Clear glass tiles appear pale blue

10 years ago

We are planning a small MB remodel, and will be gutting the room and doing everything new except for the toilet.
The room is only 7'2 x 7'7, so we are very limited in many aspects. There is currently a neoangle shower (fiberglass--ugh!!) that we installed 25+ years ago. Frankly , we never imagined that we would not update the room at all after all these years but that is how it goes. But we are now serious about doing this job, after starting and never actually "doing anything" beyond the research many times. GW has been such an inspiration and given us ideas we would not have obtained any place else.

There are so many decisions to make!! I brought some tile samples home to see how they appear in our lighting situation. There is no window, but there is a large skylight so there is very bright filtered light during the day.

Here is my question: I have noticed that tiles with what appears to be clear glass somehow seems to look very pale blue in the room. I'm not complaining--I picked these samples as I thought the pale blue color was very subtle and calming. They were blue in the store's lighting as well.

So I am wondering if any one else has noticed this illusion with all clear glass tiles, or do only some lots have optical qualities that would cause this to occur? One sample has long bars that are 5/8 x 4", while another sample has small squares 1/2" in size. Samples are from two different companies. These samples both are mixed mosaic colors on a mesh, with opaque white and pale smoke arranged in a mixed linear fashion. They are mounted on a piece of paper/mesh, and I can tell there is white paper behind the clear tiles. Would the color of grout change this illusion?

I imagine this will be my first question of MANY. Thanks to all of you who post such informative info and let me know I am not alone in my indecisiveness. I helps to know it is "normal" to obsess over the little details, as a bathroom remodel is not something that gets done with any frequency, ha ha. These are decisions on choices that will be my last bathroom remodel!

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Comments (4)

Nancy in Mich
10 years ago
You should go to the manufacturer's website and ask the question there to be certain. In my experience, clear glass pretty much has a blue or green cast to it.
cat_mom
10 years ago
Low iron or starphire glass will be clearer, or whiter than regular glass--that goes for tiles, tabletops, and shower glass. Our kitchen tile is not low iron glass, so it does read greenish-blue at different times of day/in different lighting. We decided we were okay with it, so used it. For our shower enclosure, we wanted clear, clear glass, so we chose starphire glass.
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azmom
10 years ago
There are glass tiles that are clear without color cast. I am looking at a sample now that is made by opaque, clear, and crackling 2 x 0.5 inches mosaics, no color cast on any of these tiles.

It is normal to obsess over the little details, actually I think it is a necessary process when making decisions. In a remodel, not only we spend money, time and energy, we have to live with the consequences. The part I do not like is I do not 2nd guess, instead, I 32nd guess every decision I make. It drives me crazy.
raehelen
10 years ago
Are you sure they are not supposed to be pale blue? I have glass mosaic tiles in my kitchen backsplash. I have some blue, but some clear, as azmom said, no colour cast on the clear ones.