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mrspete

Penny round tile

mrspete
9 years ago

Just wondering:

Why doesn't penny round tile get any love these days? It's cute, classic, cheap, and available in a wide variety of colors. It works with cottage or nostalgic looks, which appeal to more than a few people. It works on bathroom floors, bathroom walls, or kitchen backsplashes.

So why does no one on this site ever seem to use penny round tile?

Comments (11)

  • redheadeddaughter
    9 years ago

    OH I love penny round tile - in other peoples homes. It looks fabulous and the prices are great. But we've had 2 homes with them and my bare feet would be so uncomfortable walking on them. I'm not sure what it was about it. My husband agreed. So we will never choose it again. Now if you rarely walk around barefoot and use lots of rugs in the bathroom... then this would not be a concern and it would be a great choice. I'm just always barefoot.

  • robo (z6a)
    9 years ago

    Used it in our shower as an accent, love it! Lots of grout to clean and needs to be installed with precision or you'll really notice the seams between sheets of tile.

    We used this mint green tile and it's very close to jadeite green or as I think of it in my head, 1930s green.

    Here is a link that might be useful: Light green tile from overstock

    This post was edited by robotropolis on Mon, Nov 17, 14 at 23:13

  • mtnrdredux_gw
    9 years ago

    ::: jumping up and down :::

    We used it in a powder room in the beachhouse. I just love it. I think it was exactly the same color as Robotropolos, but we got ours from a local showroom or Ann Sacks basicc, can't recall which.

    I will hunt for a photo!

    We also used it in a ming marble colorway in the girls' shower in the beachhouse.

  • mrspete
    Original Author
    9 years ago

    Hmmm . . . I can see the point about flooring. In that same vein, I've been considering pebble tile for the bathroom floor -- it comes in "real pebbles" vs. "flat pebbles". Has anyone had that?

    I also understand the comment about "love it in other people's houses". I could name a dozen things that fall into that category for me!

    On the wall, tile and grout don't have to be a nightmare to clean. RainX them 3-4 times a year, and no mold will grow on them.

    The green's nice, but I'm more of a blue person. I guess I'll say that the green is something I'd like in other people's houses!

  • robo (z6a)
    9 years ago

    Same tile in marine....beautiful color way as well.

    Actually here's a bathroom on houzz with both
    [ranch bathroom[(https://www.houzz.com/photos/mid-century-ranch-bathroom-remodel-midcentury-bathroom-dc-metro-phvw-vp~1280762)

    Here is a link that might be useful: Marine penny tile

    This post was edited by robotropolis on Tue, Nov 18, 14 at 17:42

  • mrspete
    Original Author
    9 years ago

    Yes, that blue is nice! I like the variation in shades. And at $65 to cover a 4'x 3' space . . . it's a bargain.

  • oakenacres
    9 years ago

    I loooove penny tile. We will be using it on our kitchen backsplash! Likely a glazed white with grey grout, unless I can find a "neutral" I like better.

  • kirkhall
    9 years ago

    I have penny round shell "tile".

    One thing is, the penny round is always on mesh. And, installers want a "good mesh" where all the tiles are spaced the same, and are the same depth. If they aren't, through no fault of their (the installer's) own, the tile job can look really bad. My installer told me a story of one install where he had to pick off every tile and hand-place it because they were so poorly spaced on the mesh backing...

  • mrspete
    Original Author
    9 years ago

    Hmmm . . . I understand perfectly what you're saying about "good mesh". I've been looking at these online, and in some pictures, you can see the "lines" that divide the 12" square meshes. That would drive me crazy.

    I have worked with a fantastic tile store in the past -- they have wonderful installers. I think the answer is NOT to skimp on quality installation.

  • pookapie
    9 years ago

    Mrs. Pete I think you and I have some similar thoughts/taste in design! I chose pebbles for the floor of our master shower and love them. The ones in the shower are not flat, and I like it that way - no, I don't feel like I'm hurting my feet on the bottom of a river bed. We also used the flat pebbles as a backsplash and a design element in another bathroom and really like it. Used sparingly I think it's timeless, as is penny tile.

  • oakenacres
    9 years ago

    I read somewhere that you have to be sure your installer is experienced with penny tile installation. Otherwise, you'll get that awkward spacing look mentioned above. In the instance I'm referencing, the homeowner had the same tile installed and then re-installed because the first job looked so bad. The second turned out beautiful. So in a lot of cases it might not be the quality of the mesh or tile as much as the quality of the installation, and installer's familiarity with the product.