We have fairly standard size full baths in our home, not very large. Is it better to put a large tile or a smaller tile on the floor? I have found an 8×8 tile that I like but my husband thinks we should go with a larger 12×12 tile. ~ Jacquie
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Jacquie, my philosophy on tile is this: Tile good. Grout bad.
What I mean by that is the bigger tile you have, the less grout you will have to deal with. For as long as you have your tile, you will probably have to do nothing more than wipe it down with a mild soap to keep it looking nice.
Grout, on the other hand can crack over time and need to be repaired. If you choose a light colored grout, it will show dirt and need to be cleaned or recolored once in a while.
So then, I agree with your husband – for the floor, a 12×12 tile would be better than a 8×8. And if you can get away with an 18×18, I would go with that. Additionally, a smaller tile with all the grout lines makes for a lot of visual noise and can make a small space feel even smaller.
If you find a smaller tile that you really like, I would recommend that you use it on the tub or shower surround and the larger version of it on the floor.
I definitely agree with you on the larger tile. When we retiled our master bath, the designer at the tile store told me I needed larger tiles. I was afraid they would be too big but the 18×18 size that we picked looks great. I had them lay them on the diagonal too to really open up the space.
March 4th, 2008Definitely bigger tile, and laid at an angle for visible interest if possible. Grout-schmout, for me it’s the same concept of sometimes painting a small room a darker color instead of lighter, or putting large furniture in a small room rather than undersized. It seems contradictory, but the effect can be delicious.
March 4th, 2008How many tiles are too few? We have a mighty-small half-bath, and I don’t want only 2 tiles across the floor, because I fear that will make it look even tinier than it is (if such a thing is possible). Am I wrong? Maybe I will draw tiles on the floor with sharpie, and see if 12×12 or 18×18 would be better than I imagine. (My drawing might also encourage us to find the money for tile sooner rather than later.)
March 4th, 2008Actually Beth that is a wise thing to do — except instead of using a Sharpie, cut out several pieces of paper 12×12, lay them out and see how it looks and where the grout lines would fall.
It could be that a rectangular 6×12 tile set in a brick or offset pattern would work better than a standard square because it visually lengthen the space.
March 4th, 2008I love this website! We are putting our house on the market soon, so this has been truly helpful.
Thank you!
March 5th, 2008So we just ordered 20X20 tile for the kitchen (a dark stone looking tile with “earth” colored grout) and I said i wanted it installed in a brick pattern. Maybe I want a diagonal after all? This tile is meeting up with wood floor and I was afraid the diagonal lines wold look too busy with the flow of lines from the wood floor. You don’t think so do you?
March 5th, 2008My question is an offshoot of Stephanie’s question. We are laying wood flooring downstairs. Our family room, kitchen, and breakfast nook are all open to each other, with our living room and dining room off of the kitchen. Our entry also opens to our living room and we have a powder room as well. I want to lay wood in the entire downstairs so the rooms will all flow together. My husband wants to lay tile in the kitchen and breakfast nook. I’m afraid it will look too choppy. What do you think?
March 5th, 2008In the homes that I’ve worked on, we always do wood throughout, but tile in the breakfast, kitchen, laundry room and any connecting hallway. Functionally, tile is just a better choice for those rooms. In my opinion, the tile kind of provides a nice visual break from the great expanse of wood and adds another texture. In the family room I usually do a short patterned berber for better acoustics and warmth.
If the entry is not a separate foyer, I would go with wood. I would probably go with wood anyway. As far as your powder room, I would use which ever flooring is connected - if the powder room it is connected to the kitchen, then use tile. If it is off a formal area, then go with wood for continuity.
March 5th, 2008I think larger tiles are easier to clean too, and more pleasing to the eye. It seems more contemporary too.
March 7th, 2008Hey AM, I noticed that you said grout would need to be cleaned or re-colored after a while. I have never heard of this. How would you clean light colored grout or re-color it?
March 8th, 2008You can recolor any grout with — grout colorant! You can find the standard colors (beige, gray, white) at Home Depot/Lowes in the tile section and special colors like black and green at speciality tile stores. I have black grout in my kitchen and wanted to freshen it - black ground turns white of all things when it gets dirty - and I had to go to a speciality tile store to get it. Basically you paint it on and wipe it off. It’s not super cheap but it goes a long way. Oh, and it’s a big pain in the knees to do, but worth it!
As far as cleaning grout, there are a zillion products on the market for that, so that and a toothbrush and just go to town!
I did a spec house for a builder once and our tile guys picked up the wrong color grout and put navy blue grout with a beige tile — and never even thought to ask if it was right. Duh. So obviously, we had to fix that before we could sell the house and so we colored it beige.
March 8th, 2008