Mid century not modern bathroom remodel: floor tile decisions
We are remodeling both of our bathrooms in our mid-century (but not modern) home in Northern CA.
Our master bath is a complete overhaul, making a large walk in shower (currently has a small closet sized shower) and will use this super cool tile from Bedrosians on the main shower wall, with a dark bronze tile floor and wooden vanity color that is close to the shower tile color.
https://www.bedrosians.com/en/product/detail/?itemNo=100005398
For our hall bath (otherwise known as "my bathroom") I am having analysis paralysis re: what floor tile to use. This hall/guest bathroom has a tub/shower combo and 66" single sink vanity and toilet (pic attached).
I'm using a basic rectangular white tile for the tub surround (without the sliding glass door). I've gone back and forth with my designer friends (god bless them for trying to help me) on if I should use charcoal hex tile or other color for the floor with a white vanity. I did not find a lot of options out there for hex... not that it has to be a hex tile.
The photo shows the hallway floors that will touch the bathroom floor tile, with a sample charcoal hex tile and the white tub surround tile. One designer hates dark floors and thinks they will show every water mark and hair on the floor (I'm a shedder), and the other designer friend thinks the idea is fine.
We are not staying in this home forever, so I want to gear my decision towards appealing for resale. I don't want to be boring, but I want it to be safe, and pretty, of course. Bathroom remodels in this area cost a fortune. I want it to look like a nice remodel to compliment the period of the home, but modernized. I'm trying to stay away from marble floors due to the price/sq ft and complaints that I hear re: upkeep. I'm also trying to not select gray tones because everyone uses gray.
I appreciate any suggestions!
UPDATE: Thanks for your input everyone! I'm switching gears and going with a lighter colored tile and white vanity, for a clean spa look with the hex, Bianco colored tile. I truly appreciated your honest feedback on the charcoal floors and stopping me from making a big mistake! Cheers!
Comments (8)
8 months ago
8 months agoRelated Discussions
What was your best / worst bathroom remodeling decision?
Comments (41)peony23, I would still go with the Inax, though I would get the mid-ranged model, called the "R". I have the "L". They both have a wall mounted remote which I like, though others have said the seat mounted type on the "C" is working fine for them without issue. The "C" is the lowest priced model of the 3. The middle priced model "R" still has a blow dryer like the highest priced "L", but not the higher wattage fan that the model "L" has. But I hardly use the fan. The "R" looks like it has a lower profile in the tank area too. What I wish though, is that I could switch the one in this guest bathroom (referred to above) to my progressing remodel, and get the "C" Inax for the guest bath, as it has the lowest profile at the back and would go much better with my traditional toilet. But my new remodel has an elongated toilet seat and my guest bath is a rounded front. I will link the website to Inax. The price listed on the web site is not what you will have to pay. I think I paid around $800 for the "L" online. Terry Love forum sells them but I don't know if he has the "R", I only saw the "L" and the "C" on his site. The reason I would stay with the Inax is that I have had very good use with mine over the last year. They've been producing the advanced toilet seat for years and were the pioneers of the system. They have a good reputation. Another reason is that there are two wands that do the washing, one for the front area and a second, at a different angle, for the posterior area. These were strategically angled to provide the best cleaning of these differing areas. I went with the Inax initially because of recommendations by Herring_Maven who has very detailed comments and thoughtful post here, and on other forums at GW. I really appreciate the post H_M provides. Here is a link that might be useful: Inax advanced toilet seat This post was edited by enduring on Thu, Mar 13, 14 at 10:55...See MoreDecisions, decisions - Tile around the bathroom walls?
Comments (22)Just my 1/2 cent. I would tile the entire wall, shower and behind toilet. It is the visual entry wall from your door entrance. I realize a curtain needs to be closed for the most part to dry, but i open mine for the rest of the day because it opens up the room, and i like my tile. It goes all the way up to a post and beam ceiling. I'm not sure why it bugs me to see so many breaks and jags in tile these days, up down and across, even stair stepping...shower steam and moisture does effect the wall above eventually and the wall towards the toilet just by the direction of your shower head. But more to the point is when this trend started. Having been in hundreds of NYC bathrooms original build from the turn of the century thru the 60's, they do not jog tile up down and around in some decorative way. Stopping at the division before your sink area is fine as that division makes sense. A friend of mine stopped the tile like your last post, but it was a budget concern, so maybe that is the reasoning? The recent 'modernists' in bath design seem to do a great job with many of these issues by taking tile all the way around at the shower curtain/glass door line...the entire room, or tiling one entire wall. In the first pic above, the nice traditional bath with vintage fixtures, i would have stopped the tile just above, by one or two tiles, the window hardware, all the way around clean. That would fall just below the sconces. Just a thought, probably just me......See MoreNeed help/advice with a mid century bathroom reno
Comments (29)Great that you are keeping the tile. I like a grey wall with peach. If you have the heart for wallpapering, here is a great before and after from someone on houzz who kept the original wall tile and got stunning wallpaper to compliment. Also be sure to check out Retro Renovation that dedicates and entire section of their blog to peach/pink retro tile bathroom renovations. They have a whole guide for how to select wall and accessory colors that will take into consideration your Burgundy accent color. If you can replace the sink with something open to the wall, I would try to get a console sink, meaning one that has legs in the front - instead of a pedestal, which has one leg in the center. I found a fantastic console sink from the 1930s on craigslist. It has glass legs. Beautiful. Here are just a few Houzz examples of consoles. Here are a few random peach tile pics from houzz for encouragement. Nice white wall with patterning from curtains Pretty shade of grey paint with pink tiles More grey and crazy though perfect wallpaper Lastly, what is the lower metal door for to the right of the sink? So curious....See MoreWhite Paint for Mid-Century Modern bathroom?
Comments (3)What a dream!! Love your selections! Try Sherwin Williams Greek Villa.your screen may read slightly yellow, but it’s a mildly warm, “happy” white that I think would look great!...See MoreRelated Professionals
Caledonia Interior Designers & Decorators · Albany Kitchen & Bathroom Designers · Beaufort Furniture & Accessories · Cedar Rapids Furniture & Accessories · Charlotte Furniture & Accessories · Pepper Pike General Contractors · Arlington Kitchen & Bathroom Designers · Jacksonville Kitchen & Bathroom Remodelers · Carol City Glass & Shower Door Dealers · Suwanee Glass & Shower Door Dealers · Mountain View Glass & Shower Door Dealers · Pinole Glass & Shower Door Dealers · Lakeside Cabinets & Cabinetry · North Plainfield Cabinets & Cabinetry · Ojus Window Treatments- 8 months ago
I know you said you wanted to stay away from gray, but I think a gray bathroom floor is very practical. Very light or very dark colors do tend to show dirt and hair easier. There is a white floor in the secondary bath of the house we moved into four years ago and it is terrible. I put a medium gray slate look porcelain in my primary bath when we remodeled a couple years ago and I have been very happy with it. I have brown and gray hair and neither show. :-) A lot of different colors go with white and gray so paint the walls something else like blue or gray, dark or light, depending on what you like, and get towels to match. Not everyone likes art in their bathroom, but I always put some in. As long as you have and use a good fan you don't have to worry about moisture.
Or just use a patterned tile if you really don't want gray, but don't want to see every fallen hair. While I agree with you that real marble is not a good choice, there are porcelain look alikes that you could use on the floor as well.
Mid-Century Modern Primary Bathroom Remodel / Alexandria, VA · More Info 
8 months ago
8 months ago
8 months ago- 8 months ago
Kendrah