Shop Products
Houzz Logo Print
bill_vincent_gw

MY turn to ask for pics-- subway tiles with colored grouts

bill_vincent
16 years ago

I just met with a couple this evening building their home, and I discussed with them the use of subway tiles in their master shower. Now, I've got all kinds of pics of subway tiles, but none of what I'm looking for. Those of you in here who've used subway tile with a light gray or tan grout-- could you please post pics, so I could show them what the slight contrast would do for the tile?

Thanks!!

Comments (19)

  • mrslimestone
    16 years ago

    None of these are my photos but there seem to be a few examples when I searched flickr for "subway tile grout"

    http://www.flickr.com/search/?w=all&q=subway+tile+grout&m=text

    Hope that helps!

  • kgwlisa
    16 years ago

    We are planning to use mapei warm grey. I have a pic of the wall behind my toilet but it's really unfinished looking. The tile guy did it pretty quickly just so I could get my toilet in and it's sloppy in the corners - he assures me that when he is not going at lightning speed his corners are far neater and the gaps will be covered by the other two walls butting in. There is also no chair rail installed yet and yes, my walls are crooked - the house is 120 years old. He laid out the floor so that the crooked parts of tile are for the most part hidden, this wall is behind the toilet. I don't want your people to be scared off by what is probably the worst looking part of the tile in my entire bathroom ;).

    So all that said as a disclaimer, here is mapei warm grey with AO lowes special "gloss white" tiles tight butted. I've seen others where there is more of a grout line and it's too much grout for me. I was REALLY nervous about using the grey because of some pictures I've seen with wider grout lines but with the tight joints it's perfect, at least in my opinion.

  • bill_vincent
    Original Author
    16 years ago

    Not a problem.... on BOTH counts. Thank you very much!!

  • budge1
    16 years ago

    Here is ours also with Mapei warm grey grout. Our grout lines are quite wide, so might not be what you are looking for.

  • budge1
    16 years ago

    Also have this pic of our subway backsplash with light tan grout just to get the idea of something other than grey.

  • skippertoo
    16 years ago

    Hi kgwlisa

    What color of Grout is in the floor ?? Is it Black ?? I like it

    Skip

  • bill_vincent
    Original Author
    16 years ago

    Bumping this back up to the top

    Thanks, Budge. :-)

  • house_vixen
    16 years ago

    Hey Bill --

    Saw this over on KF and thought it might be a good example of light subway/darker grout.

    Here is a link that might be useful: Kitchen forum thread -- 1st post shows subways with darker grout

  • isitdoneyet
    16 years ago

    I was on the finished kitchen blog and came across this example. It's gorgeous! It too has a wider grout line then I would like.

    Here is a link that might be useful:

  • DLM2000-GW
    16 years ago

    Oh that bathroom tile layout is a shame - that would drive me nuts if it were mine. Love the idea but not the execution.

  • kgwlisa
    16 years ago

    Are you saying my bathroom tile layout is a shame?

    As I said, the house is 120 years old. Many major corrections were made for things being out of square, level and plumb but at certain places it just wasn't possible because wall thicknesses for windows and doors had to be maintained. That wall is the back wall behind the toilet. Here is another shot. Please, tell me how this would drive you nuts, unless you spend a hell of a lot more time bowing before the porcelain god than I do. That's pretty much the worst spot in the entire bathroom. A slightly less bad spot (out of square by a quarter inch across 6'6") will be behind the freestanding tub. Everything else is really remarkably square given the age of the house and what we started with.

    Sorry for the slight distortion, it was taken with a wide angle lens.

    The three sides that you can actually see without being on your knees with your head in the bowl are perfect. Tile guy has now come back and spent a couple of days meticulously cutting individual tiles to fill in around the edges of the room. I don't have an updated picture as the majority of the floor is under paper and it hasn't been worth it the time to take new pictures.

    The first pic posted was taken before grout. I used mapei warm grey on the floor as well - I prefer the more subtle outline of the pattern.

    Maybe before you insult someone else's bathroom you should take the time to understand what you're looking at.

  • DLM2000-GW
    16 years ago

    Sorry kgwlisa - that's not what I was referring to and I didn't word that well at all. In the shower picture, what's bothering me is that it looks as if the molded tile height was determined without checking to see what that would mean for centering the subways above and below it. Kind of hard to tell - at first I thought the very top line of tile was some kind of an accent tile but it looks to me as if it's just a really small cut. The first tile above the tub deck is almost a full tile. It looks as if the molded tile was set then the subways worked down and up from that point which resulted in the sliver at the top and the almost full cut at the bottom. If the molded tile was just a bit lower the two rows that would have needed cuts would have both been close to full tiles and not as noticable. I'm sorry for posting the way I did - my fingers typed what was in my brain and I should have filtered it.

  • kgwlisa
    16 years ago

    Sorry dlm, I'm hormonal and have been chewing away at this bathroom since thanksgiving so I'm probably oversensitive (probably? ha!) I'm also a perfectionist and it's hard for me to make the decisions about where to just let things go and I've recently come to the conclusion that if you can't see it, it's okay (not for structural/plumbing/electrical stuff though). It's been two steps forward, one step back for nearly 4 months now. I don't wanna hear that people think my progress looks like crap even though I know I shouldn't care ;). Glad that's not the case and sorry for flying off the handle a bit. You mean the whole world isn't all about moi?

  • DLM2000-GW
    16 years ago

    Silly girl - it's all about moi ;-)

    The reality is, I am still a relative newbie here at GW and I forget that people don't 'know' me and could easily be a bit, uh, put off by my mouth! I need to remember that discretion is the better part of valour and just zip it more often!

  • jejvtr
    16 years ago

    Oh, my so glad I checked in here - An opportunity to help Bill V - oh happy day - gee the smidgen I can pay back pales in comparison to all your help but anytime my friend, anytime

    Mapei silver

  • bill_vincent
    Original Author
    16 years ago

    jejvtr, thank you, very much. :-) Let me ask you-- was it you who did the grout colorant on the floor tile and posted the before and during pics?

  • kren_pa
    16 years ago

    kgwlisa
    i love your floor tile arrangement, in fact i will by copying it!!
    we are using gloss white subway tile with gray grout, but in the kitchen.
    kren

  • jejvtr
    16 years ago

    No Bill not me hmmmm that is another reg on this thread - I'll see if I can't come up w/a name for you
    I have other pics if need be

    All the best

  • bill_vincent
    Original Author
    16 years ago

    Don't worry about it. I figured if it was you maybe you could post those pics (so I could grab em!! :-) ). I've been asked about using colorant more than just about anything else, between this forum, as well as the HGTV and DIY forums, and it'd be nice if I could show people the before, during, and after pics to show them just how dramatic the difference is, and I know it was someone with white hex. Not a big deal, though. Thanks, anyway!! :-)