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Design Dilemma entry

Entry tile help?

last month

I have an entry door that opens to the living room, and I need to put tile there because it gets very wet in the winter. The tile will be next to medium-light hardwoods as well as a brick hearth.

Can anyone suggest what color/type of tile might be good? Thank you!

Featured Answer

Kendrah

last month

Can you please post pics? It will help a lot.

I had gorgeous 170 year old heart pine wood floors in my home and did not want to replace any of it with tile in my small entry area. I covered the area year round with a large waterhog mat the color of my wood floors. It blended nicely, I could carry it outside to hose it off, it caught rain, water, snow beautifully and protected my floors. It was a more natural looking transition than placing tile next to wood. I'd check them out before committing to tile.

Many places carry them. LL Bean has some good reviews with pics of entryways in living rooms.

https://www.llbean.com/llb/shop/127623?csp=s&feat=506645-ecdmotd#review-jump

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Comments (8)

Lyn Nielson
last month
install the tile to resemble a rug.
Lucy May thanked Lyn Nielson
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Based on your preferences, I'm going to double down on my two suggestions. I don't think large tile will work on your small area, and I definitely don't think you should do it because it's popular. A tile should match the size of the space. Anything that small with that many corners will also have lots of weird cuts in the tile, and you might end up having to have something like a 2" strip of tile at one side of the room. Large tile is also more expensive to install and more prone to "lippage" because it's harder to make it straight. The cost of Chevron/herringbone is higher. But it will also help hide the weirdness of cutting tiles around all the stairs etc. You would also need a fairly experienced tile guy for this job, not the lowest bid. Only you can decide if it's worth it to you to do Chevron. Note that brick is a bit more difficult to clean, but they make sealers you can put on them, kind of like for basketball court floors. I just think your space is reasonably small and you have the opportunity to make the floor a great statement, so you should :) http://homeguides.sfgate.com/tile-installation-pricing-54070.html
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We often leave doors open. This is why I wanted a dutch door but they were too expensive and we are not crafty enough to convert a door. We also let our old horse, goats, chickens, ducks etc wander about property and destroy all attempts at landscaping. (used to have a bottle lamb that came in house looking for me and checked the doors sounds cute but they don't housetrain - gross) My horse will go inside anywhere garage, shed, chicken coop for chicken food. He puts head inside windows left open in cars and trucks he'll check for crackers, chips, bread, and some fruit but not apples- weirdo. On one of his foraging trips just inside kitchen door he slipped a bit and rammed down on one tile that cracked. He is not invited in but he watches doors. Animals are now locked up when parties and bbq are thrown as they forget they are livestock and get pushy and graze the appetizers which is really the dogs job. kinda funny I suppose if you are not used to it, but predictably irritating if you know better and let them out to find your garlic bread gone. So my need for impervious flooring - mini farm. I did use our dirt when selecting colors too!. thanks for all the help I couldn't think of how to finish entryway on a budget but these ideas help.
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Well in theory I agree with H202 but rarely do you see a situation where the match is exact - usually you have to sand the existing and stain all to get an exact match. Sheen is the other part that is really hard to match as an older top coat looks different than a new top coat even if done in the ‘same’. Best if your pro wood floor contractor can show you stained boards for your approval prior to starting. Have patience to wait for the right pro and maybe wait til wood prices adjust as now would be the most costly time to do this work should you go that route. A charcoal slate look floor tile would work should you choose to go the tile route.
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Einav B
last month
What Lyn Nielson said - we've had a dark one in one of our previous homes and it looked terrific:
Lucy May thanked Einav B
deegw
last month
last modified: last month
A simple slate look porcelain will look nice next to your hardwoods and brick hearth. Will you share a picture of the space?
Lucy May thanked deegw
kandrewspa
last month
I'm with Kendrah on the waterhog mats. I have one at every entrance to my house. Even if you tile you need something like that, so maybe you could have a wood foyer. Where I live now my first floor is all wood. They make waterhog mats in a lot of different sizes so get one as large as you think you will need. Granted they're not as pretty as an area rug, but I love the practicality. We get some snow and plenty of rain where I live. Also look at ruggables washable rugs which are also popular with people on this site. My next door neighbor just bought a couple of them.

For the best advice, post a picture of the area you're referring to so everyone can see what you're dealing with.
Lucy May thanked kandrewspa
Lucy May
Original Author
last month
Thank you all for your helpful suggestions & beautiful entryway photos. I’m away & can’t take a pic of my space today, unfortunately.

I’d love to go with hardwoods + mat, but it is a heavily used door so I’m worried water will get underneath.
Kendrah
last month
The pics below are nice but none are of a tiled area in a living room. They are all of entryways, which it sounds like you don't have.

With a waterhog mat you have to get one that is large enough. I never had water go underneath mine and it was at our main entrance. We had not garage or side entrance to our house, so this was incredibly heavily used in all kinds of weather. These mats are waterproof on the bottom and drink up and retain the water.
Lucy May thanked Kendrah
Lucy May
Original Author
last month
Kendrah and kandrewspa, I think you’ve convinced me that wood will be the best option for this spot. Thank you very much!

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