Is all white matte subway tile the same - buying sight unseen

12 years ago

Good afternoon from a post Tropical Storm Irene St John :)

I am having to buy white matte subway tile for my shower - I know OT but you guys are the best when it comes to all things tile - and again having to buy sight unseen and ship via container to St John - so my question is, is all white matte subway tile the same.

This tile is going in a guest bathroom and I want it to be just basic 3" x 6" matte white (not a grey/white or yellow/white) and it does not have to be top of the line just not cheap and flimsy.

Does anyone have a company I can order from or can recommend. I found plenty online ranging from approx $2 to $14 ........ help :)

Thanks everyone.

Piaa

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Comments (4)

mountaineergirl
12 years ago
Well PIAA, if you fly me down and put me up for a week,(after the storm passes of course) I will personally bring you some tile! :)
littlesmokie
12 years ago
Do you want machine made (cheaper; will allow you thinner grout lines) or more of a handmade irregular look (more expensive; irregular tile=irregular grout lines= grout lines will need to be wider for a pleasing uniform pattern.)

Another consideration--what became my main consideration--what other sizes/trims/accent pieces do you need/want? It is difficult to mix whites across different tile lines, so if there is some pretty something you love in one line and you're buying sight unseen, best to just bit the bullet and choose the 3x6 field tile from the same line. I wasted A LOT of time trying to find coordinating whites to save money and ultimately gave up. (I am really picky about color matching though, so maybe this is not a factor for the average person.)

I did not use matte tiles, but I can give some info about what I did use, in case it might help you (or anyone else lurking!) When I was deciding between matte or glossy tiles, I found all the whites were "whiter" in glossy because they reflected more light and the glossy also looked more traditional/historically accurate/less modern (which is what I was after for my projects.)

Machine made: I used Daltile "Arctic White" 3x6 subways in our kids bath reno. It is cheap, but doesn't seem "flimsy." (You always want to order overage for any tile project, but I think particularly in your case when you can't just run back to the store!) Daltile has 3 whites, Arctic seemed the basic white to my eye---(This is what Home Depot carries as Daltile "100."). Daltile "Kohler white" has some gray undertones (to coordinate with Kohler white sink/tub fixtures which have very slight gray undertone.)

Handmade: I used Ann Sacks cappriccio 3x6 in "white" for our master bath reno. It has the handmade irregular look but was less costly than some other handmade tile I looked at.

When they were both installed initially, I majorly preferred the Daltile kids bath because all the grout lines looked so clean and I'd wished we'd done our master with that and saved the money! BUT once the glass was installed in the master shower, it accentuated all the lovely undulations of the handmade tile that sort of disappeared just looking at it straight on. Now I love the A.S. tile because it almost makes it look like we used wavy restoration glass in our shower. This is a good thing for our 1913--and trying not to look brand new--master bathroom :)

I just have to emphasize the Daltile does not look cheap at all. I'm really happy with it and it is a great price point!

Have you seen this older thread? It has some photos of machine made subways and handmade subways and discusses differences/is it worth the money etc.

Here is a link that might be useful: white subway tile thread
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susanlynn2012
12 years ago
Littlesmokie, thank you for the white subway tile thread!
piaa
Original Author
12 years ago
Sorry I have not responded sooner - after effects of TS Irene - limited internet and cell right now.

Thank you so much for the information. I found a Daltile dealer in Miami who will drop ship to Tropical so I think they will work perfectly - have to love the price also :)

Piaa

Is all white matte subway tile the same - buying sight unseen

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mountaineergirl

littlesmokie

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Is all white matte subway tile the same - buying sight unseen

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mountaineergirl

littlesmokie

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piaaOriginal Author

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