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Tiling a Small Double Room Bathroom:Which Size Square? 12' or 18'

14 years ago

I've chosen a black Amtico high quality resiliant tile that resembles ceramic tiles to put in our girls' bathroom. It's called Spacia black ceramic. The tile is very black, and doesn't lean toward grey, blue, or greens. The tile is available in either 12" squares or 18" squares. The tiles glue down, and you can use something called "feature stripping" that resembles grout, between the tiles. That, plus the fact that the edges are micro-beveled, gives a very realistic tiled floor appearance. I have Amtico "wood" flooring in my kitchen and love it. After five years of tough use by my family of nine, it still looks fabulous and everyone thinks it's real wood. We have a concrete slab foundation that shifts constantly, so flooring that can't flex will crack or loosen rather quickly. Amtico is nothing like traditional vinyl flooring because it's so very real looking and installs in tiles or planks rather than sheets. Amtico is very hard plus it has a tough wear layer with a low gloss finish.

Anyway, this tile is going into a bathroom that is actually two small rooms which each measure 7 feet wide and 5 feet long. One room has a double vanity (which will be white maple with a black granite countertop) with two sinks in it, so this room will show a lot of the floor. There is a Solatube in this windowless room and there will be mirrors as well. Then there is a 24" doorway into the next room, where the bathtub and toilet are located. There will also be a built-in linen cabinet in this room (30" wide by 21" deep), so really, only a path of flooring about two feet wide from the doorway to the end wall (which has a small window in it) is visible. If the tiles are set on the diagonal, just a single row of three point-on-point eighteen inch tiles would be visible, this would fill the entire space on the floor and you wouldn't see much of the "pattern" of the tiles. The fixtures are white and the walls will be papered in a black/white damask print.

The square tiles will be laid on the diagonal, and the "grout" will be a silvery gray color. What size would you recommendÂand whyÂfor this bathroom: 12" or 18"? I'm leaning toward 12" because the tub/toilet room floor is so small. Thanks in advance for your thoughts!

~Cupofkindness

Here is a link that might be useful: Spacia Ceramic Black

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Comments (4)

athomesewing
14 years ago
My guess is 12, however perhaps you could cut some newsprint 12 and 18 inch squares, lay them on your floor and get the feel of the size.

Thanks for your report on Amtico. We would love to get it, however we can not find a dealer in the Seattle area with a display of Amtico.
lesterd
14 years ago
Our bathroom is 4'x5' and came with 12" tile flooring.

I think 12" is too big.
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Oops lillo, I made a mistake. My reno started on Monday, but moving quickly. They demo'd to the studs. Tub, drain and valves in, walls back up (except vanity wall), electrical done and tile is up on the long tub wall. This morning I am thinking of still going with the 12x12 brick pattern on the floor. I thought it would be too much pattern with the subway wall tiles, but the subway is only in the tub area and should be covered with a shower curtain (if my kids remember!). I took a few pics on my phone but have to get them on my computer. I have planned sand colored ceramic subway tiles with a sandy/concrete colored porcelain floor. Colonial cherry double vanity with a beige marble top. White Toto toilet and white sinks. I originally planned sconces, but because of a pipe in the way I can only use overhead fixtures. My goal today is to find robe/towel hooks. I empathize with you about your tile floor decision (other post). Selecting the tile was my most time consuming decision. Natural stone was not an option for me because of maintenance issues and well water staining. I would have loved to go with basic white subways, but am afraid of staining. Good luck with your tile search!
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jamieo_cordova
14 years ago
I used 18" tiles in a similar sized bathroom & walk-in closet. I like the look of the larger tiles. As another poster suggested, you could cut out some templates from newspaper and have a trial run.
stlouie
14 years ago
Our bathroom is 5'6" wide by 13'4" long, so about a 42" wide path of tile shows in front of the 24" deep vanity. We went with 12" on the floor and I think it looks really good.

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