Choosing tiles is tough -- did you match your floor and shower?
Hi everyone,
For those of you who have recently renovated or who are design keeners, is it better to match your shower tiles with the bathroom floor tiles or do a darker tile floor for the rest of the bathroom and lighter tile on the shower walls? Usually, I see lighter tiles inside showers, especially for those with shower curtains to keep the shower from feeling dark. However, light tile floors are not forgiving on the cleaning front. Also, so many of the nice lighter tiles I see for walls that I like don't come in a matte finish for the floor and glossy tiles on the floor concern me. Can you tell me how you solved the shower tiles vs bath floor tile debate and why you decided what you did?
We are trying to select the tiles and then counters for two baths in our house we are re-building. The ensuite is large and will have a toilet room, large vanity and large shower with glass doors. The other bathroom will be shared by two teen boys and an 8 year old girl and will have a tub/shower combo with shower curtain, a large vanity and a toilet in a bit of an alcove.
Now we had originally thought we would want to have the tiles on the floors darker than those in the showers so they would look cleaner, which is a particular concern with the family bath shared by three kids (none of whom are interested in cleaning).
Here is one combination we were considering for the family bath shared by three. However, I am not at all sure about these selections and if we should scrap and do wall and floor tiles that matches. The possible floor tile is on the left, the possible quartz counter in centre and the possible shower tile on the right. The off white paper is the paint colour for the vanity and the blue paper is a proposed wall colour. What do you think, please be honest.
Thanks in advance for any general opinions on tile choices or specific opinions on the photo below. I welcome your honest.
Carol
Comments (22)
User
10 years agokudzu9
10 years agoRelated Discussions
Does shower tile have to match floor tile?
Comments (8)thanks for the advice. The problem is that the tile has to co-ordinate with 3 baths and a kitchen. The kitchen has light grey concrete counters and white cabs., so I think a dark grey would work in all rooms. The problem is that both showers have a step up made of the casa del casa tile so the tiles would butt up against each other. The other thing I could do is I could afford to do the casa del casa each of the two baths to match the showers and then do grey in the half bath and kitchen. Would 2 baths with showers (upstairs) matching floor tiles (one grey/brown and one beige) and one bath and kitchen (downstairs) with matching tile look all right in a house with wood floors? The two baths are separated in different "wings" of the house, completely sepatate. That is four floor types......See MoreHow did you choose the grout color for your backsplash tile?
Comments (9)We're going to be making our backsplash grout decision shortly. What kind of tile are you using? We have ivory subway tile and we may choose a slightly contrasting grout colour, possible gray, to emphasize, rather than minimize, the pattern a little. We like the way the tile looks ungrouted and don't want the shadow lines to disappear altogether. I'm going to post a new thread about our backsplash tile (which we're installing ourselves). Artemis, we'd like to hear more about your grout matched caulking. Where did you get it? What brand did you use? And anything else you could tell us would be great....See MoreWhere did you buy your marble hexagon tile and what grout did you use?
Comments (3)I installed Carrara dog bone tiles in my guest bath and Calacatta basket weave tiles in my master bath. My tiles were ordered through my designer but she purchased them at Emser which is also a retail source. They have a retail store in my location but I actually looked at Carrara and Calacatta tiles at another place when I was selecting my marble slabs. Unlike marble slabs, one doesn't need to "select" tiles as the tiles themselves are variegated although I would imagine one would order a sample and/or take a look at the stuff in person. I relied on my designer, my GC and the tile setters to do quality control of the tiles when they arrived and also set the tiles out they look well. However, with smaller tiles, I am not sure that kind of color matching is as important as with large tiles in which the individual pattern of the tiles needs to "go" with adjacent tiles. I relied on her expertise in terms of purchasing from a reliable supplier who sells good quality materials. FWIW, here is a picture of my floors - I especially like the Calacatta tiles because they have gold warm tones which complement the warmer tones and other tile work in my master bath. Here are some pictures of my master bath - They aren't the greatest shots because I wasn't trying to highlight the floors but it might give you some idea of why I like the Calacatta. My Calacatta tiles are honed as is my marble slab because I wanted a "softer" look in the mater bath. I used polished Carrara in my guest bath and that is gorgeous but that room has a more "glitzy" feel although it is still traditional in feel since it has the same wood cabinets and a copper sink. This is the master bath looking through my doorway. It's a small bath in an urban high rise. You can see how the Calacatta tiles have warm gold as well as gray. This is a view of the shower floor while under construction. I chose to have the same flooring so as to not chop up the space as much as possible. Here's another view with the floor kind of peeking out - I am posting because it shows why I deliberately opted for Calacatta because of how it complemented the rest of the colors in my master bath....See MoreChoosing a shower floor tile asap
Comments (20)Can you take off that tile and take a picture of the curb? did he do a mud bed? a mud curb? cement board? Kerdi? this is mine. mud walls and mud curb. also notice my hex floor tile was put in first, so the wall tile could come down on top of it. looks much neater that way BTW, if he was a real pro, he would have laid those mosaic floor tiles first, and then done the wall tiles. All of those edges are going to have to be cut to fit against that bottom row of tiles. you know how difficult it is to get a good cut on those small tiles? And I bet he's going to use grout. It's a no-no. Don't even say anything. ask him how he's going to fill the joints between floor/wall tile and those vertical corners. bet you dollars to donuts he grouts everything. How was the niche built? preformed niche or cement board? if the latter, was it prepped like this all that tape will then get a coating of thinset, ditto all the seams and holes. The curb should have no screws at all. For you to say "it's underway and can't do anything" is ridiculous. You're paying for the job, yes? Do you know how easy it is to go out and buy a quartz backsplash and cut it for that curb? or for the tile guy to go to a stone yard and find a remnant quartz or stone castoff?...See Moredivotdiva2
10 years agosjhockeyfan325
10 years agoActually, I have a very small bathroom and it's what I think is quite tranquil, yet I used 4 different materials. I've attached a picture - the floor is Carrara marble (white with grey veining) the counter is Ceasarstone organic white, the shower floor is a dark grey and black stripe, and the shower walls are a glossy white basketweave. The paint is a beautiful silvery blue. You can see all the finishes in this one picture.
anna_in_tx
10 years agokudzu9
10 years agoUser
10 years agoAgree with Anna_in_TX (TX where I am visiting today [from Chgo] - but wearing my down coat, after scraping the ice off my rental car this morning!!!)........it all depends on personal preference.
Here is a pic of what I'd like; sjhockeyfan's has beautiful tile, but is just too busy for me. The only thing that matters is if she/you like it.
sjhockeyfan325
10 years agoamberm145_gw
10 years agoI have seen a lot of bathrooms in show homes lately that have carried the floor tile right up the walls of the shower. Both light and dark tiles are used.
Personally, I hate it. It doesn't make the room seem bigger because I can't tell where the floor ends and the wall starts. It feels like the wall is right there when it's actually several feet away.
I also find it boring. One colour, no change in texture or shade. And it's never even nice enough tile that you would want that much of it.
OntarioMom, if you like the options you've picked, then don't let anyone talk you out of it. If you personally find it a little busy, I would change the counter to a colour similar to one of the tiles. You've got a white vanity, and basically white wall tiles. Add in a white counter material, and the only difference is a dark grey floor. And paint colour could be absolutely anything, since you've only got grey and white going on so far. Same goes if you pick a darker grey counter top to match the floor. Or, as I said, keep it as you picked it. The medium grey counter is a nice in between colour. A quick houzz search brought this pic which shows the dark floor and counter, with light everything else.
[Contemporary Bathroom[(https://www.houzz.com/photos/contemporary-bathroom-ideas-phbr1-bp~t_712~s_2103) by Surrey Home Stagers Positive Space Staging + Design, Inc.
Anyone who thinks this photo is busy needs to take a look at some 70s bathrooms.
catbuilder
10 years agoontariomom
10 years agoWow, so many great responses and opinions on our selections. Thanks for the inspiration photos too. I will test out the darker grey tile to see how much it shows dirt, drips, etc. It is not that dark (maybe a tad darker than a mid-toned colour). I absolutely love the idea of two colours on the shower floor as our ensuite shower is large. I will be searching some more on Houzz to get a better feel for what I like. I am also meeting with a decorator at the end of the week, and planning on talking to the decorator at the tile shop once more.
If only I could find a mid-toned tile I liked, that was available in both wall and floor tiles, did not show dirt and the floor tile was not slippery, I would be all set. LOL Maybe I will find this perfect tile this week.
Thanks again everyone for your help and posts. I have loaded up one more option below that shows the grey floor/light shower walls with a white counter top as it was mentioned above that a white counter top might be better with the proposed combo. I also have a whiter shower tile than what is shown if that is better than the cream one pictured.
Carol
amberm145_gw
10 years ago
Bunny
10 years ago
robo (z6a)
10 years agorobo (z6a)
10 years ago
likewhatyoudo
10 years agoI am working on our master bath remodel plans now. I am planning on a large format tile 12 X 24 for the floors and shower. White vanity cabinet with a marble or quartz counter, shower threshold and knee wall. I like the color combination like the photo below a little darker floor and wall color and light vanity and top.
[Transitional Bathroom[(https://www.houzz.com/photos/transitional-bathroom-ideas-phbr1-bp~t_712~s_2112) by Plano Kitchen & Bath Remodelers Hatfield Builders & Remodelers
ontariomom
10 years agoMercerM
9 years agoontariomom
9 years agolonestarlady
9 years agoontariomom
9 years ago
lotteryticket