I have two rooms in tile and there's no way I'd do it again if I had it to do over. I'd do vinyl in a medium tone that doesn't show dirt. It's so easy to keep clean. I put the vinyl planks that look like a wood floor from Lowe's in my kitchen and I LOVE that floor. Takes a beating without blinking, hides dirt, easy to clean, and only cost me just under $1/sq ft.

If you do tile anyway, a medium brown or a medium grey grout are the easiest to keep looking nice. I'd also avoid anything either unglazed or very shiny. I have a mottled pale tan in this house and it's fine. I had a tobacco brown in my last kitchen and it showed everything. But the headache with tile is the grout.

Oceanna, thanks! Good advice.

You're welcome. Here is a link to a whole thread about the type of flooring I put in, and it's got a pic of my floor in it too. Oh, and it was a piece of cake to install. You know, the older I get, the more I get into "the less work the better." And fortunately, they're making vinyl FAR better looking than it used to be. They have tile ones that really look like tile, too... but without the grout care, without being cold and hard, without being slippery/dangerous when wet, and without the chance of a shattered tile.

Here is a link that might be useful: GW link about Novalis planks

You could go with brick pavers in a herring bone or basket weave pattern. Sounds like it's going to be beautiful.

Caminnc, I have been thinking about the brick pavers. My decorator LOVES the idea. That is what she has said from the beginning. I don't think my DH likes the idea that much, though. So, we'll see. I do love both the herringbone and basketweave. Those are the two I am drawn to. I have a friend who has a glaze ceramic tile in a brick shape in the basketweave. I thought it was so cool when I saw it. I have sort of kept that in mind--it is kind of play on brick.

In our last house we did our mudroom in a 4X6 tile that was reddish porcelain...looked like brick coloring but more deep red/less orange. It was set in a herringbone pattern and was beautiful (wasted in the mudroom). I don't have a picture of the floor or I'd post it.
Judy

I love tile have it everywhere except LR, and BR's, most homes here in the south have tile in all common rooms & kit & baths, however today's tile is huge 18" and in travertine,(looks more like stone) not glossy and many have inlaid patterns in area's such as foyers etc. (Gorgeous)

Natural NY/VT slate is smooth and cool looking and comes in 4" x 6" bricks that can be set into a herringbone or basketweave pattern. NY/VT slate does not fade or chip and does not require sealing (it's not like Indian slate) and is available in a deep charcoal gray color as well as green, red, purple, light grey and mottled. It's a bit more uniform and formal than brick, but not nearly so formal as tile IMO.

Sheldon Slate is one distributor, there are many others, a Google inquiry will point you in the right direction.

Good luck-

sandyponder

I would have loved to do my whole first floor in slate. We decided on walnut prefinished instead, and even put it in the sunroom. I liked having it all flow together.

A nice porcelein tile would work. Set on the diagonal with large tiles makes the space look bigger. You can also do a heated grid system under the tile so your bare feet will never be cold.

Here is the tile in my previous home:

I have tile in mine in antiqued green &off white in checkerboard pattern got so many compliments on it.The tiles are about 16x16 squares.

I encourage you to check out high quality vinyl tiles or planks such as NAFCO or Mannington Adura. There are many other brands also. Check a couple of larger flooring places, especially those that do commercial and residential. You will be amazed at the choices and how many truly resemble stone, ceramic or wood. (My experienced home appraiser couldn't tell the difference.)
You should be able to find something that will really complement your beautiful blue/yellow/green and white and be easy to maintain. The ones that are made for light commercial/upper end home use have very durable wear layers (just like wood or laminate, beware of cheapies that may look great only for a few years--check the specs). They will be easier on your feet, warmer, and quieter than ceramic tile and easy to clean. I have used it in two homes and am planning to install it again. I paid around $3.60 sf plus installation for the Adura.

Great suggestions from everyone! Bulldinkie, do you have any pix of your checkerboard? I will have a checkerboard in my foyer of black granite and white marble.

The NY/VT slate is definitely under consideration.

I would love to see pictures of any of these. They all sound wonderful. Threedgrad, I like that tile...

I was going to suggest slate as well or at least a "slate" look tile like the one posted above. We had NY/VT slate in our last house in the sunroom and i loved the look. One suggestion though... Consider adding undertile heating to the room. Our sunroom floor, while beautiful was VERY cold, even with large area rugs. It's worth the extra expense imho (i'm assuming that your sunroom is indoors and not exposed to the elements)

I have slate floors--China multicolor, not Vermont slate. The overall tone is dark gray, but there are lots of brown, rust, orange, gold, and red tones in the tiles.

Here's a photo of the kitchen that was the "inspiration" for my remodel, with different slate:

{{!gwi}}

I don't know if you already made your decision, but if your room will be subject to extreme heat/cold (as mine in the northeast is) I strongly suggest using porcelain tiles. We have a sunroom with large porcelain tiles in a light beige color (that we purchased at HD) and we have not had a problem with them. Also, we installed them on the diagonal to add interest and they look fabulous.

Slate and bluestone are both very good choices for colonial houses...as is brick. Vinyl is fine for many things, but do think about how much sunlight and how much temperature change it will have to stand.
Slate, when wet, can be very slippery.
Brick absorbs a lot of heat energy from sunlight and then radiates it back at night, which is really great in the winter, and might be problematic in hot weather, unless you can shade the room when you need to. Slate and bluestone do as well, but brick does it more. Grass matting looks great on brick, and helps control that heat in summer.
A single material gives you a much cleaner and less cluttered look than a mix... unless it's a very big room, I'd think about that before I chose.

Hi goldengirl327, your sunroom sounds fantastic. We're thinking of doing a sunroom too. Do you have a picture that you can share of the sunroom and of the flooring. Thanks.

Not sure what state you live in, but I have 2 dear friends who own BIG PA Bluestone quarries & ship everywhere from NE PA. Email if you need a phone number for a quote, if the gorgeous Bluestone is of interest to you.

Does anyone know the color of the daltile pictured above?

-cathy

Brazilian Green