Is a marble hex tile too high maintenance for a bathroom floor?
I live in a 100-year-old pre-war apartment in NYC. My current bathroom floor is made up of large polished absolute black granite tiles that I'm not crazy about. Every single foot print shows up on that thing. It's impossible to have it look clean.
I'd like to change the bathroom floor. I've fallen in love with this tile from Artistic Tile.
https://www.artistictile.com/products/riverside-drive-sriversidedrive?variant=33514177921112
The contractor told me it would be high maintenance. Looking at the pictures, it looks like the tile is comprised of black marble, white marble and carrara marble. I live here with my husband -- no kids and pets. We're relatively careful with things but not obsessive about it. We have a carrara marble dining room table. It's etched and we're OK with it.
Do you think that this tile will hold up over time? I'd also think grey grout would work the best with this tile.
Here are pics of my bathroom:
In addition, I have a question about my subway tile on the walls. It looks like it's an off-white grout. Areas near water have been turning kind of black. While I've been scrubbing with bleach/hydrogen peroxide mixture, it's never fully clean. Is it worth having it regrouted in a darker grout -- perhaps gray or black? Or would staining the grout be a better option?
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hex tile choices for bathroom
Comments (2)I am selecting a matte finish for mine. I bought the small samples of each and tested them out in the bathroom for a while (walking on them, cleaning them, etc) I think the matte is a better look for my home personally, but didn't notice a huge difference with the glazed as far as slippery / not. I think that all smooth tile will get slippery when wet - marble and glass will be really slippery and textured less so. Here is a link that might be useful: [Just for fun! Hex tile inspiration[(https://www.houzz.com/magazine/design-details-hexagonal-tiles-stsetivw-vs~154458)...See MoreHow can I redecorate bathroom with green faux marble floor tiles?
Comments (28)The tile is vinyl...she can't paint the "grout". To me wall color reads a little too much on the blue side, it needs more of a yellow undertone to go with your tub & vanity top. I think the clean white can work for trim and vanity, but only if you bring in more of the creamy/tan colors. I'd just stick with a fairly monochromatic theme-no prints because then you're really stuck with a 'theme'. You can bring in a print with wall art. I'd go more with texture than print, however. In our main bath reno, we have the same tub configuration. We put in white/gray marble tiles with a light grout. The tiles have a touch of tan in them also. I went with a blue wall color-reminiscent of beach glass, and all white trim. We put up beadboard on the ceiling where there used to be a flurescent light tube box built in. I used brush silver accessories and bright white towels. For the shower curtain I chose a shimmery blue one from Ikea. I don't have a 'theme' other than ahhhhh=it's just very calming to walk in there. I do have a stone Buddha and a couple of small shadow boxes of Asian coins. In any case, I'd definitely get a different shower curtain-that one just does not work with your floor....See MoreBlack Penny Rounds or Stone-Look Hex Tile for Bathroom Floor?
Comments (6)Thanks for your comments, all! (Pardon the lack of formatting, I've been typing this all on my phone!) ____________ Roarah: I think the marble-look hex option looks great! And the grey tile for herringbone is lovely too. I actually was set on doing a herringbone floor at first until it became more difficult to source a 3x20 or 4x24 length tile (I prefer a very long and lean look with a herringbone). Not sure if this will help you differentiate/decide between them, but the herringbone in that size feels a bit more modern to me, whereas the marble hex feels more classic/luxurious but I'm sure either choice will be beautiful on your floors! mrsshayne & grannysmith18: Thanks for sharing your experiences (I've been researching the heck out of those who've lived with penny tile floors to see if they ended up loving/hating them; interestingly, I found much more info on the black penny tile look but not a lot regarding white (except not to use white grout). Yeah, I think the amount of grout and worrying about it getting dirty is what's holding me back. Also, whether having such a large floor area of penny tile will be visually overwhelming instead of soothing and inviting. ____________ Latest Update: I actually returned the original 12x24 grey Porcelain (it was beautiful but was a bit rough in texture which I wasn't sure I wanted underfoot in the bathroom) and ended up buying a White Penny Porcelain mosaic with Mapei Flexcolor CQ Frost grout for the floors. However (>_<), I still can't help but have that nagging sense that this isn't the "right floor" yet... I realize I'm doing the penny or considering hex tiles because I feel like I owe it to the Victorian gods to be historically accurate but at the same time, if we could just have a smooth, one surface (minimal grout lines), white or light grey colored, easy to clean floor, I would. In other words, I feel like I'm trying to put in penny or smaller hex cause that's what it seems like I'm "supposed" to do, but I can tell that I don't actually love them (except for the marble hex which is out of our budget, since we have over 100 SF to tile) which is probably why I ruled them out in the first place, sigh. So I'm still in dilemma mode...but am thinking of choosing one of these really large format tiles from a local retailer (who offers bargain prices on bathroom fixtures and larger cement-look tile): https://goo.gl/photos/3wE9kcS3WPbp9sD18 Mainly, I'm reminded that my original goals for the bathroom were to make it whiter and brighter (maximize the minimal light), more spa-like, with some modern flair/finishes at a reasonable cost, though choosing the "right" tile seems like a decision that will never end until we finally get started on laying things down. Along with trying to choose a finish that a future buyer won't curse me for, the way I did when I saw the red terra cotta on the bathroom floor :P. ____________ I'll keep the thread updated with how things turn out (I really appreciate when others have done the same; it's neat to see people's considerations for why they did what they did and the incredible changes that can be made), just hope the bathroom doesn't turn out ugly (cause then I'll be less inclined to post :P!) Thanks for reading!...See More4" marble hex tiles on the floor too large with 3 x 6 subway tiles?
Comments (5)I think marble is probably too fancy for your 1940s cape cod, too. Not that you asked. But a modest house like that would never had marble in the bathroom originally....See More
lanikaicoconut
10 months agolanikaicoconut
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cpartist
10 months agoMy master bath is all marble tile with an onyx inset. It's now 5 years old and looks as good as when it was installed. What we did was get honed marble tile so when it etches, we can't really tell the difference. Our onyx counter is polished. After 5 years there are a few etches but that counter is so beautiful and mesmerizing, it doesn't bother me at all.
lanikaicoconut thanked cpartistlanikaicoconut
10 months agolanikaicoconut
10 months ago
chispa