'Which Grout Color Should I Use?' :)

11 years ago

I am deciding on my grout color for my bathroom remodel. I will have white 4x4 tile shiny wainscoting with a marble listello of very soft grays and tans. This bath needs to be bomb proof so I was going to put in epoxy grout on the floor and the walls. I want this room to tolerate anything that my husband farmer & others can throw at it. Because of the heavy use this room gets I consider it to be light industrial in nature. So I was thinking of the Laticrete SpectraLOCK line.

I have read that the "Bright White" can read a tad yellow, which I do not want. I would prefer to have white grout but not yellow white grout. So, I was considering "Silver Shadow" even though it will show the patterned layout. Question, will this be too bold? I want soft. It is soft looking when I see online pictures of it installed. Another thing that is steering me to a darker grout is that I really get grossed out when I see the bottom of walls in bathrooms that have dark smeary marks on the tile and/or grout near the floor, from mopping. I am not a clean freak, but nothing looks more icky.

Next, I want to grout my slate floor with a lighter color. I have a color brochure of the Laticrete grout colors. So maybe "Silver Shadow" would work. The "Sterling Silver" is a nice shade of darkness but it looks too warm next to my slate. The "Platinum" looks good but it looks like it will be the same color as my slate. I could cut the Platinum with Silver Shadow 50/50 to get a medium to lighter color. Would that be practical to obtain a medium intensity to contrast with the black slate?

The other alternative is to do a very dark grout that is darker than the slate, such as the "Midnight Black".

Here is an image that I like, but it might have too much contrast for me.

Questions:

1) "Silver Shadow" for wall?

2) Use "Bright White" for the walls?

3) "Silver Shadow" for floor?

4) A mix of "silver Shadow" and "Platinum" for the floor?

5) "Platinum" for floor?

6) Floor grout darker than the blackish gray slate?

Your experiences and opinions would be appreciated. Thanks for your time.

Comments (8)

kirkhall
11 years ago
Are your tiles going to be that dark too? I know from experience that the dark floor shows a TON of dirt. Will you be swiffering daily in there?

I saw a very stunning kitchen floor that was slate with a dark grout. I'd be concerned with the light color (for any grease that was tracked in, etc) but have no experience, yet, with spectralock to know how it will do with grease, etc.
enduring
Original Author
11 years ago
Thanks Kirkhall for your input. Spectralock is an epoxy grout. Good point about soiling, but the grout should handle the traffic. The floors will be a very dark gray, maybe not quite as dark as the image. I would like less contrast than the example above but I would like some contrast. I have to sweep daily to keep up with the tracked in debris.

I was looking on Houzz and saw some slate floors with a med. gray grout that looked nice.
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juddgirl2
11 years ago
I have slate floors w/medium gray grout and it shows almost no dirt at all. Shedding from my yellow lab was another issue!
enduring
Original Author
11 years ago
Juddgirl2, thanks for your post and the picture. It is encouraging! I think your slate mosaic detail around the edge is very nice. It gives me a nice impression of the medium gray grout with the black slate. I have some grout samples coming in the mail from Laticrete. Again, thanks very much for the example and your thoughts.
nikinikinine
11 years ago
Here is our gray tile we're using in our mud/laundry room. We went with LAT90 (light pewter). In the second pic you can see the grout placed in between the tiles up top.

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In the this pic we went with LAT78 (sterling).

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I know we're not mixed and laid yet, but hopefully my tiles will give you an idea of the contrast yours might have.
nikinikinine
11 years ago
Also, we're running with TEC949 in Silverado (epoxy) for our marble shower floor. It's a pretty gray, unfortunately I didn't snap off a pic of it when I was making selections. But that's another option...
enduring
Original Author
11 years ago
nikinikinine, thanks for posting the pics. Its so helpful to see things. Very pretty floor tile and the smaller 3x6's are a nice soft blend.

I like the Sterling grout & is a possibility. That might be the color for my black slate to give some contrast. I am still waiting for my samples to arrive in the mail. I'll have to check the underlying color IRL. For the walls I will check the white and silver shadow samples to see which is best.

Then I will be ordering products online from one of the venders linked on the Laticrete site.
groutrevive
11 years ago
if you consider the use of grout paint or grout stain you won't be confined to any particular color for the duration.. you can change the color of the grout if you're not happy. I know that I'm very indecisive so it benefits me :)

Here is a link that might be useful: grout paint