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Tile floors with variation

11 years ago

We ordered floor tile and the Daltile saleswoman did not tell us the pattern has a variation of 4. I found out for myself on their website. There appears to be a color variation, but I know you can't tell true color on a monitor. I can't tell if the base color is the same in all the tiles--the bottom left one looks too gray to me. I called them but they couldn't really tell me much about that particular color.

Our countertops are Caesarstone Buttermilk, quiet and beige, and we wanted a little movement in the floor tile. Maybe the variation is a good thing to add interest, but I'm a little nervous. I'm sure it won't be a checkerboard. We ordered 18 x 18 tile.

Should I worry? I guess the gray one can go under the fridge!

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Comments (14)

ellendi
11 years ago
Monitors are tricky. You really need to see them in person. I think they will be fine. But if need be you can order extra and maybe not use the tile that seems out of place.
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itsallaboutthefood
11 years ago
I think you need to look at more of the tiles all together. We have a porcelain tile which also has variation. Some of the tiles individually look all wrong. But when laid out all together, it looks great.
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Wood tiles are those porcelain tiles that look like they're wood, right? When they stand on it its hard surface, won't renters know its a porcelain tile? The problem is that I already have porcelain tile in the rest of the first floor so I kind of feel that more porcelain tile in the living room would be too much tile and too cold. The whole floor would be tiled if I tiled the living room. And, the whole grout thing is such a hassle that nobody tells you about when they say how maintenance-free tile will be. If I had do it all over again, I would have put those wood porcelain tiles in the kitchen and adjacent dining room instead of the current porcelain tile. Or, if I was in Florida, I think I might get away with that much tile. But, from what I've read, the rest of the country prefers more of a wood or warmer surface in the living room. http://massrealestatenews.com/what-types-of-flooring-do-home-buyers-prefer/ I don't want to make the mistake of another rental nearby who over-tiled the place to the extent that its hurting them find a renter. (I also think its hurting them that they make applicants jump through a lot of hoops before they will even show the place.) But, they're making a point of showing all the tiles in the place in Craigslist because I think the landlord got sick of showing it to all these people who would end up turning it down when they saw all the tile in the rental.
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Thanks for all of the feedback. I knew it was a V3, so I expected some shade variation, but I was under the impression that meant variation in light vs. dark...not a completely different tone. The sample board showed the one large tile in the color I selected, plus a small arrangement of the mosaic tiles (which did not show any pink). The sample was a porcelain floor tile 12x12, and what we ordered was a ceramic wall tile 9x12. The flooring supplier ordered everything... I just picked off the boards....so I didn't know that it was a completely different material and didn't ask for a sample of the ceramic. I will the next time we do something like this! Toby - I think that you are spot on...their beige color that is offered does have a pink tone. The manufacture rep said its a "1 in 1000 chance that the box was mislabeled"...but that is what my first thought was too. Live and learn, I guess!
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NewSouthernBelle
11 years ago
I'm sure the base colors are the same in all the tiles and they just have slightly more grey or yellow over it to give it movement and variety. Variation in floor tile is a good thing b/c it keeps it from looking like every tile is exactly the same. When every tiles has the same screen print on it, it looks cheap. As long as they mix up where each one is put and there aren't blocks of tile A all next to each other, it will look fine. The other way to mix up the tiles is even if you have the same screened tile next to each other, rotate it and the veining looks completely different and no one realizes it is the same tile.
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User
Original Author
11 years ago
The tile we have is the same as the right bottom tile. The first tile seems like a good companion, but the others seem very different. I know they can lay them creatively, but it's just not what we were expecting from the sample. I'm just worried the other two will look pink or gray, but I'll trust that the base colors are the same. Thank you for your reassurances!

I'd love to see everyone's floors if you have a pic handy!
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taggie
11 years ago
may_flowers, here are a few pics that show our porcelain tile variation.

Like the above posters said, there are individual tiles that on their own would look all wrong. But when laid out randomly together they look good and keep the floor from looking uniformly machine-made.
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User
Original Author
11 years ago
They're gorgeous, Taggie! They have such a warm richness!

Was it a hard choice to pick the direction? I hadn't considered diagonal. I'm not sure which lay-out will look best for a small U-shape kitchen.
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NewSouthernBelle
11 years ago
I just posted pictures for another recent thread so they are "fresh". I love floor tile on a diagonal. I think it makes any room look larger and it is more dynamic than a (IMO) boring grid. Here are mine - 24'' x 24''. I can tell they are busier and way more varied than yours - so don't let my pictures scare you:
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taggie
11 years ago
Not hard to decide on diagonal for me; I think they make the flow work for my kitchen and make it seem more open. Main consideration in my space was that the grout lines seem more random as we did a dual-size hopscotch pattern and the diagonal doesn't let the eye rest on the pinwheel grout patterns.

NewSouthernBelle, I LOVE your floor. The 24x24 tiles are spectacular!!
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User
Original Author
11 years ago
I love them too! They're not too busy or varied, so I'm going to relax about mine!

My floor space is 5 x 7 ft. Do you think 18 x 18 on the diagonal would work?
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taggie
11 years ago
Diagonal works on any size room, we have it even in our powder room. It does take about 5% more tile than straight or brick pattern because there is more waste with the cuts, so make sure you have enough tile to do it.

Maybe you can get a couple of boxes out and try laying out some tile each way. That's what we did before deciding which way to go, and once we saw them both it was clear the diagonal worked better in our space. If you try it both ways you will see which way looks best for your particular space ... you might even want to try laying out a brick pattern while you're at it.

Good luck! And post pics when you are done.
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NewSouthernBelle
11 years ago
Thanks guys. And Yes, I believe tile on the diagonal can work anywhere! We did it in our master bathroom and the floor space was only like 3.5' wide. It was long - 16' but the tiles was 18'' so on the diagonal one tile basically fits the aisle but I wouldn't have it any other way. I might have a picture of that too... let me check. Nope, sorry I don't but it if you are that interested, I can take some and post them.
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User
Original Author
11 years ago
Yes, we'll mock it up. I've mocked up the entire kitchen so far and it's the only real way to make a decision. I'm getting a little rushed with tile decisions because our cabinets are being installed tomorrow.

I wonder why so many people do hardwood in the kitchen when you see how gorgeous the tile looks and how many choices there are. I was worried about my legs getting tired on tile, but I'll get a gel mat if need be.
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ellendi
11 years ago
We do hardwood floors because is is easy on your back, knees, it warmer when walking barefoot. But, also when I drop a glass, believe or not it bounces and does not break.
Sometimes though tile is the way to go. It does look beautiful and coordinated better with the other choices.
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User
Original Author
11 years ago
Those were all the factors swaying me to continue the oak hardwood from the hallway into the kitchen, but I was afraid of water damage to the wood. We'd have had to refinish all our hardwood, and we didn't want to get involved in that.

I can't say it's been fun to have to pick out floor tile--we've been looking since December and only settled on one because we had run out of time.
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