Katie, I like number 1. I had a very similar tile in my last house in the powder room and everyone loved it. It was almost identical in color to yours and it never looked dirty, at least not to me, and that room got a lot of traffic. I also like that it doesn't compete with your counter choice which is lovely!

I liked it so much I put a very similar tile in our kids bathroom during our remodel. I'll try and find pics of both (flooring guys are in the hallway so I can't take a pic of that floor right now) and post them later.

Kat :)

Katie,
I think I prefer #2, but do not see #1 as dirty looking at all

I like the rustic look too. We put in a wonderful, rustic, textured, wonderful feeling floor in our master suite. It is Fondovalle 18" tiles and they have been excellent (super easy-care) floors. We put in a dark grey color, but they come in a natural/light color too. If we don't end up with wood in the kitchen, I may use the light Fondovalle ones there too.

Here is a link that might be useful: Fondovalle Floor Tiles

Ours are more tan and cream than the ones you are looking at, but hopefully you can see the rustic quality and the irregular edges. You can't see it in the photos, but it is rough and has the small pits like the one tile you are thinking of. I actually chose it because it was rougher and was worried about the slickness of other tiles being in a wet area.

I really don't think you can go wrong with either choice they are both great!

Good luck!

Kat :)

Thank you for the replies.
Kat: it's great to hear your happy experience with tile almost the same colour. This one is quite white, with the gray cast over it which is why I keep thinking of it as being dirty white. I agree with you that #1 doesn't compete with the granite and that is important to me too, probably even more so than wanting 'rustic'.

Thanks for the photo Kat, your floor is amazing. It is so hard to imagine the effect with a single floor tile on a board, especially since my existing floor is highly polished white porcelain (came with the house, I hate, & shows every little drip & crumb). Perhaps a whole room of this tile will make the smudginess less noticeable.
Here is a closeup photo to show the difference in the edges which is quite white and the cast which is quite gray.

bestyears: the fondovalle tile is beautiful and I like the texture plus subtle shading. I'll have another look at the tile shop to see if I can find your selection in a near white.

Katie, I can't find pics of my powder room in the old house to save my life. It was white with a gray cast and it really was nice. It didn't look dirty but looked very classic and simple. I don't think the gray over white will create a dirty look at all, instead it reminded me of the creamy/grey french limestone.

Kat :)

thanks Kat: Oh good, the creamy/grey french limestone is exactly what it looks like. I forgot that on the back of the tile board is this image. It doesn't look dirty here, just lots of old world charm, so hopefully mine will look closer to this when all the tile is done.

The best thing about the second choice tile #2, was that it comes in about $500.00 less.

Oh well...how can I let a few hundred dollars stand between me and my dream kitchen. Only problem is I've been using that line a lot lately!

Thanks again,
kn

I have a matte (some glossy areas if that makes sense but mostly matte) white ceramic with gray and tan swirls in my kitchen. It is very similar to bathroom tile we put in old house in 1997 except that one (Gem) was more peach and this is more tan (Alabaster). I loved it so much I went looking for it for mudroom/kitchen of new house 10 years later. I don't think it looks dirty at all, though it does hide dirt, and is textured enough that it's fairly nonslip. I think you should go rustic if that's what you like. This is pic of island end but hopefully there's enough floor for you to see texture/color variation.

{{!gwi}}

I also put matte tile with sculpted edges in the kids' bath in this house - like it so much I got it in different color for master bath. I hope it looks something like Kat's when we finally get around to doing it. Sorry took this pic to show tile cut so it's not large area. My builder kept telling me he loved this tile!

{{!gwi}}

Thanks Ajsmama for posting more examples for rustic. My tile guy needs an answer from me, so... the rustic wins!
I think it will play off nicely against the polished granite and the black floating glass FD refrigerator. He is planning 18" x 18" tiles and wants to do a mosaic trim outlining the island. I may cut out that extra little design luxury and put the money into upgrading to the apron front sink instead.

Thanks again everyone for helping me decide what it is I really want. I have been going back and forth on floor samples for months.

I'm glad you chose #1, because I thought #2 was too close to the granite.

thanks rhome: I appreciate your input on this as you have such a good eye for keeping things simple and in balance. :)

I also just discovered that if I stand back and sort of sweep my eyes over the tile it does not look dirty. It only happens when I stand over it and look straight down. So from now on I don't pick a spot on the floor and stare at it. Problem solved! LOL.