linelle, I believe the "(2)" is the price group -- higher being more $. Do you have a Daltile showroom near you? They will give you or lend you a sample board. Arctic White 0190 is the brightest white of the three, followed by White K101 and then White 0100.

I tried to take a pic for you but they all looked the same, my camera is not very good, sorry.

Whoops, sorry skipped over the part about the unfriendly folks at your local Daltile. You could just go look at their boards but not purchase there?

Oaktown, hahaha, trouble is I have to deal with the Daltile people to look at their boards. I will suck it up and do what I have to do. [I swear this one woman must drink bitter gall every morning. Unfortunately she's the gatekeeper.]

Also, I'm not so sure about the basic white being in a higher price group. That seems weird. Unless the bright Arctic White is in the higher price group and the creamier white is less.

I like the tile from HD, but I'm wondering if the slight shade variation is just that--a variation--or a totally different color. I want as little variation as possible in my shower.

But check out the Rittenhouse Square link. Doesn't Arctic White (1st white) look creamer than the 3rd white?

Here is a link that might be useful: Rittenhouse Square whites

K101 is a Kohler color ... matches Kohler sinks, etc.

190 is a softer white than 100.

Any number beginning with K is for Kohler colors. K175 matches Kohler Biscuit. K165 matches Kohler Almond, not to be confused with 0135, which is DalTile's Almond. K101 matches Kohler White. Whites can vary from Kohler to American Standard to Toto, etc... so that's why they are specific. They must have Kohler exclusive color match rights.

And I know you are talking more about the whites, but for those following along, there is a difference between the Almonds, noticably. One is yellower and one is more grayish. Same could be true for the whites; shade differences.

linelle, I am pretty sure Rittenhouse Square starts in price group 2. The Semi-Gloss line (4x4 and 6x6) starts in price group 1 for some of the same colors. (We are using Daltile Rittenhouse or Semi-Gloss for four bathrooms). The colors on the website/computer monitor look different in terms of relative brightness from the ones on the sample boards I got from Daltile -- but who knows, maybe someone got the samples mixed up on the boards? Good luck -- maybe you'll catch the Daltile folks on a good day . . .

annettacm and jelly, thanks so much for explaining the K designation. Well, I will have a Kohler sink, but a Toto toilet and Duravit tub. I'm not overly concerned about matching whites exactly. I've held up the warmer white from HD next to my old toilet, which is pretty white, and it looks fine.

Oaktown, when I got the Daltile sample board I was planning on 4x4, so that's maybe why we're talking about two different groupings.

My tile guy is coming over Wed. I'll explain the situation and see what he says. I may just stop by Daltile beforehand, being a glutton for punishment. :)

1,2,3,4 are price designations.

Anything that is a brighter or more pure white is going to be more expensive in almost any material: tile, Corian, etc, quartz surfaces, than an off white or speckled white will be.

ineffable, interesting. I figured it would be the other way around.

I'm looking at the same colors in subway tiles for a backsplash. I found an old post that talks about the colors: http://ths.gardenweb.com/forums/load/bath/msg0215111721182.html . It sounds like Arctic White is the brightest, K101 has a grayish undertone and 0100 is warmer/ yellower. In case you didn't know, the Daltile website sells sample tiles.

Naptime, thanks for the clarification. I think I can eliminate K101 (sounds like a radio station). I think I'd be fine with 0100, but I'd better get a sample of the Arctic to be sure. My Daltile store will give me a sample tile.

We have arctic White in our new small master bath. It is VERY white which is what I wanted. I ordered a small vanity online that came with a white porcelain sink attached. The Arctic White matched very well.
FYI - We have two sconce lights also in the bath and what I thought were white shades on the sconces have a bluish tint when they were installed next to the tile.
So one might draw the conclusion that the Arctic white tile doesn't have a bluish undertone. Doesn't look "warm" but not "blue" either. I'd post a picture but I don't think it's worth it because how the monitor changes the color so much.
Good luck.

p.s. And I totally agree about the Daltile sales people. But I read on their website somewhere that they are only open to the "trade", hence why they try to discourage us customers who come in without a designer. I wish their website was better organized - at least I could do a lot of window shopping there but I have a great difficulty navigating their website.
I always look to Arizona Tile first (they have a store here and sales people are quite friendly) but unfortunately, Arizona tile's subway selection is limited.

Same experience here when I dropped in our local (45 minute drive) while finishing up appliance purchase.

I just stood there. Absolutely no one acknowledged me. Finally I walked down a hall and asked if someone could show me their arctic white in 3x6, which they did but they did not offer a sample.

Thing is, Daltile is at least local and known. I don't get it.

This post was edited by SparklingWater on Mon, Apr 21, 14 at 12:51

Interesting to hear about folks' experiences at Daltile, mine was very different, perhaps it is the "to the trade" aspect as elphaba mentioned. I had called ahead saying that my builder suggested I go there to look at tile and should I make an appointment -- they said no, just drop in. Person there was helpful and gave me two good-sized sample boards, I asked when she needed them back and she said "whenever you're done or just give them to [your builder]."

(OT -- You all probably already knew this, but I learned that if you are using a particular contractor, designer, installer, etc. it might be good to mention that at the outset. Early on I dropped into a tile place to browse and was approached by a salesperson who was quite nice and helpful, but after a bit I happened to mention our contractor and the salesperson said, "Oh, sorry I can't help you, that is XXXX's account, she's not in today, you could come back next week or call her for an appointment." I felt so bad making this faux pas!)

If they are to the trade, they Can't sell to the consumer, so there is not much point in catering to the consumer. They can't Sell you anything including samples, and they can't really Give you samples because samples are supposed to be ordered through the regional rep.

I AM in the trade and since I don't do all that much work involving tile when I went to the local Daltile after several years absence , I had to provide a physical copy of my license/tax ID, not just give them the number.

It's not just Daltile. I used a local to the trade (but to contractors) place to get the various tile for the last bathroom I did and even though I was in the trade I had to make an appointment through my contractor and purchase the tile through my contractor. They wouldn't even buzz me in the Door without my identifying myself and who my contractor was.

At Ann Sacks, even though they are more consumer friendly, when I switched from one Manhattan branch to another, the rep and branch with whom I was not that happy had to be notified that I was switching to a new salesperson and branch.(And we had never placed an actual order yet, just requested samples in preparation for placing an order). And the first time we walked in There, we were invisible, too.

As annoying and uncomfortable as it can all be, there are reasons that they are the way they are and the are based in legalities.

Thanks everyone!

LWO, amazing what a piece of white paper will do to put things into context.

I braved Daltile today. After being ignored while they helped two guys, because it would have been too much trouble to say, "I'll be with you in a minute," the ogress asked if I was there to pick up an order. No, I replied, I would like a couple of samples. She actually said, "okay, I'll get someone to help you." I've come up in the world.

So I asked for and received subways in 0100 and Arctic White.

Despite being unfriendly, they've never asked me if I have a contractor, or what their name is, or told they don't deal directly with consumers. How is a consumer to choose a tile so that their contractor can purchase it? Fortunately for me, I have free time to shop around and look at things. When my tile guy comes over on Wed. I want to tell him, these are my choices, buy them for me. Even if bouncing back and forth getting samples for me is built into the quote, I like doing this.

So, finally. I can see the difference between 0100 and Arctic White, but I'm not sure I care. As a color, I think I like 0100 better, but if I want to really match the tub, prob. AW is the way to go.

Anyone choose 0100 for their shower/tub surround? Do you like it? How does it look with your white tub?

ineffable, I think both of these tiles are Level 1.

What perfect timing! I too am looking for white subway tile and flooring for a master bath remodel and I had looked at the same tiles that you did linelle. So glad you started this thread. Like you, I also was treated rudely at our local Daltile showroom. Nobody ever came out to greet us. The snooty sales woman was in a back room, but clearly she saw us and just glared at us as if we crawled in from the gutter begging for alms. Thanks again for posting this, and thanks to all of the wonderful, knowledgeable people on GW who responded.

Linelle, which color tile did you choose? Were you able to find a paint color (if you have white trim) that matched or coordinated well with it?

mrsjamc, I chose Arctic White and I love it and would choose it again. The trim throughout my house is Kelly Moore Swiss Coffee, one of their whitest whites, but still creamier than Arctic White. There are two small places where the tile abuts baseboards and, although the whites are different, it doesn't matter to me. I don't let the trim rule all my other decisions about whites. In fact, I prefer layered whites to fixating on exact matches.

Linelle, that looks absolutely fabulous! Thank you very much for your quick response too. I'm glad to hear your take on the Arctic White and also appreciate knowing that you use Swiss Coffee (I hear it mentioned a lot). Your tile work really looks superb! Makes me ready to get mine up!

I think most of the paint brands have a Swiss Coffee and I'm not sure how alike they are. Another factor in my decision is that my fixtures are all very white (Kohler, Toto, Duravit). I'm glad I used the quarter-round for the edge instead of bullnose.

Hi Linelle. I know I'm digging into an old thread but wondered why you made your last comment about being glad you used the quarter round instead of bullnose? I'm doing floor to ceiling arctic white in my kitchen and will have a wall that meets up with another room and will need some kind of way to end the tile and was going to do a bullnose edge at that corner.

Nicole, I like the way the quarter round looks as an edge treatment for my shower/tub surround. It defines it as its own space. I like that it's 6 inches long and 1 inch wide. It functions as trim rather than a tile that curve-dies into the wall. In my kitchen I have a different subway and I used bullnose along the edges at the end. Different rooms, different looks and applications.

ok thanks Linelle!

Nicole, one more thing. As you can see in the photo above, there is a bit of thickness to the tile and its backing materials. Although we didn't foresee that when choosing quarter round, it does a better job of covering that thickness than bullnose.

thanks Linelle. I can't picture how it will be different but I'll older a sample of the quarter round to see what will work best. it will be for an outward facing corner so depth of the tile may be an issue as you will be able to see the corner well.

Linelle, your tile is lovely! Do you by chance know the grout color you used?

likewhatyoudo, thank you! I used Laticrete Smoke Grey. It's a teensy bit darker than I prefer, but I still like it. At the time my other choice was Polyblend Platinum which I used for my kitchen backsplash, slightly lighter but known to have a slight mauve cast in certain lights to certain eyes. Anyway Smoke Grey is dandy and I still love my shower tile.

There's one thing I don't think has been mentioned. My tile installer told me that the Rittenhouse at Home Depot is not the same as from Daltile. HD contracted with Daltile to use their name only and they supply something else. He said the tile does not match. He ran short on a job and decided to run over to HD and pick up a few pieces and that's how he found out. I believe the manager at Daltile explain this to him. Next time he is in, I'll confirm this.

Mine came from Daltile.

these are from HD. Daltile Rittenhouse Square Arctic white.

I am having the same struggle right now. And what is up with Daltile people? Ours are also rude and not much help!

Sherry, I don't know what's up with Daltile people. So many posters report rudeness. Actually I would say it was more like being treated with indifference. Sometimes I prefer being left alone in a store to look at things without interference. I'm able to speak up if I need help. Despite the attitude I was always able get a sample at Daltile when I asked for it, nicely I might add. I just think they deal mostly, if not exclusively, to the trades and don't bother catering to individuals.

I have the White (not Arctic white) and like it a lot! You can see it's creamier than the tub and toilet

Same tile in the kitchen, though it looks brighter against the Antique White cabinets.

Caligirl, both of those installations look awesome! There’s very little difference between White and Arctic White. The latter is still slightly creamier than my tub (Duravit) and toilet (Kohler ).

Thanks! The samples look different right next to each other, but you're right, they're not that different installed. I was flipping back to your pic, and it looks so similar to mine.

Your shower tile looks just like mine, including the quarter round along the edges. I'm very happy with my tile.

It's not just Daltile, it's most larger tile shops. Seems if you are not a contractor or a designer they don't want to give you the time of day even though they are open to the public.

Rittenhouse at Home Depot is not the same as from Daltile.

Nonsense. All tile will vary somewhat by lot. It's tile. It's important to buy enough for the job from the same lot. Even within the same lots it's often a good idea to mix up the tiles from each box when setting them. I find that matching trim pieces with field tile is really nearly impossible at big box stores because they don't move enough to replenish their lots. For example the bullnose or cap could be sitting there more months while the field tile is reordered frequently.

I've had okay experiences at a couple of local, independent tile shops in my town. They were pleasant and attentive when I had questions. For my kitchen backsplash I bought the tile myself and then my contractor picked it up.

watchmelol, I was just passing along what my tile guy said. (Maybe he had a different white than what is stocked at HOME DEPOT) But..... In doing more research on it, I found out that it IS indeed the same time. However, the quality control of the two are different. Read this older thread on this exact subject.

Click here [Home Depot Tile????[(https://www.houzz.com/discussions/daltile-from-home-depot-dsvw-vd~4835377)

Thanks!

The shower is natural gray and the kitchen is oyster gray. They did the shower first...I like it but thought I'd want it more muted in the kitchen. I notice more imperfections in the shower, but not sure much is the grout's fault, since in the shower my face is much closer to the tile and the grout looks even darker than wet.

I feel like people often recommend delorean gray, which would be nice too, I just thought I'd like a bit more contrast.

caligirl5 - do you mind sharing what brand/color tub you used? I'm looking at a Kohler cast iron tub in white, and am trying to figure out what tiles will work to get the kind of combo you have, where the tile is a bit warmer than the white of the tub. Thanks!

Sure, it's the Kohler archer!

Thank you for the quick response! I saw another pic of your bathroom on a separate thread and noticed that it looks like you used 2” hex on the floor. Is that also Daltile? Would love to know that tile color too. Thank you so much!

I couldn't remember...but I found it in my reveal thread! Linking it in case you have other questions.

https://www.houzz.com/discussions/4871618/bungalow-bathroom-reveal

Thank you! Looks beautiful.