I really like the staggered pattern, straight comes second and I do not care for the diagonal, far too busy for my taste. As for the grout, Antique White looks good.

HTH, Petra

Another vote for staggered. Do not like diagonal.

Staggered for me... looks nice. Good luck!

The staggered stands out as the most attractive in your kitchen.

I vote for the staggered pattern with mushroom grout. It gives a nice flow without shouting "look at me!" Going with a tad bit darker grout has usually worked out well for me. I could be wrong but grout seems to lighten as it dries. You picked pretty tile.

staggered

Thank you Remodelfla, Setra66, Satdem, Co-Co, Kitchendetective, Tea4all, and Kris_ma for your votes and amazingly the staggered (running bond/brick_ pattern seems to be winning with some initially for the diagonal. No one likes the straight grid with my kitchen layout so now I have it down to two. The staggered looked like there would be less cuts and it does look nice. It is difficult to tell with the diagonal since I could not put anymore tiles down near the appliances without cutting them.

Thanks Petra66 for your Antique White Grout vote. Thank you tea4all for your Mushroom Grout vote.

I will be checking back in between clients today for other votes so by tomorrow I will know what I am doing. I just know I am happy with the tiles that are so neutral and go well with the Brazilian Cherry Floors in my other room.

my vote, 1st staggered then straight with the darker grout.

not liking the diagonal, too crazy for my eyes

good luck

Thank you Sprtphntc for your opinion that the Staggered you liked best and then the straight and you would go with the darker grout. My client just called and is running late so I was able to check messages again. I have a home office and this is a deadline week but I also want a new floor in my kitchen.

staggered and diagonal are my preferences. straight grid just looks to simple, unless that is what you are going for.

I also prefer either the staggered or diagonal.

Things to consider - diagonal is going to be more work with cutting all the corners. But I've still gone with diagonal in my rooms (one room is herringbone on the diagonal). The main reason is my rooms are not square, and diagonal hides that. You can still see that the triangle edge peices go from smaller to larger along the wall, but it's not like having a line that goes from 3" from the wall(or base of cabs) at one end to 5" from the wall at the other.

I'm a fan of the diaonal. I did almost the same tile in a bathroom and it looks really good. It will make your kitchen look bigger. IMO

I prefer the staggered, but diagonal is good too.

I prefer the brick/running bond pattern.

I've always liked tile set on the diagonal, particularly for the size of your room. To me it looks much better than when it's set straight. But seeing the tile laid out in your photos, I like the running bond the best. Maybe because that's a pattern that's become popular again, and so I've seen it recently in more magazine spreads? Regardless, it looks very nice and is classic. So, my first choice is the running bond, second choice is diagonal.

In terms of the grout color, I like the Antique White the best. But this can be more difficult to tell in a photo. You can't go wrong with either the Antique White or the Mushroom.

Good luck with setting your tile, it will look great!

I prefer the running bond ('staggered' pic 5) the most.

I want to thank, Falkonxl, Macybaby, widardmn, dilly_ny, chocloatebunny, jmcgowan, and ghostlyvision for your preferences which mean a lot to me.

I only placed the tile in the straight grid since that is what my neighbor had in his kitchen that looked nice and how the installers placed the tiles on the floor when they were giving me estimates to see how many more tiles I should buy. I ended up buying two more boxes to be safe since the tile is discontinued and is a very nice rectified PEI 5 rating tile that is so neutral.

But then when looking for pictures of tiles to see what grout colors and layouts others used, I saw pictures with the running bond (staggered) and tried that and liked it and then my friend told me it would look best on the diagonal so I tried that. Then I got confused but I also like the running bond and the diagonal the best in my particular kitchen but I see there will be so much less cuts with the running bond. I really am liking the tile so much now that I have it on the floor and I can't wait to install it.

I am still taking votes since I have tomorrow the kitchen guy coming to give me prices and then I will make my decision to do just the tiles right now or more and compare his price and quality to the three installers I met with already.

I now want prices for the running bond versus diagonal.

The running bond is really looking nice to me as it provides interest to the room and is a pattern I do not have in any of my rooms. I have diagonal in the foyer area and the mudroom area and I love the way it makes the tiny foyer and hallway look bigger and adds interest. The three bathrooms have hexagon tiles. The laundry room's commercial tiles are next to go and that will be my next project when the kitchen is done.

Jmcgowan, thanks for your vote on the grout. Both were my favorites out of many and both are nice so I am still taking votes for the grout also.

I vote for diagonal or staggered.....straight grid boring and expected IMO....

Thank you joaniepoanie for your vote for either diagonal or staggered. I have seen some beautiful kitchens with straight grid tiles but when I laid the tiles that way in my kitchen, it did not seem work that well to my eyes and I am glad others feel that way also.

I like the staggered look. Grout lightens but then when it gets dirty - it darkens. I would go darker so your grout doesn't LOOK dirty when it gets dirty.

FooDee, sorry, I am just seeing your reply today! Thanks for your input. I have chosen the staggered look. But I have chosen the Mushroom Grout which I hope whoever installs my tiles lets me use. Thank you!

Good for you Lynn, it's going to be a beautiful floor. :)

Thank you ghostlyvision! I would have started the tile installation but I am first trying to see if I can replace the cabinets now rather than waiting. I really am happy with the tiles and I know the running bond/staggered pattern is going to make me happy.

What about staggered AND diagonal ?
We are at this same point in out Reno. Tile is getting done on Monday.

I vote for the staggered pattern.

As for the grout color- I highly recommend that you make a sample board. The color you get from the bag seems to vary quite a bit from the little samples seen in the stores. I did a sample board and immediately knew which choice was the better. I just got a piece of plywood, mortared some tiles on it in same pattern I would be using and then tried two different colors of grout on it. There was some waste involed in that I bought a bag of grout that I did not use (plus a few tiles), but I felt the end result was really worth it!!

cflaherty, Congratulations on getting your tile finally installed on Monday so your kitchen renovation has begun! I had no idea there was such a thing as staggered AND diagonal. I will look into it but I do know I liked the way the staggered looked in my kitchen. I had held off installing the tiles since I decided to replace the cabinets first so I am trying to find an installer to do both for me.

JLGC, Thanks for your vote. I also like the staggered tile look. That is a great idea so I can really see what color the grout dries and the look with my tiles. Thank you!

Staggered. (:

Staggered brick!

Athomeswing and legallin, thank you both for your staggered brick vote!

Brick Brick Brick(I just used it in a 10.5 x 12 kitchen)
Straight, no way and they always charge more for diagonal.

re: grout
I agree with FooDee, you will not be happy with light grout

all the best on your install...

staggered....

Eatrealfood and dianolo, thank you both for your vote! I am going to do my tiles staggered since I really liked the look and I wanted to be sure that it did look nice in my kitchen since my friend told me he felt it would look best on the diagonal and my neighbors who had this tile I fell in love with did it straight.

Well, despite liking the Antique White Grout, I am choosing Mushroom since it is darker but first I will test it and see how it dries like another posted suggested to be sure. I know I should really go darker, I just like when grout blends in with the tile. I hope I don't regret not going dark enough but at least I am choosing the darker grout of my two favorite grout shades.

Lynn sorry just getting back w you...did you try staggering on a diagonal ?
We did just staggered couldnt afford to do both.

Here is a pic of ours...hope this helps!

http://s1011.photobucket.com/albums/af233/flatman/?action=view&current=27a25e38.png

http://s1011.photobucket.com/albums/af233/flatman/?action=view&current=9325117a.png

I'd like to vote for lynn206 as the year's most polite and appreciative opinion-seeker.

Lynn - I see you chose the staggered - good choice! I would like to recommend one thing though. One of the best things we did in our kitchen was use epoxy grout. LOVE IT! I didn't read through all the posts here, so sorry if it's already been discussed.

1. Staggered brick
2. Diagonal
3. Straight

Also, I like the tile.

Oops ... guess I should have read the all the posts, or at least taken note of the date of the original post. I didn't realize the choice had already been made, since I didn't read the rest of the thread until I made my choice so that others' choices wouldn't influence my vote.

Has the tile been put down yet? Are you happy with it?

clfaherty, I was unable to view the links. Please try again and maybe post one in the area below to test it for clicking. Thanks for trying.

I have not yet installed the tile since the installers kept telling me to buy new cabinets and that the tiles should go under the cabinets. I found an installer I like that that spoke to his plumber and their is a lot of adjustment under the KitchenAid dishwasher and he feels he can install under the gas range, dishwasher and refrigerator as well as including the price of the plumber he had one of the lowest quotes despite still be over $1,000. He was not the lowest but he seems to know the most and some quotes were more than double! Then if I do change the cabinets with the same layout, I will see if I need more tiles to put under but for now, I would like to tile the floor, change the light to recessed and then I will have two less expenses to do that kitchen places were charges triple for!

Thank you sail-away for your opinion and liking my tile.

Squigs, thanks for letting me know that you used Epoxy grout. I will talk to the installer about it after I meet with one more installer tomorrow. The installers I met with in October were so much money and no one was going under the dishwasher and I really was not comfortable with any of them pushing me to buy new cabinets and change the lighting but at least now I am changing the lighting.

Marcolo, thank you for your kind words. I am always so appreciative when people give me their honest input. Thanks to the GardenWeb, I no longer have stark white on my walls and I have contrast with my baseboard trim. I am slowing fixing up my home as I learn and have support that I am so appreciative for all those that have kind hearts and try to help one another.

I think that the diagonal is the best. It adds more interest to the floor and also the kitchen. Have you thought about adding a small metal tile, as kind of a medallion, across the floor. I think that would look very pretty in your kitchen.

Thank you ksissy for your opinion which I appreciate. It is difficult for me to visualize the diagonal since so much of my old floor was not covered as it needs to be cut all around the edges to appreciate the final layout. The tile guy changed the estimate until tomorrow morning and I will let him look at my tiles and floor and see what he says. It is more costly to install on the diagonal since installers wanted me to pay $500 more for my two very tiny foyer areas to put on the diagonal. I ended up installing the tiles on the diagonal in my two foyer areas since it looked so nice when I spread it out on the floor in those two small areas.

I like both the staggered look and the diagonal but since I did the diagonal in the foyer areas, I was thinking of doing the staggered in the kitchen but wanted opinions first. I did not like the straight up and down so I was glad that others did not either.

That small metal tile sounds pretty if I was doing the tiles on the diagonal. I will let the tile guy talk tomorrow to see what he has to say.

I wish I was doing new cabinets now but I want the tiles down and recessed lighting put in and a new fixture installed in my dining room area. With the tiles and supplies, this small changes comes to over $3,000 but the kitchen places wanted to charge over $7,400 for these two jobs! For kitchen cabinets that I was not crazy about, the bill came to $31,000 with a lot of the costs the general contractor overcharging me to install the tiles and the lighting.

I thought if I put the tiles down and change the lighting, I will better be able to decide if I will paint my cabinets or stain them, as well as change the hinges and add hardware or wait until my busy season is over to remove them, remove the soffit and install either cherry cabinets or maple stained cherry cabinets are off-white cabinets. My first love is the inset doors but the price with the granite counters and installing the tile floors and new lighting as well as removing the soffit and cabinets was becoming too much for now especially since it is getting too close to my busy season. I am still waiting for two prices to do everything from two contractors trying to get me to do all the work now.

It sounds like you may consider changing your cabinets in the future, I would suggest buying extra tile and grout now in case your new cabinets don't fit the space left by the original. Also, be sure to store the leftover grout in a sealed container so it doesn't get wet or harden with humidity over time.

Thank you singingmicki for your input which I appreciate. Yes, I will make up my mind tomorrow after I call this one more installer that I was supposed to meet on Monday but someone was still here taking up my time for hours for cabinets I did not like. Then I must get started to see how many more boxes I will need and how much more grout for when I change cabinets if I don't paint them or if I don't like the way they look when painted.

I like staggered also :) The tile is very pretty and looks great with your cabinets. I was going to go with diagonal in my bathroom reno, but after seeing your pictures, I think we should consider a staggered layout. Thanks for posting!

I think that you could get away with just changing the cabinet doors and staining the cabinets maybe a little darker. Your cabinets look like they are in reasonably good shape for the staining. With new granite counters, under mounted sink,and a tile back splash that looks very similar to the tiled floor (with the medallion), I think that your kitchen would look terrific. This, I think, is how you could get the most value for the money, esp when reselling the house later on. The last thing that I would do is to paint the cabinets. I have done this before and it is constant upkeep (nicks, etc). A factory finished, sprayed on paint will last much longer. When someone buying a home is looking at painted cabinets, what they see is that they have to eventually replace them.

In order of preference: Staggered, Diagonal, Straight

Elle3, Thank you so much for letting me know you like the staggered also. The installer today liked the staggered with the shape of my kitchen and I think it is an updated look that is becoming popular. I have the diagonal in the two foyers and it looks nice but after I spread the tiles out on the floor, I just liked the staggered first, diagonal second and the straight third just like mercymygft. The installer today chose a dark mushroom color from Polyblend custom grout colors that too me looked like a taupe/gray color and yes it went with the gray veins in my tile but I like the Laticrete Mushroom color I chose to blend with the tiles and not stand out. He let me see his townhouse in a different complex that had solid cherry cabinets that he has professionally stained a Mahogany Cherry with crown molding and it looked great with the cherry floors in the other room.

Maybe I should change the lighting and tile now and then make my decision on the cabinets?

ksissy, I wish I could just change the cabinet doors but Home Depot's refacing place was ridiculously expensive at $18,400 but if I signed that night, $15,400! I wonder if someone can replace the doors at a cheaper price? I had planned on painting the cabinets BM Cloud White once I decided not to buy cabinets right now since I had wanted to go with Shiloh's Polar White Inset Cabinets with the hidden hinges. Now after seeing someone cherry kitchen this morning with cherry floors in the other room, I wonder if my cabinets will look better a little bit darker due to the cherry floors in the next room. I want new cabinets but I decided just not yet since there is too much down time with renovating the whole kitchen and the price is becoming too much for my townhouse in case I want to sell it one day.

Hi Lynn, I bet that there is a carpenter or cabinet maker who could do that for you, cheaper than Home Depot. I have also seen replacement doors on line. I would google it, and see what comes up.

I like staggered

Thank you ksissy and florantha. I appreciate both your help and input.

That's ok. Please let us know how it works out.