen is extremely cold tile surface because you know, you’re eliminating—in an older bungalow, you still have just 2×4 studs and our niches are usually a 2×4 space. So then that back of the tile will be essentially next to the outside plywood and material. And so, the transfer of that cold will come through. I don’t think it’ll pop or it’ll damage anything. It will just feel extremely cold on those minus 30 days. And if there’s moisture in there, you probably get some ice buildup. Actually, there you go. There you have it. Yeah. If you get ice buildup, that water expanding and contracting, anything inside that grout, we just want—wouldn’t want to do that. Yeah. Yeah. So that’s—that’s a reason why you don’t want to put it on the outside wall and you’d have to build basically a frost wall on the inside. Correct. Gotcha.
Okay. So, what are some other trends that you’re finding people are asking for in their bathrooms and custom tile showers? Wet rooms. People want to have like just an entire space where you could just have water. So, another bathroom we did, we essentially ate into the entire bathroom and put a glass enclosure where you have a self-standing tub, like a nice grand tub and then a shower with a lineal drain at the front end. So, the entire space becomes just a wet room. And so they have grandkids and the grandkids grab the water handheld and they just spray each other and the body sprays and… and then this one client we actually ended up doing a steam shower and it was a multi-purpose room essentially where they could steam, they could play with the grandkids and they could have a nice tub sometimes.
So that would be like going into a commercial facility and everything is all tile and everything can get wet basically. Exactly. Essentially. Yeah, that’s pretty crazy. I never even thought of doing something like that in my house. But it makes sense though because yeah, kids or if you’re wanting to give your pet a bath or a shower or something, right, you can do it in there as well. Yeah. And water gets everywhere because I know when my dog, when she’s finished having a bath, she likes to shake off and it just gets everywhere. Everywhere. Yeah. Then if you want to hose down the walls afterwards, you can just spray down the walls and clean it up. Easy to clean up. Perfect. That’s awesome. I love that. What are some other really cool trends that are happening with custom tile showers and bathrooms?
Yeah. Well, the barrierless is also another one that just everybody loves now. Having personal experience with the barrierless, it just becomes the glass enclosure, the door being flat to the floor, you get this rub where if you had just a regular barrier shower, it—it would not be an issue and it would just last longer and there’s really no like benefit other than the fact that you don’t have to like hop over a 5 inch curb. But a lot of people like the barrierless entry. And then yeah, just floor to ceiling, you know, glass enclosure. It’s like pretty—pretty big. Because they’re just, you know, it’s frameless. It’s grand. It’s nice. Yeah.
Okay. Oscar, since you’re the tile expert and you—you guys deal in creating the bathrooms of your dreams for Edmonton homeowners, tell me more about some accessories and different things that you do for homeowners in their showers. Yeah. A good example that just came up is in the Holly Canyon area by McConi. Mhm. This gentleman and his wife really wanted more storage in their shower for their products and so they were already finished and they just didn’t know what to do. So for those, we actually were able to utilize some of the Schluter shelves which are more like inside the space—there’s a triangular shelf that we can use. There’s different colors that could coordinate with their drains or with their metal trims on the tile.
So yeah, corner shelves, even just rectangular shelves in the middle of the area inlay with the tile, we would install it through—through the grout line. So that’s another one. And then benches. Benches are pretty good for the case of a steam shower. So there’s rectangular benches that go edge to edge. We can also custom make them or triangular. So it kind of functions as both a sitting space and, you know, for the women like for shaving—like a—a ledge to shave and then yeah, again, everything with a lot of color coordination that matches the drain to the metal to the shelf, right. Yeah.
So you—when you guys come into a space and you’re designing a bathroom, it’s not just, “Oh, I’ll slap up, you know, some—some square white tiles everywhere and we’ll call that good.” You guys, you know, take some time to think about the layout of the shower itself, the layout of the bathroom, and then coordinating different tile types, textures, colors, designs, and whatnot. So, tell me a little bit about that process. Do you guys have an in-house designer or—or who comes up with those ideas?
Yeah, we work with designers. We don’t particularly have an in-house, but we do have some preferred designers that we go to. Whether it’s a client that came in and he’s like, “Hey, I’ve already had a designer come through and this is the tile that we want for the floor because it’s textured better for grip on the shower space,” or we come in and they’re like, “We don’t know. We’re looking at you for ideas.” We sometimes suggest some things, but if they really like have a thought and we’re like, “We can do it, but I think we should, you know, introduce you to our designer and put a package together so that we can get you on your way to your dream shower.” Nice. Or fireplace.
So, the—the process, so let’s—let’s go. How long does it usually take from the time they, you know, settle on a design and to—to getting it finalized? Are there any special permits that you need or any inspections? Like what does that look like? Yeah. So, in terms of permits and inspections, I think unless we’re doing a brand new space in like a basement where there wasn’t before, typically it’s okay because we’re not changing and or adding a new toilet or main lines or anything like that. Typically it’s okay without any permits. And then if it’s something bigger, yeah, we usually work with a general contractor that already has had that done and we come in and do the bathroom or—or the tile. But yeah, so that is the answer for the permits.
Yeah. Is there anything else that comes to mind that, you know, people should know about either working with you, the tile experts, or if they would like to get a custom or custom designed bathroom or shower? Yeah. If you’re looking to create like the dream bathroom that you’ve been wanting for a while in that basement that is not fully developed, we have done it multiple times and we definitely can see your vision. So we can work with you or with an interior designer to, you know, get you that dream. Yeah. Right on. Well, that’s all I’ve got for today. Thank you so much for joining us on the channel. Hey, if you are looking for the bathroom of your dreams, just like Oscar said, give them a call. Check out the tile experts and we’re going to have a link in the description below to an article on the website that you can read and learn more about that.
"*" indicates required fields
© 2026 The Tile Experts Ltd.