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Flooring Design Dilemma Kitchens

Color savants, please help (photos)

Alyssa Fernandez

last year

last modified: last year

I'm choosing materials for my kitchen. My wall cabinets will be painted in White Dove (or possibly Dove Wing, which is slightly darker but has similar undertones), with a central island in a neutral gray-green. My kitchen gets lots of natural light from clerestory windows, and this picture has been a major inspiration:

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I love the limestone floor, and have found a stone-look porcelain tile with a chiseled edge and textured matte finish that comes in the sizes necessary to do a Versailles/French pattern, Pietra di Ostuni by Cerdomus. It comes in four colors: Sabbia (sand, which is too orange-yellow), Grigio (too gray), Avorio (ivory) and Tufo (tuff, like the volcanic rock).

Here's a mosaic showing the color variation in Avorio:

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And here's a mosaic showing the color variation in Tufo:

Williamsburg kitchen remodel · More Info

The problem is, I can't for the life of me decide which is likely to give me the bright, neutral look I'm aiming for. I think it's Avorio, and imagine that Tufo would look even darker next to White Dove (or Dove Wing) cabinets. Then again, I think there's some yellow in the Avorio, and I don't want to go too peachy-creamy because of the silvery undertones in my cabinets. Am I just imagining that, comparing it to the Tufo?

I would really appreciate any guidance and reassurance that might save me from making a choice I'll hate for the next fifteen to twenty years. Can any color savants out there provide some insight?

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Comments (7)

Elaine Doremus Resumes Written
last year
I call myself the "color police"! I had my colors done more than 20 years ago and I'm one of those nutty people who is a winter! I stick to my colors (for my clothes) all the time. Crisp, cool colors look best on my skin tone. I don't have the money to keep my color rules to most of my condo, but I do for my kitchen floor. I love a very light colored floor in the kitchen. For 22 years, I've had a bright white floor in my kitchen and it always looks great and clean. I see so many people on youtube and in other places making mistakes about color. Taupe is one of them. Taupe is a neutral for me. If you Google taupe, you will get a lot of different opinions on the color. A true taupe is a gray-brown. You can have a taupe in light, medium, or dark. Here are cool colors: bright white, ice cool pastels, black, gray, taupe, silver, royal blue, pine green, forest green, kelly green, purple, cool red. Warm colors: ivory, cream, off-white, warm red, tan, brown, olive green, golden yellow, gold, orange, peach. I think a room should be all cool colors or all warm.
eld6161
last year
Would chisled be in danger of breaking off at the grout line?
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chispa
last year
It is porcelain ... the chiseled edge won't break off!
PRO
Patricia Colwell Consulting
last year
Porcelain breaks just like any other tile the only bonus is it is colored all the way through so not in your face white . I would never choose a tile floor with that many grout lines so I need to see your actul choices next to the tile for sure and the inspiration pic is nothing like the tile you are looking at .
Alyssa Fernandez
Original Author
last year
Patricia Colwell Consulting, the tile comes in 10 sizes and 3 finishes, and to me it looks quite a bit like the limestone tile in the inspiration pic when it's installed. Do you mean the color is different, or the finish...? What are you seeing that I'm not?
Williamsburg kitchen remodel · More Info
clt3
last year
I can't help with color, but personally I would never do the chiseled edges. We have travertine with those edges and they are a cleaning nightmare. The grout sits too low and just always looks grimy. I'd love to replace them but they are throughout the entire house.
Alyssa Fernandez thanked clt3
Alyssa Fernandez
Original Author
last year
Update: I found an older discussion post showing more pictures of the same tile in Avorio, in this case already installed in a kitchen. It helped me make up my mind that Avorio is the right color for me. https://www.houzz.com/discussions/6061284/seeking-help-sourcing-large-format-limestone-look-tile#n=45

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