Choosing Tile And Grout Colors

[Svenn]

We have to purchase a bunch of 24 inch by 24 inch floor tiles for a 280 square meter house and were wondering what the best color choice would be. I'd like to get an expensive bright white grout, with lots of antimicrobial sealant, since the whiteness of grout seems to invariably indicate the cleanliness of a place (in other words, I'd like to know immediately if the floor is clean or not). I've read that dark tile colors have the same effect- you can see dirt easily and thus if it's clean, you know the floor is thoroughly clean. Blue and green apparently make one feel cooler... does anyone have any recommendations or experiences?

[longball53098]

I guess if you research tile types and especially quality you will see some tile requires a larger grout line than others. I strongly vote for the no line or minimal line tile and use the best grout you can find. They have the anti-microbial additives I don't think the color will matter too much as the grout line will get dirty over time and discolor and the grout will need attention to clean it. I don't think this indicates a truly clean floor or not. If the tile is installed properly using the minimal grout line tile, and I mean properly that no one tile edge is higher or lower than the one next to it the grout lines will catch a minimal amount of dirt each time its swept or mopped. But even at that the lines will accumulate some dirt.I think cleaning person needs to be on their hands and knees at least once a year to clean the grout lines if you really want the grout to look clean. In the shower/bath area a sealer may need to be applied and still a thorough cleaning 2 or 3 times a year.

As for color of grout my guess is the darker colors will not show the dirt as much as the whites and light colors.

[fiddlehead]

From my experience (one house built for my Mother in law in Issan) I found that the colors that i liked (farang) are not anywhere close to what my Thai in-laws liked.

So, what i did was, i picked the colors for the kitchen, bathroom, and my bedroom and picked mostly earth tones. I think it came out great.

I let them pick the colors for the living room, hallway, 2 other bedrooms and outside area. They pretty much picked pink and bright colors to show it off. Difference seems to be that i want my colors to blend in with the environment, and they want them to show off their (my) wealth.

So, who are you trying to please in your color scheme? western or Thai?

As for grout, i'd pick a neutral color and not white or black.

Good luck.

[Svenn]

I strongly vote for the no line or minimal line tile and use the best grout you can find.

Has anyone tried the no line groutless method?

[Cuban]

Visiting a friend's new build recently he was most proud of the anti-slip granite based tiles he had had installed in the wet rooms. Color choice was a terracotta to maintain a darker hue in keeping with the suite.

In another house I was visiting a few days ago, the issue of hard water build up might be an factor to consider, their leaking tap looked like it was stolen from an old cave system somewhere.