I hang out in the kitchen forum & saw this post on the side in "Most Recent Posts." The Oyster Bay matches the light tones in your tile & definitely disappears but I much prefer the Sahara Beige. It matches the darker color in your tile perfectly.

Both pictures seem to show a good match, but I would choose the Sahara Beige. I know you said you hate darker grout, but IMO, the darker grout looks better with wood-look tile.

#5. The trick to make wood look tile look it's best is to go dark.

Well, as you already know this is personal preference....

I want big areas such as walls and floors as neutral as possible therefore I like grout lines disappear as it gives expensive, none -interrupt, modern and minimalist look. I don't need grout lines shout out at me as the result of using contrast colors between tile and grout.

Also I hate the checker board effect it reminds me dirty old grout lines in old homes, very old fashion and constrained.

Our contractor cut tiles made a sample board to test various grout colors. He applied different grout colors we selected, waited until all dried and then sealed them. We picked the color after sealers were dried. By doing so it eliminated color variations caused by wet/dry of grout and sealer.

Best luck with your selection.

Sahara Beige. It's the same principle used when choosing thread for a sewing project. The darker thread will always disappear more than the lighter one, even if you think the lighter one is a closer "match".

Hi all! Thanks so much for the input so far. I am so confused because I always thought the darker the grout, the more it wouldn't disappear. Yeeek! Just to clarify, the tile actually isn't very "wood" look in person -- it's quite linear and modern and actually looks more like cross cut stone which is what it was named after:-) I am really wanting a modern look so just so afraid to make a mistake! This was a big cost for me so there is no going back once I decide.

Any further information would be greatly appreciated! I have learned so much by lurking here!

The grout is never going to disappear no matter what you do because it's a different texture than tile and it's picks up the light in four different directions. It's a design element that can either match the color of the tile or contrast with the color of the tile but visually it's not going to disappear. I would probably choose the Oyster Gray since it appears closer to the predominant color of the tile and if even it dries lighter it will be less visible than the darker Sahara Beige. However, I have to say that I really like the look of the Sahara Beige with that particular tile. I like the way it picks up the color of the darker striations in the tile. I don't think you can go wrong with either choice.

Ether Sahara Beige or Oyster Grey look good to me; I prefer disappearing grout as well, but the Sahara Beige really does go nicely with your tile :-)

Where is your tile going? on the floor or on the walls? I have done my own tiling and grouting as a DIYer on a kitchen, and 2 bathrooms. I have done some things successfully and some not so much. But it is all done well with regards to procedure, because of the good people on GW and on the john bridge forum.

All of the following information is from my experience and I was not on any time line to complete my projects. Unlike someone that does this for a living where time is extremely important.

First, I have heard many complaints about Custom products. I have seen many post here that show variable colors on a project when using Custom cementous grouts. Maybe all cementous grouts are prone to this, I don't know.

I used epoxy grout on my bathroom projects. Laticrete Spectralock. It is a consistent blend that is predictable. It is different to apply than cementous grout. I too had trouble with some of the colors for my tiles, so I blended the dry mix to come up with a ratio I liked. I mixed up enough of the dry to get me through the project and have some left over. With epoxy the dry part doesn't have any chemical actions, only provides the color and sand/filler/bulk of grout. Cementous grout has a shelf life and a bulk mix would have to be used in a short time. I loved doing the samples of grout and seeing what would work.

With regards to dark verses light grout, I wanted a light grout to blend in with my large format porcelain marble that I put on the shower walls. I mixed a color using 2 epoxy grout colors. I had a great color for the tile. But I did not get the tile on perfectly level with the next tile and had a bit of lipage consistently throughout the field. I guess I could call it "rustic modern", lol. The grout space was 1/16" and I should have made it 1/8" due to my skill level. Those 12x24" tiles, loaded with thinset, were a bear to lift up over my head. Anyway, the darker grout in my mix would have been a better solution to my wall because the lipage cast shadows, with the overhead lighting, and gives away all the unevenness. I was pretty disappointed. I thought that if I had used the slightly darker grout it would disguise the shadow lines. If I would have used a larger grout space, Also, I think things would have sloped better to not show the lipage.

Sample board:

Thanks so much everyone for all of the suggestions, comments and advice. Much appreciated. I will decide between the two colors as soon as I get some more sample boards and the contractor tests things including sealers, etc. but right now I am leaning towards the lighter color just because of my aversion to dark grout. I'm just so scared of it and I have spent a ton on this project and already made a big mistake with not figuring out the tile edges before we started so I'm kind of feeling less adventurous right now. I may change when all is said and done, however! Just wanted to say thank you! You guys are very helpful here and you are very much appreciated.

Keep us posted on your project. Good luck :)