Just back from tile showroom - where in the world do I begin?

jgirl_2007

16 years ago

I am so overwhelmed right now, I can't think straight. I spent the afternoon at a tile showroom hoping to find something and fall in love. The problem is that I am needing tile for 4 full baths and laundry room for our new house. I have absolutely no idea where to even begin. I liked so much of what they had.

Do I do one room at at time? For the baths do I start with the floor, then the shower walls or vise versa? Do I start with the design (either fancy layout or certain insets or borders). I'd love to have a design on the floor with either difference size tiles or tile inserts or both or... . I know the possibilities are endless.

Unfortunately, there is way too much to chose from. It would be so much easier if I were just give a choice from 5 tiles. DH is really no help. He just pretty much stood back & listened. But at least he said he felt sorry for me!

I do know that I want to stay fairly neutral for all the rooms. Counters nor cabinet stain has been decided. As far as material, I'm open to porcelain, ceramic, natural stone although less maintenance is preferred.

So, anyone that has been in similar shoes, please share your thoughts, advice, anything!

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Comments (7)

oakrunfarm
16 years ago
Ha ha. I can totally relate.

We are in the middle of a new build. I had to choose tile and slate for the kitchen, screened in porch, laundry room, four fireplaces surrounds and hearths, and four bathrooms.

The first time I walked into the tile store, I thought I would run screaming out the door, get in my car and never come back.

I am a pretty design-oriented person, but I was just like you - overwhelmed.

What saved me was that my builder recommended a particular person there at the tile place, and gave me a sq ft $ allowance.

Emily showed me to the area of the store that was within my range, and together we tackled it one room and area at a time. As things began to come together, I began to - gasp! - have fun.

What began as a terrifying trip into Too Much Ville has ended up being one of my favorite parts of this whole process. I absolutely can't WAIT to see how it all ends up.

Either work closely with an on-staff designer that the tile place has, or retain one to help you. It made all the difference in the world for me.

Also, go through kitchen and bath design books and magazines, and cut out or copy designs and colors that appeal to you to get started, and take those with you.

This is an opportunity for your creative side to emerge - you will surprise yourself!

If it's any consolation, my DH is of the "yeah, whatever" variety too. :)

Good luck!
bill_vincent
16 years ago
If you go into a showroom with the attitude that you want to see all there is to see with the hopes that something will jump out at you, you'll get your wish-- from the first tile to the last. it can be EXTREMELY overwhelming. I never realised just HOW over whelming it can be until about 10 years ago, when my then girlfriend's sister decided she wanted to build a house, and wanted me to tile it, so I brought her down to the showroom I was working for at the time with that exact attitude. We got to the showroom at 7:45, and we were there till about 3:30. her boyfriend was about to wallpaper the FLOOR!!

When you go to a showroom, you need to know atleast some basic information.

>Do you want natural stone? Conventional ceramic? Porcelain? Do you have any questions as to the recommended uses of each?

>You want to have a pretty good idea of what you want for colors. Be open to suggestions, but have an idea in which direction you want to go.

>You want to have an idea of what you want for finish. (Do you want something with a high sheen or polish? Honed? More of a rustic look? Contemporary?)

>Have an idea of how much you're willing to spend per foot. This DOESN'T mean to tell the salesman. Guaranteed, he'll steer you to a material with the cheapest wholesale price and double the retail just to put it in your price range, and make the most money off of it.

>Decide before you walk into the showroom, which of these points are non- negotiable, and which can be comprimised, and stick to your guns.

If you can put this information together before you get there, it'll make the trip alot less painless.
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blondelle
16 years ago
I think the best place to start is to go somewhere like Barnes & Noble where you can browse through decorating magazines, and also look at bath photos on the net. Find what you love, and with photo in hand go back to the tile store to replicate what you like. You will be going into the tile store with a plan, and it won't be so overwhelming then. You are so lucky to have all those baths to do. I'm trying to decide between 3 choices for my one bath, and having all those would sure help ;-). How nice to have all those baths to do different designs with all those tile choices ;-).

I think they should all relate in color and look to the overall feel, and period of the house, otherwise entering one can be jarring.
sweeby
16 years ago
As to which tile to choose in which order -- I'd go for the wall and accent tiles first, since they will be most visible, most expensive, and most tone-setting for your rooms. If you find an accent tile line you love that meets your price and performance criteria, get it in two different colorways for two rooms, a subtle way to provide design continuity while doing something a bit different room to room. (That's if the accent is not a neutral -- Why bother using 'ivory' in one room, and 'bone' in the next?)

Floor tiles, if they're neutral, will tend to fade into the background, so get something that's durable and easy to live with and don't worry too much about matching the walls to the floors perfectly.
norcalpeetnik
16 years ago
I completely understand where you are coming from! I am in the middle of a remodel with 3 bathrooms and a laundry. It is totally overwhelming to go into a tile place and hope for something to jump out...

What worked best for me was having an idea of the overall look of each room (ie I knew for the kids I wanted white cabinets, counter and subway, whereas the master I wanted dark woods, etc). Go in with a cabinet sample finish that you like and just start looking for things that go well with it and work from there.

The suggestion to work with one of the design people at the tile place is a great one. But sometimes their tastes differ quite a bit from yours, or they aren't so budget-minded. But shop around a bit and find someone you like to work with.

The last piece of advice is to mentally work on one bathroom at a time, even if it means having to walk through the showroom 4 times (once for each bathroom). Pick one bathroom to concentrate on first and when you are done with those selections go on to the next bathroom. It is too complicated to keep 4 bathrooms straight in your mind as you look around.

I realized early on is that there are a million ways to put together a beautiful bathroom, all I have to do is pick one way (that was an attempt to keep me from lamenting my tile choices when I saw the next new thing...) Good luck!!!
Brewbeer
16 years ago
How about retaining a bathroom designer to help you?
organic_donna
16 years ago
I visited as many bathroom showrooms as I could first to decide what I liked. I didn't have luck with magazines so I went to the remodeling section of the book stores. They had a lot of pictures and ideas.
If this helps any it took me a year to find my tile for just one bathroom. I looked at porcelain for 4 months and then decided on natural stone. I went from marble to onyx and ended up with limestone. Finding my tile was the hardest part of my project. Many times I wanted to just give up. Now that I am close to installation I am very nervous. I can't wait to get back to my life.
Donna

Just back from tile showroom - where in the world do I begin?

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oakrunfarm

bill_vincent

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