I think a real vintage look might be even darker than the DeLorean, but I actually like the Platinum.

To me the DeLorean skews a bit lavender for some reason with your marble.

yes, and it skews lavender in person, too. strangely the platinum skews periwinkle on the ugly tile in the master bathroom. good grief.

I like the platinum, however you will probably be happier with the delorean after install as it will hide more--especially in a kids' bath.

Ughh. That's a good point. Will the platinum stain?

I prefer the platinum.

I'd say of the two I prefer the lighter one. If your life was in B&W, I'd like the darkness of the Delorean Gray. But it is purplish looking and I think it would look weird when all done up. I think it would really look purple.

I know some people have used epoxy grout because it is more resistant to staining. I am planning on using it in my bathroom because it is off the back of the house and will act as a mud room, and from time to time dirty farmy feet track in.

If I can't decide, I always go with the darker grout. Stains less and easier to keep clean looking.

I aree with the delorean grey or darker, especially with this being a kids' bathroom.

I would go as dark as you can but still be able to read gray. I don't think top choice is a good one, doesn't relate to the colors in the marble. Looks purplish to me too. However between your example and my monitor the colors could be totally different. The lighter colors are so pretty when they are first put down but sadly that just doesn't last.

I would check Dove Gray or Natural Gray in that brand or

Dusty Grey or Raven in Laticrete

You brought up my grout-indecision all over again... I didn't enjoy making any of the grout/tile choices for either of my baths.

I would echo what the previous poster said about a vintage-look giving you an option for darker grout. I personally chose a light grout with my 2" marble hexagon. I really wanted to stay as light as possible in that particular bath...

However, I've seen other, original hex floors where the grout has darkened over time, and I think it's very appealing. The darker shade can really accent the shape and the marble shading in a way a lighter grout doesn't. Also, is probably more practical in a busy bathroom...

Here is a link that might be useful: My marble hexagon tile.

White marble looks best with white or very very light grey grout.
Darker grouts, although easier for maintenance, tend to muddy the marble. Also darker grout has, sorry to say, a public restroom overtone :)

my tile guy can only get the following grays: platinum, delorean gray, and pewter. pewter is the darkest of the group. should i try that?

The problem that I see with the grays is that they come in different colors of gray. There are green grays, blue grays, purplish grays, etc. If you go light or dark you want to be sure to also consider the background color of the gray. If your tile guy can't get a color that will go with your deco colors, why don't you buy it instead, for him to use. I have the Laticrete color table and there are very many dark grays.

Palimpsest has mentioned the Dusty Grey and the Raven in the Laticrete line. The Dusty is a dark warm gray, a gray with a hint of what looks brownish to me. The Raven is a very dark gray (blue undertones?). Platinum in the Laticrete line is a dark gray with what looks like a bluish undertone.

Your tile guy can only get three colors of grey?? That's a bit strange.

You can get myriad other colors at Lowe's or HD, you know. I've used both Laticrete Natural Grey and Tec Standard Grey in our house and any color Tec is available through special order at Lowe's now, both grout and caulk.

Ughh. It's ridiculous that I have to go get this grout myself. I'll go to Lowes today. My home Depot only had two grays!!!

Ok. My lowes only carries mapei unsanded grout. Which color of this brand do you think is best? Thanks!

Maipei Warm Gray

I would not use unsanded grout with mosaics, including marble mosaics.

Why not, Bill? I thought the grout size was too small for sanded grout? That's what my tile guy says. He's wrong?

What about a local tile store, one that sells supplies too, they might have more to choose from.

I've found that with mosaics, the grout tends to shrink and crack in the joints, so I always use sanded. Unsanded grout can be used, but the grout must be mixed super stiff to reduce the amount of shrinkage.

Bill, thanks, do you recommend sanded for large marble field tiles too?

Not of you've got a tight 1/16" joint.

threeapples, you should check with your marble manufacturer on what type of grout they recommend. I was told by AKDO and the distributor of my marble specifically not to use sanded grout with my white marble. The AKDO rep warned us that sanded grout would scratch marble.

If there is shrinkage or cracked grout, you can always fill in down the road with unsanded grout. I noticed a few spots on my marble basketweave that need touched up, but it's an easy fix.

Here is a link that might be useful: Sanded grout scratched marble - video

what about charcoal or alabaster in mapei?

Bill, for another area of our house we have antique marble 12 x 12 tiles that have irregular edges. the tile guy is going for a 1/16" grout line, but clearly there are many areas where there will be larger grout because of the chips and uneven edges. is unsanded or sanded best for this? this is a honed black and white checkerboard in case that is of any importance. thanks.

alright, here it is next to two mapei colors--are either of these choices better?

I like the 2nd one of these two grout colors. The first one still looks like it has purple in it and maybe too dark. The 2nd one looks a bit lighter and more of a neutral color gray.

Pipdog-- I worked with a company for several years doing Lord and Taylor stores on the east coast-- literally hundreds of thousands of square feet of marble-- crema marfil marble with absolute black granite borders. It was ALL grouted with sanded grout. I'll take it a step further. It was done using an old method of grouting, where dry grout is rubbed on the joints, and in this case, with a buffing machine, and nothing scratched. Additionally, crema marfil is notoriously soft, even as marble goes. No problem. Someone really has to TRY to scratch marble. Not saying it can't be done. But you'd have to really try.

Also, as for touching up "down the road"-- you can do that within the first 72 hours. After that, the joints must be atleast 2/3 empty, or you take a chance on the new grout flaking off, because it won't bond to the old grout.

fair enough, billv. Just for the record, I'm relaying to the OP what my marble manufacturer told me about using sanded grout, since we went through the same decision. When we researched the issue, I found some info that using sanded grout can scratch polished marble. I'm not saying it *always* does, but there is a risk. You've even said on another thread here that a "grain of sand" can scratch polished marble, which I made a mental note of because we live near the beach and routinely track sand in the house. Because of your comment, we are cautious about dusting the sand off feet before walking on the marble.

I'm simply presenting a different perspective for the OP to consider and discuss with her installer and/or distributor so she can make an informed decision on what works best for her.

I know. It's called CYA from the manufacturer's perspective.

Back a couple of years ago when Laticrete first came out with Permacolor, I was given some to try out on a job I was doing. The company VP (a good friend of mine) called me when I was just about done with the project telling me he'd forgotten to tell me-- the ONLY limitation for Permacolor (a FINELY sanded grout) was not to use it on polished marble. The entire master bath was carrara. I sent him these pics to let him know there was nothing to fear in using it on polished marble:

I also like the second Mapei color (the lighter one).

We used Laticrete Silver Shadow grout on very similar 2 inch hex marble. No lavender cast. Installed 13 months ago with a penetrating sealer. No staining /cleaning issues. SS is light, but the hex shape is still clearly visible.

In my pictures above, that's also silver shadow.

I really like the lighter grout as I feel that silver color is perfect for the tile.

Bill, you did a beautiful job in that bathroom! I wish you lived near me to do tile job for me. You are truly so talented and I always enjoy seeing pictures of your work.