None of the tiles being shown are "matte". They are all gloss. My 1974 original master bath used a tile that was a combo of matte and gloss in the same tile. It was actually quite pretty. But it was so very very hard to keep clean. The matte texture of any hard surface has more microscopic surface area than the super flat polished gloss. It's what scatters the light rays rather than uniformly reflecting them and produces the matte effect to your eyes. It's also what hold on to dirt in all of that microscopic texture. I ended up using RainX on the shower wall tile after using bleach and a powered scrub brush for what seemed like hours, and that helped somewhat if I kept it coated. I couldn't do that with the all matte shower floor tile or it would have been a slip hazard. It became permanently stained from soap scum and shampoo etc. No matter what I used, and over the years I used everything, the dirt and the soap scum could not be gotten completely out of the deepest pores of the matte tile. Thankfully, it was in the master, so no one else saw it. It was gross! This is why I never understand people who want porous or textured stone in a shower situation. Mate ceramic or porcelain tile isn't much better. It just never gets really clean.

Hi Mirad, I'll add to Mongo and Bill's observations with some of my own. Home Despot and B-Lowes get their tiles from reputable manufacturers (Dal Tile & American Olean, for the most part). These are the same manufacturers which supply much of the building market through other distribution. Good product with a good catalog. What the home center stores do that the rest of the industry doesn't "benefit" from is that they are able to pressure the manufacturers, using their huge buying leverage, to give them the product at a lower price-point, which then makes the tile cheaper to the home center customers. The margin on tile manufacturing is already very thin and there are only a few means by which the tile companies can reduce the cost to the home centers AND still remain profiable. One method is to use inferior materials in the production. But this requires separate supply chains and facilities and in the end would prove to be too costly unless an entire facility was dedicated to just that retailer. This has been done with some product but it's not effective with all tile because the purity of the materials can dramatically alter the properties of the tile. The next step toward cost reduction is reducing the amounts of materials being used in production. This is most often employed when the glazes are applied by thinning the glaze and firing at lower temperatures or for shorter periods of time. This results in a less durable tile, but it's effective for white/off-white wall tiles and that is mostly where you will find this being done. The next cost cutting step is reducing the amount of human interaction that the tile encounters. Since modern facilities are already pretty automated, the bulk of human interaction with the product occurs during packaging and quality control. Here's where the home centers get their price point demands met. Most often, when the tile comes out of the kiln and comes down the conveyor, it is diverted to quality control personnel who visually inspect it for imperfections, damage, and impurities. In the case of the home center discounted tile, if the manufacturer eliminates this step entirely (and the home centers are VERY aware that this happens) then they can ship the product at the lower price point and everybody makes their 30 pieces of silver while the home owner is pulling their hair out over mis-sized, pocked, cracked and spotty tile. Never ever purchase an open case of tile at the home centers. These have already been rooted through or might even be someone else's nightmare returned to the store. Always buy more than you think you will need and inspect every tile as you install it. Look at the corners for chipping and the glazed edges for puckering. Also, when selecting the tile, hold up a few tiles sideways to the light. Do you see faint scratches? Can you see the bisque of the tile underneath? Do the tiles look flat or are they cupped or otherwise warped? Remember that the home centers are not interested in selling you quality. They are only interested in price-point and getting you the cheapest possible price. The rest is up to you. What sort of tile are you considering that Home Despot and Villeroy & Boch on both being considered? Where are you located so that other suppliers might be suggested? Caveat Emptor, Shaughnn

newkitchen10 - I don't want to hijack storklady's flooring thread, so I'll send you an email with a few more pics and some details. The picture posted here was not a 'finished' picture, but it showed more of the floor. But, yes, we love our banquette! There are some really pretty floors posted here...I especially love allison0704's floor. We had put ours in 5 1/2 years BEFORE we redid the kitchen, and since it went through the entry, breakfast, office area, family room and dining room, we kept it and just filled in where our cabinet footprint changed. Luckily, the tile store where we bought it could still get it. A very nice man from the store drove 2 hours to the distributor and went in and hand-picked tiles that matched one of my extras from 5 years before! AND he did it TWICE, because our contractor changed his mind and thought we might need 2 more boxes! Amazingly helpful.

Staging and adding color to curb appeal would go a long way. It looks like you got the decluttering thing down, but maybe a little too much--some rooms are a little too spartan and thus not very welcoming. My first impression after looking at the photos was: -The kitchen was updated, but the color and style clash with the table and there are no stools at the island. These things tell me that I will need to repaint either the kitchen or the rest of the house right off the bat to make them flow better. The table (while it would be going with you & not staying) gives the wrong feel to the otherwise modern kitchen & the green tablecloth has to go. The absence of stools at the island make me wonder if there is not enough room for the stools and the table in that space. The chandelier & light fixture don't look like they were updated (the pots hanging from the ceiling draw your eye upward so you definitely notice the lights)--check out the big box stores for some affordable, easy to install updates. Love the window treatments and that wonderfully large window! -Living & Dining rooms both feel very spartan and cold in the photos. Pulling the curtains back will help bring in more natural light and make it feel more welcoming & open. Is the dining room table centered in the room or pushed off center toward the window? It seems cramped at the window end which to me says the room is small and family dinners will be elbow to elbow. As mentioned above, too many different paint colors--the yellow doesn't do much for me & the white or pale blue in the living room is very cold. Framed prints on the walls and an area rug would go a long way to warming the rooms up. -Bedrooms need warming up too--more framed prints & an area rug needed. Slide the bed in the master over so its more centered in the room. The way it is now, it appears cramped. It looks like there is a tray ceiling in there too--an off center bed is negatively accentuated in this situation. The green curtains need to go and be replaced with neutral colored ones and again, pull them back to let in natural light to give an open welcoming feel. -Masterbath needs some warm welcoming touches too. Framed prints, some candles, strategically drape a folded towel along the edge of the tub, add a pretty container of bath salts to the tub corner, add a pretty window treatment to the window above the tub vs. the plastic mini-blinds. Warm, fuzzy, yet tasteful bath rugs will help too. The walls need some color. Make it feel like a spa environment-somewhere potential buyers would like to retreat to after a long day at work. Don't forget a handtowel on the towel ring! -Love the family room--maybe an area rug...that's it. -J&J bath--looks good. Add a framed print or two, a window treatment, fuzzy warm yet tasteful bath rug & hang the hand towel up. Choosing a nice neutral color of towel throughout all the baths would help too. Something in a fluffy white or beige to give that spa like feel would be good. -Laundry looks great--open the curtains. -Nursery looks great--maybe a framed print or two. -Exterior: Deck needs new coat of paint. The front looks a little tired. Adding some spots of color will help the curb appeal--a tall fat planter with colorful flowers on both corners of the porch, some colorful flowers planted in the beds, maybe a couple tall plants under the porch lights. another planter or two with plants and flowers on the back deck would help make it seem more welcoming too. It seems like you were working on updating the house and managed to get to the kitchen, family room, laundry, nursery & J&J bath. The rest appears to have not been updated since the house was built. While I love antiques, the furniture in the unupdated rooms with this scenario does not help. The obvious brass fixtures in the master bath scream 1980s and most if not all potential buyers are wondering how hard will it be to update them. You definitely have 3 vastly different styles going on in the house which can cause a major disconnect with potential buyers. If you were to repaint the kitchen, dining room, bedrooms, master bath & living room to more neutral colors (similar to family room & J&J bath) + update brass fixtures + add warming touches as outlined above to rooms for staging + exterior color and I think you could probably relist for the $290K in the spring and walk away with around $260-$250K. My BIL is a real estate agent and when we sold our house with him he even said not to tell him the absolute lowest price we were willing to take for the house. I can confidently say that repainted & staged well (including replacing a couple light fixtures, new comforter for DS's room, new bathroom stuff, quick exterior spruceup by adding color) when we sold our house. We listed the house $10K higher than the exact house down the street that sold a couple weeks earlier for a higher than average price for our neighborhood. We had an offer in 2 days and ended up with a bidding war between two potential buyers that ended on day 5 on the market. Trust me, potential buyers need to be able to see themselves living in your home and driving up to your home everyday--your staging makes all the difference. Good luck to you!