Shop Products
Houzz Logo Print
shannon01_gw

show me your tile floor patterns that don't match up

Shannon01
15 years ago

Because of an odd turn my hall makes I am forced to have tile pattern transition at the end of one hall into another. I am doing a basket weave and there is a point where the two halls meet but the pattern will not match up. I am laying a decorative strip of tile to separate the two halls where they meet. I need to see how it looks, for real. Please show me where you have had to have two directions of tile meet. Hope this makes sense. Everyone says it will look fine, I have layed it out on paper, but to really see it will help.

Comments (12)

  • green-zeus
    15 years ago

    What is the configuration of the hallway? Is a "T" or an "L" or something else? Got a picture of it?

  • Shannon01
    Original Author
    15 years ago

    The hall is 4' wide and foyer is 6' wide. Halfway down the foyer the room takes a 120degree turn, not a 90 like normal houses, no mine has to take a weird turn. Kind of like a lawn chair that is reclined back a little. Makes matching the pattern impossible, therefore I need to have the two meet somethere. I was thinking where the foyer Ts into the hall after the foyer makes it's turn. Otherwise the foyer will be cut in half.

  • green-zeus
    15 years ago

    I see what you're facing there. Are you really tied into the basket weave pattern? If I was doing this, I would have considered different tile with a different pattern. Several years ago, I laid tile in a "T" shaped hall. The tiles were 12x12 and I was laying them diagonally. I started my layout in the hall coming from the foyer because your eye hits the floor right away when you're standing in the door. I married it to the rest of the hall and the center of the middle tile wasn't exactly in the center of the hall but with that pattern, you don't notice it.

    But back to your issue. I could see a real nice transition tile in the area where you're having a problem. You've probably seen these. They are about 3 or 4 inches wide and have many types of patterns. I've seen them with wildlife on them, mosaic, small stones,etc. I installed one of these in the doorway of 2 rooms, that have the same tile thickness, just for a decorative effect. I've also seen this treatment in some commercial installs. So you're on the right track. I can't see how you could go wrong. When people see that, DON'T tell them you did it just to make the tile transition. Tell them you did it because of your incredible style sense!!!

  • sweeby
    15 years ago

    My BIL laid tiles in my MIL's house and needed to make a complicated transition. He laid in what he called a 'shark tooth' pattern - a strip made of interlocking triangular pieces that he cut that looked just like shark teeth. Basically, you'd stop each basketweave section in a straight line, with the two straight lines parallel to each other at whatever angle looks best and maybe 6" apart. Then, from the same tile, you'd cut a series of isosceles triangles that are 6" tall (or however far apart your lines are), then lay them into the gap. It's hard to describe, but looked great.

    I tried seraching on Google but couldn't find anything. The alternating Blue & Terracotta triangles on the edge of this plaque show the general idea:
    {{gwi:1528212}}

    Another possibility would be setting your long tiles into a zigzagging pattern like this one:

  • Shannon01
    Original Author
    15 years ago

    Look what I found to show you....
    {{gwi:1528214}}

    This is original drawing. Not really basketweave. We are keeping the pattern the way it is in the foyer. But the hall, bath, laundry will not be that way. We will lay those areas in same pattern as foyer lengthwise if that makes sense. This way when you walk down the hall the tiles will be straight rather than diagonal. But this causes the two areas to clash. We thought of a decorative strip of small tiles to be across the foyer area that hit the hall. We are planning a "rug" in foyer that will have these same tiles as it's border.

    No matter how much I see it on paper I cannot imagine how it will really look 12x12. We also thought of having the change occur where the foyer takes that horrid turn, but I really want to keep the foyer looking as big as possible rather than making that half look like part of the hallway.

    Hope this helps.

  • momfromthenorth
    15 years ago

    Try this: Redraw your diagram with the tile in your foyer on the diagonal, starting at your front door. I wouldn't worry about the 120 degree turn in the front hall/foyer. Just keep tiling with it up to that other hallway. Then when you get to the hallway that goes from the family room to garage, I would put in a transition strip. Some tiles come with matching 4x12 tiles (you could cut them in half so they are 2x12). Or you could use a series of smaller matching 4x4 tiles for a transition strip. Or maybe try something fun, a smaller mosaic strip or marble strip. Then lay your tile square in that hallway, so it will be square going into the laundry room and bathroom.

    Hope that made sense to you ;)

  • sweeby
    15 years ago

    Is that the layout you're calling 'Basketweave'? Because it's not what I was envisioning at all. And you also said 12 x 12 tile. Is that your tile size?

    What I would do is get a sheet of graph paper and draw a tile plan in dark black marker using the regular square grids. Just 'tile' all over the entire sheet of graph paper.

    Then get a second sheet of graph paper, and on the same scale, draw only your walls and doorways.

    Then go to a bright window and set the walls over the tile and play with a mix of straight here, diagonal there to see if any single layout will look good in both spaces.

    If none of those look good, then make a couple photocopies of your 'tile' sheet and play with it in sections. You did say 120 degrees, right? Not 135 degrees (90 + 45)? Because it will make a big difference...

  • jerry_t
    15 years ago

    I'm failing to see why you can't match up everything using a running bond (offset) brick pattern? :)

  • Shannon01
    Original Author
    15 years ago

    The main issue is that no matter what type of pattern we lay, it starts out one way in the foyer then when it ends up in hall it is another direction. If we start a diamond pattern in foyer it ends up being square layout in hall, diamond in hall ends up square in foyer.

    We decided to do the stagger beginning in foyer, horizontal to the door. When we get to the turn in foyer we are laying a decorative strip of tile that will match the "rug" inlay we are doing. Then we will start the same stagger beginning at garage door, again horizontal to the door. Then you stand at the T in the hall and foyer and look into both rooms, you see the same horizontal pattern. We layed out the tile and the area where the strip divider will be looks pretty good. We are using multicolored slate with charcoal toned grout so the transition will not stand out as much as if we were to use a lighter grout. We start as soon as I finish up here. I will post pictures when done.

  • kob1234
    15 years ago

    Hello i add some patterns may be one of tham can help you

    Here is a link that might be useful: floor patterns

  • Shannon01
    Original Author
    15 years ago

    Thanks for the pattern ideas. A lot were nice but most would still end up turning a different direction when going from one area to the next.

    Sippimom- yes, I understood and that was a major thought we came up with. Another thought was to do the transition at the turn in the foyer.

    We ended up doing the staggered pattern as in my picture, but used a decorative strip of tile where the foyer takes the turn. This will allow the bath, laundry and hall (plus half the foyer) to have the same pattern. Then whether you enter the house from the front door, the garage door or the hall, the pattern always looks staggered.

    I really had a hard time imagining how this would turn out. But now that I actually have done the tile all the way to the turn in foyer, the decision looks good. I am spending so much time in awe of the gorgeous slate that I have not given a second thought to the pattern.

    We did a decorative rug in front of entry door. It is outlined by the same decorative tile we used in the divider strip. It looks really nice. I will post when this is all done.

  • buzzoo7
    15 years ago

    side note: jerryt is right to call it a running bond.