We tend to think of tile as a material layer of infill inside of a bathroom or other space, something that hugs the wall and fades to a background pattern against the fixtures and architectural elements of a room.
Not only does this modular interior design system allow for a great degree of customization when it comes to creating layouts, but it also allows the functional elements to be expressive if so desired (though they can also, as shown in the final image above, be just as easily blended into the background as needed).