Hi Taira, Actually, our renovation has been postponed until this fall. We still plan to reglaze the tile (professionally) but I have heard mixed reviews on how long the effects last. For us, given the cost difference between stripping the tile and reglazing, we're willing to risk it. As far as the toilet, we're going to go for the Rialto -- Totos are wonderful, I'm sure, but again, cost is a factor. Not to mention that our bathroom is so small that we figure an extra inch of space between the wall and toilet can't hurt! Hope that helps -- would love to hear what you decide to do!

Hello!! my husband and I are having a problem.... we had Rialto Terra Cotta tile laid.. by a friend of a friend. Need I say more? we told him it was textured and pitted, and needed special care, as we did not want the pits filled in. This guy showed us a portfolio of beautiful tile work.. thats his job, what he does. we asked him if we should seal it first, and he said no. Well, now we have sand beige grout in all the pits. He left before we came home, and the tile still looked wet,so we assummed he had done what we told him. Oh well, live and learn. Is there anything we can do now to remove the grout, now that it is dry? I've spent a couple hours trying to scrub it out... but, I have a good sized kitchen, and it will take weeks, at this rate...Any suggestions?

Please see the link below for my new post that I ask about tile size & what I should do after my visit at Lowe's today. Thank you Laurie for your kind words on my little Skeeter. He is so used to seeing me put tiles on the floor that he just pretends I am not looking at tiles again. :) I agree that going with a big company that will stand behind their installation may be good for me. I guess after writing the long post in the link below about tile size and my results of the Lowe's visit, any of the decisions will not be bad and I want to decide what to do by tomorrow so I can hire an installer and get this job done already. I also would love it if I found someone that was good at using the Epoxy grout since to not have the grout sealed for 1 week may not be that great if my little Skeeter misses the puppy pad that I keep in the middle foyer for him in case I am busy and do not have time to take him outside in the backyard. He is on Phenobarbital for his seizures and has to pee very frequently lately. Here is a link that might be useful: New post I set up for the tile size question & what I should do...

Jess111, Thanks for sharing the beautiful pictures. I am thinking I will use the big tiles for the kitchen (if when I am done this project I choose Rialto Beige for the kitchen...I first want to see how easy it is to clean when the tiles are installed before deciding .... I know it is easy enough to clean for me for two foyer areas and I love that it is not slippery when wet and just about waterproof) and I like the idea of a design with the smaller tiles that adds interest. Jess111, What color is your grout? Did you use sanded grout or an Epoxy grout? What is the grout's width you used? It looks nice. I like the Rialto Beige tiles since they are a 5 rating and look like real stone in person to me. I stopped at the farther away Lowe's tonight (got so lost coming home due to so many roads blocked and an accident... no wonder I always go to the closet stores) since I was told on the phone they have a different lot number. It looks the tile I love has been solid out and the lot numbers left for me to choose from out of the two closest stores gives me three choices. None of the three choices are as nice in the 12 X 12 size as the lot that was sold out but so far I like the one best where I have 1 box from the closer Lowe's since it has less gray veins and more of the beige color with a pink tint in it that makes it less gray to my eyes and goes better with the Brazilian Cherry engineered hardwood that I am leaning towards for the rooms surrounding the foyer areas. Hence, I am just going to exchange the 7 boxes I have here for the lot# that I only have 1 box of since they have a lot of these boxes on a top shelf that they have not put out yet on a bottom shelf. The Lowe's store closest to me has on display Marble Beige Grout with the Rialto Beige Tiles while the farther away store used Antique White Grout in their display with the Rialto Beige Tiles that looked very nice also and but did not match the grout color chart I have here. I did not choose Antique White since the grout color chart had it in a greenish gray tint while on display it was an darker off-white that really looked nice. Anyone on this list used the Antique White grout with their Rialto Beige tiles? I have three Laticrete sanded grouts here (mushroom, Marble Beige & Parchment) that I bought and must return two of them. I really would like to use the Laticrete SpectraLock Pro Grout since to wait a week to seal the tiles may have the grout already dirty with the puppy pad trays that I keep on top of the tiles in the back of the longer middle foyer. I was told by a flooring expert on this list that Lowe's does not carry the Laticrete SpectraLock Pro grout which is what I want if an installer will be familiar how to use it and not get it in the pits or at least be able to remove it since I like the look of the pits bare. I will talk to Lowe's tomorrow tomorrow and see how soon they can install the tiles unless someone on this list emails me with a tile guy in Northern NJ who will get the job done ASAP. I seem to like the diagonal design in my two foyers since they are small and I feel it makes the foyers look bigger. For my kitchen I am not sure yet since the pictures being shown with two sized tiles are very nice. I am leaning towards the mushroom grout since the grout color chart (which may be way off) looks best with the tile lot I will be getting the tiles from that has the pinky beige in it that I liked. The tile with more gray veins is also very pretty but the beige in it did not have the pink tint that I liked and that tile looks better with the Marble Beige. The Parchment's grout color chip is a tiny bit darker than the tiles and I think I like the lighter grout colors. I love the big tile but I think it is better for my kitchen since my foyer areas are really small.