Gosh, not sure what he's talking about. We have the 1" white hex, unglazed, squared edges in my son's bathroom. 2 1/2 years and it's easy to keep clean. We used mapei's silver grout, which is pretty dark, but boy does toothpaste show up! Anyway, very simple to keep clean and white with simple floor cleaner or the Seventh Generation bathroom cleaner I use.

No regrets.

I didn't think you could seal porcelain. Isn't it supposed to be pretty much impervious?

barging here, but brutuses yes, would you mind finding out which sealer your dh used and post it for us? thanks very much! ...and can you use it on other surfaces besides ceramic? TIA again.

The only thing you should need to keep unglazed hex tile clean is hot water. End of story. It's porcelain, and therefore doesn't allow dirt to embed in its pores. Quite frankly, your contractor doesn't know what he's talking about. Here-- the homeowner who had me do this master bath for his own home, before he retired was a bigtime architect with a national reputation:

Bill, a quick question about that master bath you just did:

1. Was the tile matte glaze or unglazed?
2. What color and width was the grout?
3. Does this architect usually do his own housecleaning? (that's not meant as snark -- it's an actual question. Some designers and architects value aesthetics over everything else, and it's not always what the little people on our knees will be scrubbing to keep clean).

PS: I'm especially interested in the surface friction coefficient number (or whatever it is -- you probably know what I'm talking about) for this hex tile -- ADA says it should be greater than .6 when wet or dry. I've got to do an entire curbless shower for my disabled husband, who uses a walker, and I'm losing sleep trying to find something that fits the bill, doesn't look institutional, but will quiet my lust for basketweave carrara with ming dots, which will be too slippery!!!

Those are some beautiful bathrooms. It's hard to imagine ours with walls right now, let alone lovely tile...

Thank you all for the encouragement. We will forge ahead with our historically-accurate unglazed hexes, even if our contractor continues his tirades.

Here's our bathroom floor after we began demolition. Like I mentioned before, we were hoping we'd get up the ugly top layer of tile (then vinyl) and be able to salvage the hex, but that wasn't possible.

Bill - another question for you: did you seal the tiles at all before or after grouting? Sounds like I don't need to, perhaps?

Brutuses - you mentioned sealing after grouting, but did you have any problems cleaning the grout off of the tile before sealing?

Thanks!

1. Was the tile matte glaze or unglazed?

Unglazed.

2. What color and width was the grout?

On that one, the grout was white, and the spacing was the normal spacing for sheets of ceramic mosaics-- a shy 1/8", and the grout was white sanded.

3. Does this architect usually do his own housecleaning? (that's not meant as snark -- it's an actual question. Some designers and architects value aesthetics over everything else, and it's not always what the little people on our knees will be scrubbing to keep clean).

He doesn't, but his wife does (IOW, they don't have a housekeeper or maid service). And whether or not it was a snark, it was a valid question for exactly the reason you stated. I would've been surprised if the question DIDN'T come up.

Bill - another question for you: did you seal the tiles at all before or after grouting?

Neither. Nor did the owner (I've done more work for him since then-- with some art historical tiles!)

We uncovered the same type of unglazed hex in our bathroom with the blue daisy, and finally decided to replace the floor because of a crack and severe slope. We replaced with matte glazed hex, and a black flower instead of the blue.

The main reason I went with the matte glaze was that another poster, Jonmari, had said she regretted choosing the unglazed floor because dirt seemed to stick right to it. I believe that the original unglazed hex we had and the matte glazed both get equally 'dirty' and both cleaned up equally easily. So I don't think it matters having had both myself. We used grey grout, and it always looks good.

For what it's worth, I have 80-year-old white, 2-inch unglazed hex in one of my bathrooms. I don't find it at all difficult to keep clean. On the other hand, I also have green (!) glazed 2-inch hex in my master bathroom. After 80-some years of use, the glaze is worn through in the traffic pattern and although I'm partial to it, it definitely shows its age.

I'm planning to use the unglazed hex in the new house we're building. I ordered samples of 2-inch unglazed hex from Bungalow Tile and laid it next to our old floor. They are identical. The 80-year old stuff looks just as good as the brand new. That confirmed my choice for me. Good luck!

Jeez. how do you tell if it's glazed or unglazed? I put down some matte-looking hex tile in my son's bathroom, and I have no idea which it is - my contractor supplied it.

The white grout is the thing I have trouble keeping clean, though!

I just got back to see your question about cleaning the grout off. DH laid tile, applied first coat of sealer, grouted, then applied another coat.

Jeez. how do you tell if it's glazed or unglazed? I put down some matte-looking hex tile in my son's bathroom, and I have no idea which it is - my contractor supplied it.

By looking at the back of the tile, vs. the front. If they both look the same, it's unglazed.

The white grout is the thing I have trouble keeping clean, though!

This is why over the last year or two, I've advocated using a very light grey grout (or beige, or pastel, depending on the look you're going for, but grey for period specific rooms) instead of white.

Although it won't bring it back completely, try mixing Oxyclean at twice the concentration they recommend on the side of the container, and scrub the joints with a brush. I think you'll notice an improvement.

unglazed porcelain has microscopic imperfections that will, over time, accumulate gunk and cause your floor to always look dirty. you can not stop it from happening. i have seen many old house owners try in vain to get there floors clean and finally give up and consider it part of the charm of living in an old house. someones housecleaning is also going to determine how long before it gets dirty looking. if your the type who puts cleaning off as long as possible, but expects it to look spotless when you do clean, then unglazed may not be for you.
glazing fills in these microscopic imperfections, and gives a nice, smooth as glass surface that is much easier to clean. but as someone else already stated, glazing can show wear over time also.
a few things to keep in mind if you go with the unglazed porcelain. porcelain is almost stain proof, not 100%, but pretty darn close. it is also harder than granite. you can scrub the crap out of it with a scoth brite scrubbie and your not going to hurt it. you can use pretty much any cleaner on it that you want, along with that scrubbie. I know some old house owners who have used muriatic acid to clean their old floors with really good results. (that is some pretty dangerous stuff, not sure if i would use it.) also, these were people with old tile floors set in mud and the mud was smushed up through the joints to be the grout. don't really know if that would be ok to do with modern grouts. maybe the tile guys could answer that one.

sealing the tile will help out the cleaning thing for a little while. but you have to keep it up regularly for it to continue working, and i don't know anyone who has EVER done that. ;)

In my previous house we put unglazed black & white mosaics in the kids bathroom at the suggestion of the tile supplier. He said things like it'll wear beautifully, easy to clean, no maintenance, they've been using it in houses forever and it still looks good, etc. Well, it got dirty pretty quickly. I mean, you could see that the white tiles were definitely dingy, and regular damp mopping didn't take that away. When we put the house on the market I figured I should try to spruce it up, so I washed it with my trusty standby: baking soda in warm water, using a scrub-brush, then rinsed with a half cup of vinegar in a bucket of water, using a sponge. It sparkled like new. Since I was on my hands & knees, I'm just lucky it was a small bathroom!

Hope this helps, fwiw.

sansonic71, I can't believe you posted this just as I am re-visiting the same issue! And I could not agree more with your assessment.

About 14 years ago, after a lengthy search for historically appropriate tile, I chose a flat unglazed hex. I made my peace with the larger grout lines (original floors have close-set individual tiles) & chose appropriate grout. I had lived with hex for years in an old Manhattan apartment & found it charming.

As soon as it was installed I wanted that tile out as it seemed to suck dirt from air. As much as I wanted to stay true to our nearly intact Craftsman bungalow, unglazed tile has not been worth the resulting grunge & marital discord. I'm not living in a museum, just a gentle restoration; in the interests of hygiene & inner peace, I absolutely wish I had gone with a matte finish.

If anyone out there is contemplating unglazed hex, contemplate this:

1) Going unglazed, even with a square edge, isn't going to look like a true vintage floor unless you set those tiles individually & in a pattern you've seen in your historic neighborhood.

2) You're not getting any younger or running out of fun things to scrub in your free time. Should you sell, the next owner will be no more enthused about scrubbing your old bathroom tiles on hands & knees; your improvement may not seem such.

3) Modern bathrooms are getting easier & easier to clean while an unglazed hex tile floor just gets tougher & grosser. Even if you have professional cleaning help, your cleaning staff may not be on hand every time someone exits the room.

For anyone wistfully pondering the merits of unglazed tile -- you've been warned!

Hear, Hear, athomein1914! I too lived in Manhattan and was nostalgic for that look. To make matters worse, when I decided on the unglazed porcelain - influenced largely by this thread - I couldn't find it anywhere here in New Jersey. I actually had to special order the stuff from Seattle, pay top dollar, and delay construction while we waited for it to cross the country on a truck. I did all this confident in my superior choice. Well, there's nothing like being on your hands and knees in your brand new home (I started hating it within weeks) scrubbing a floor with bleach, trying to get it to stop looking like the floor of a public restroom at a gas station to knock all of the smugness out of you. And I do my own cleaning - so I get to experience that particular blend of humility, disbelief, regret and rage on a very regular basis.

I'm highly discouraged by the three most recent posts on this forum. I just had unglazed Daltile white hex installed yesterday, largely on the advice on this forum. My reasoning was that I wanted something that wouldn't look worn in a few decades. It was my understanding that glaze will wear out faster and show scratches right away.

I'm not a super great cleaner, but because of this, I also am not super anal about things looking perfectly clean all the time. As long as I know something is clean, it doesn't bother me that it might not look perfect. That's a skill I had to develop living in an old house in which nothing is perfect.

Perhaps whether or not you are happy with your unglazed hex boils down to your personality type and whether you can live with a little patina?

Please encourage me that I didn't make a huge mistake and that there are those out there who don't daily walk in their unglazed hex bathroom and hate it.

Janieful-I just cleaned up my unglazed hex tile bathrooms. Two of them which withstood regular mom cleaning for 20 years, which I finally had a tile guy come and "freshen up" a little yesterday. They look perfect! Placed in the mid 1940's. I don't believe in sealing unglazed grout. Once the seal is on, you can't easily get it off and it becomes more slick which is not good around water.

So yes, there is someone who finds unglazed hex tile very satisfying and fairly easy to clean with warm water or other cleaner. Enjoy your tile!

I have unglazed hex in all 4 bathrooms and Mr. Clean Magic Eraser will clean it but you still have to get on your hands and knees. Mr. Clean Magic Eraser is found at any big box store as well as local supermarkets. Use the bath or strong versions as those are a bit more rugged. Make sure you rinse out the eraser frequently. Mr. Clean also makes a mop of the Magic Eraser. It works but it's easier to see what you are doing if you clean by hand.

I have a bathroom kitchen and pantry in unglazed hex tile with white grout. It looks very authentic, as I removed damaged tile in the same style and pattern. We had to do it as we live in Florida in a 1920's house with no crawl space ( maybe 5" worth). The only way to do structural repairs was to go through the floor. So I do love the look. The bathroom is fine. Only gets occasional use, 5 x7 not a problem to clean. The kitchen and pantry is a horror. It is our main traffic area and looks filthy. Admittedly I am not scrubbing it constantly, but even when I do it doesnt come our really clean. I am finally getting around to cleaning with a mild muriatic acid soloution and sealing. I will see how that comes out and let everyone know. So if you are thinking of this in a kitchen or heavily used area I would definitely think twice. I do love the look but hate the dirt.

Can you tell me where I can get the authentic white hexagon tiles, 1 inch side to side (not point to point), rectified edges (not beveled) so the tile is perfectly flat edge to edge, and an off-white color that is pretty light, not the "dirty" or light-beige tone that is around. I am willing to get the unglazed but don't like the slightly "rough" texture I've seen on the unglazed ones. Matte glazed would be OK, but I've only seen these in the 7/8 inch (side to side), or with beveled edge, or too bright white. I'm trying to recreate the floor that I grew up with in a 1920s house or in bars all over lower Manhattan.
Call me "Picky" because that's what I am!

I was looking for tips on cleaning unglazed tile when I came across this. I have to agree 100% with those that hate it. I moved into a new apartment a month ago, with a freshly remodeled bathroom. The bathroom floor is white unglazed tile which looked great on my first day of moving in. It has all been downhill from there. I live solo, do not wear shoes in the house, and yet, the bathroom floor seems to attract and hold onto dirt like a magnet. It always looks dirty! The littlest bit of activity seems to leave dingy smudges on it. After a week, I had to get down on my hands and knees to scrub it clean and it was no easy task. It does not stay clean-looking for more than a day, and I don't mind if it looks a bit dirty/used, but it looks VERY dirty after just a day. Another commentator put it perfect—it does seem to suck dirt out of the air. As I am a renter, there's nothing I can do about it so I'm laying down plenty of bath mats.

Hi Chris8984, I found mosaictilesupplies.com has the true unglazed porcelain rectified edge 1" hex tiles 3/16" thick, just like the vintage tiles--except they don't have the blue, but some other great colors along with their white, which is a perfect match to the tiles in my 90 yo floor, which happily is in great shape, even with the house having been a rental for decades (thanks to great installation & materials when it was built). I'll be using the tiles from mts in my new 1/2 bath--it comes on mesh sheets, and I ordered a few sheets & colors to drafting up some patterns, but likely I'll keep it very simple pattern when it comes time to install it, though.

Every other place I checked, including DalTile hex, does not match vintage unglazed (high fired) porcelain. It either has beveled edges, a matte or even semi-gloss glaze on ceramic body (esp. the mosiac sheets sold at big-box stores). FYI folks, ceramic is not nearly as durable as true high-fired unglazed porcelain. It can look nice for a while--but not 90 years!

Oh, and need to add that the vintage tiles have had workmen (& myself) walking across them grinding down plaster debris, and even soot (had a chimney removed--and soot really only comes off any surface with TSP). But no worry with the tile floor--did some quick wipes with hot water & citrus goop hand cleaner & it looks great.

So all I can conclude reading horror stories from folks that think they have high-fired unglazed porcelain floor tiles--you don't. Or someone put sealer over it and you're fighting the sealer. Especially if it was a recently added floor for a rental unit or even new construction of any sort--sorry, the installation & materials will not be nearly as good quality vs. for an owner-occupant and/or houses were built before WW2.

For those looking for different colors...

http://www.restorationtile.com/

Hi to everyone, I am looking at putting hex tiles probably 2"x2" (or the smaller version if needed) into my son's bathroom. I like the matte white versions. So, would I need to purchase the matte glazed version to make cleaning easier? I do not enjoy cleaning. I am going to use a medium gray grout also.

Can anyone suggest where to buy these tiles from? I want my tiles spaced evenly since the grout lines will be darker than the tile and uneven spacing would be more obvious. With this thought in mind, I am afraid to buy tile from a big box store and think maybe a tile shop would have better quality tile??? I also would like the thinnest grout line possible as I have experience cleaning grout in my previous house. I would appreciate any suggestions. much thanks

The heritage hex tile we see in the Midwest is almost always unglazed matte finished white ceramic. Most of it has been down for close to 100 years, and looks fine. The grout is usually cruddy, but that's because the old cement grout was used. With the new urethane and epoxy grouts, stained grout, even white grout, is largely a thing of the past.

Treat unglazed hex tile as you would any unglazed tile. Seal the tile once before putting it down. Then seal it again once its set. Seal it every year or so after a thorough cleaning, more often in heavily trafficked areas.

We just finished spot repairing a white hex tile floor in a historic home owned by the Joslyn family (local philanthropists -- Joslym Art Museum, etc.). We dug out individual 1" hex tiles that had cracked in settling and replaced them with new tiles. The 100 year-old and brand-new tile look exactly the same.

I have been setting unglazed matte hex tiles for 40+ years and have never had a problem with tile that could not be kept pristine.

By the way, the supposed difference between porcelain and ceramic tile is mostly a myth. Treat all unglazed tile the same. Porcelain tile takes sealant just as nicely as non-porcelain ceramic tile.

chris8984

For hex mosaic tile made exactly as they did 100 years ago try Subway Ceramics.

All due respect to Starcraft Custom Builders, but there are HUGE differences between real porcelain and ceramic, or pottery. Not only a dabbler in pottery crafting, but through antiques and being a Materials Engineer with courses in ceramics engineering, I have studied as well as experienced that there are differences. Porcelain is a type of ceramic, but not all ceramics are porcelain.

Real porcelain is different type of clay than stoneware or other ceramic body. Porcelain (usually Kaoline clay as primary component) is a tougher material, and more dense compared to other types of clay. Thus an item can be thinner and still have the same strength of a stoneware body (think of thin fine china plate vs. pottery plate). But components of porcelain have been more expensive than other clays to obtain, which is one reason its historically been for the wealthy, or reserved for special dishes/uses.

The Big Box or common versions of Hex tiles on the market are a softer ceramic body (vs. porcelain) with a hard glaze, and it's the glaze that gives the protection in use. But the glaze can chip, exposing the softer body, which more easily absorbs stains. A hard porcelain (e.g. rectified or high fired) tile does not need a glaze, and the color is through the entire body, so a surface chip is less noticeable, or detrimental to the tile. And the higher temp firing helps in reducing the porosity (or increases the density) which also makes the material less likely to discolor. But harder can also mean brittle, so fine china dishes may be more fragile--generally tiles are thick enough it's not an issue. But cutting real porcelain tile takes more care than softer bodied ceramic.

I am curious as to the type of sealer SCB has used, as the sealer products vary greatly, and if a poor quality or wrong type of sealer is used, you can ruin a fabulous tile install. 100 years ago tile setters didn't have sealers--and yet if not mistreated, the old porcelain hex tiles are still doing well. Modern sealers can be very beneficial, but the wrong type could hurt, too.

I sourced my rectified porcelain hex tiles from Mosaic Tile Supplies, and they offer different sizes, colors and shapes to suit different architectural styles.

Susan Lanphere

With all due respect, you have provided just one of at least four definitions of porcelain commonly applied to ceramic tile. If you lump in pottery, sanitary ware, dishware and ceramic tile products, the the number of definitions increases substantially. As our resident materials engineer says, "Porcelain tile is one ounce of fact and nine tons of marketing BS."

For the complete story take a look at Porcelain Tile vs. Ceramic Tile: What is the Difference.

I have a 1915 Craftsman with 2 bathrooms in unglazed hex tile. We made the mistake of using white grout in the larger of the 2 bathrooms, and is a pain to keep clean. We used grey grout downstairs and is quite easy to clean and always looks good. I have to use a scrub brush, toothbrush, Dawn dish soap diluted and scrub away. I love the look of it, but never use white grout. I want it white and clean all the time, so I guess that best thing to do is just lower my standards and relax!

Have you tried an oxy clean paste on the white grout?

Susan L and Starcraft thank you for the information on tiles! The discussion helps clarify the abundance of info out there.

We have two one inch white porcelain tile floors in our 1926 house. The bathroom floor is original to the house. The surface of the tile is flat and smooth, easy to keep clean and will hold a finish. Hence we choose white porcelain Dal hex tile for the kitchen floor when we upgraded it in 1990. It has been a HUGE mistake from the get go. The grout is not a problem as it is dark grey. The face of the tile is rough and a dirt magnet as others have commented. The guy we bought it from advised us to do nothing to finish it. That led to a totally groaty floor in short order. So we hand scrubbed it with undiluted phosphoric acid cleaner and applied a sealer. That helped a little but not much. So we scrubbed it again and applied a sealer then a commercial grade finish. That helped a lot to prevent ground in dirt and improve cleanability. But the rough surface made it so the finish wore off after a few months. I used to hire someone to commercially strip the floor every year. Then i would reapply the commercial grade finish. At some point I ran out of energy to do that and now spot clean with cleanser. I would never NEVER advise anyone to install this type of tile unless you use vintage tile with flat smooth surfaces. In my quest to find a way to keep this tile clean I ended up talking to the then-CEO of DAL tile many years ago who told me "You chose a high maintenance tile."

Sorry you have had such a horrible experience with Dal Tile's version of hex tile in your kitchen. But this type of tile was never meant for a kitchen--just modern interpretation of vintage by designers who never actually live in with the kitchen they design. And no matter what the material, a white floor will show everything & always look like it needs cleaning.

How about staining the floor a darker color, so spots are less noticeable?

I had an extensive hunt to find a good version of the high-fired porcelain like the vintage tile in my original bathroom. And DalTile's version did not make the cut on my list of contenders.

I also read a lot on installation that recommended that dark grout WILL STAIN any unglazed tile. The tile should be sealed before you grout, and afterwards too, mainly then to seal the grout itself. I recently installed a small floor for a 1/2 bath with ivory, light grey & dark grey and used a light grey grout this way with no staining issues. I did test on some sample boards to confirm the sealing before grouting was worth doing, since I had my doubts at first--and yes, it was necessary, even with such a light colored grout, but it also helped the grouting process itself and kept the grout from sticking in any small pores (roughness) in the tile, so floating and cleaning up was easier, as well as keeping the tile the color is was meant to be.

Can anyone share photos of their tile installations from restorationtile.com, subwaytile.com or mosaictilesupplies.com? I was ideally looking for 1 1/4" unglazed rectified hex tile, but restorationtile.com is the only one that provides that size and for $27/sqft! I'm planning to order samples of the 1" options from the other two sites, but would love to know what anyone with experience with these three suppliers thinks. Thanks.

Alicia, I used Subway Ceramics subways for my wall and tub surround. I saw the floor tile in their showroom and it is fabulous. They are a really helpful company.

For our floor we chose to clean the 1928 original through body porcelain. It is not perfect but I have come to love it. That said the subway Ceramics would be a very worthy installation. I'd just suggest you pick a cement colored grout with some bits of aggregate in it for maximum authenticity.

Thank you so much kats737! That's good to know. The Subway Ceramics definitely seem to be the most user friendly of the 3 in terms of their website. I really wish they offered the 1 1/4" in the porcelain unglazed hex. Our 1925 hall bath had that as the original floor, which we unfortunately had to cover over due to the floor shifting and becoming uneven (i.e. huge cracks with sharp broken tiles sticking up!) I LOVED how soft and smooth the floor felt and haven't been able to find that yet with the rectified unglazed options I've found. Would you happen to have any pictures of your bathroom that you'd be willing to share? Just curious about color combinations. Thanks!

We use a lot of Subway Ceramics products and have never been disappointed.

Hi @aliciaandbilly, here's probably the best overall pic of the space. Ours is a 1928 Historic Chicago-style bungalow, probably a mid-range version as there are a few things more ornate than other houses I've been in.

The floor tile is through-body porcelain in white, green, burdundy, and black. All solid color and matte. The grout is definitely a 'cement' color and it has a good amount of tiny rocks in it (maybe you could replicate with sanded grout?)

I've seen a lot of houses with the hex tiles, with the daisy pattern interspersed. More rare around here is a greek key type of border or the square pinwheel design. HTH!

@kats737 The picture didn't come through! Boo. Any chance you could try attaching it again? Thank you again for all the info.

@StarCraft Custom Builders that's great to hear! Have you done any white hex floor with white glazed tile walls? If so, which wall tile color did you use? Our original hall bath was your typical sterile white 1920's bathroom - white floor, white walls (with single blue glass detail ribbon), white tub, sink, toilet...I honestly don't mind the look, but am a bit concerned about "matching" or at least finding complementary whites that work together for the master bath that we're adding on if we go the same route.

Sorry to keep piling on your post, but I did the all-white sanitary and love it. Very few people understand why I chose a $$$ tile that is 'just plain white' but the woodwork warms it up a bit, and my vision for the house is to be as period as I can.

I chose their historical 'avalon' white glaze, but hopefully you can see from this pic that we have about 50 other shades of white in the space. I wanted to match the wall color to the tile color and IRL it's pretty close, but definitely shifts throughout the day. So if you are wanting to match whites, I would think about when you are most often in the room and with what lighting. Pick what works best for you.

I'm kind of bummed, SC did a 'project spotlight' on their blog when ours was done, but it's not there anymore. Here are some pics.

Beautiful! Is the toilet the Kohler Memoir? That's an impressive integration of the S tile with the original floor. Thank you for sharing.

Thank you! I will say if you are interested in subways, I LOVED all the trims and transitions that SC offered. My DH was DIYing the install and we would discuss some layout problem and I'd say 'well they have a tile for that'.

The toilet is St. Thomas Creations <Richmond>. I was like Goldilocks when picking one out and it was actually the first thing we did in our remodel, so I needed to find one ASAP, in-person and the right dimensions.

Thank you! That's very helpful.

We have a bathroom with original 'white' unglazed hex tiles. Circa 1908. Other than the settling cracks, cleans up beautifully. Planning to install more in 'updated' rooms that need restoration.

Sorry took me a while to post picture of my project--this is the new tile floor I installed using 3 shades of the unglazed 1" hex tiles from Mosaic Tile Supplies for a closet converted into a 1/2 bath.

I spent first worked out the pattern on a paper template, then dry fit in the actual space to verify fit & plan the cuts. And a big challenge/frustration with the installation was that each color had a different type of mesh backing, and they absorbed moisture out of the mortar differently, so I would have to peel off and reset a lot. But I am really happy with the finished floor & room! I did seal the tiles before applying the grey grout (as suggested by others). And I used grey mortar, to minimize color difference between the grout and mortar, in case I missed cleaning areas where mortar sometimes squished up between tiles... And the pattern helps prevent the eye from finding misfits!

Susan, that is one cute bathroom!

Thanks! I fell in love with the wallpaper & had it for nearly year before finally able to install it, but also had to simplify my options for the floor colors/design. And I couldn't leave the IKEA sink base white...