White/off-white subway - grout color???

12 years ago

Hello there,

We are in the process of installing our second backsplash (long story - hated the first one in tumbled marble with a horrible grout color chosen by the contractor -- I'll post the full story later).

Fast forward to 6 months later after trying to live with the "dirty-looking" backsplash and not being able to -- tomorrow we're installing our white crackled finish subway tile backsplash. It's not bright white and it goes nicely with our cream cabinets and tan brown granite tile.

For those of you with white/off-white subway tile:

What color of grout did you choose? Would you please post a picture?

Your help is greatly appreciated. I really don't want to make the same mistake again, and all because of the wrong grout color. I'm not very picky. Believe me, it really looked horrible the first time around :-(

TIA!

Marci

Featured Answer

bunglogrl

12 years ago

Bill is right, of course. I made the mistake of using white grout with my white subways 18 months ago. The grout in the stove area is a yellowish color now. The grout is sealed, so I can easily scrub it back to sparkling white to match the rest of the room. But, who wants to scrub the dang backsplash grout every month? One of these days I'll go to work with the dremel, remove it, and apply the lovely soft gray grout that the guy at the tile shop originally recommended to compliment my marble. Why didn't I listen?

Comments (12)

bill_vincent
12 years ago
It depends. Do you want the tile to all bloend in together, or do you want to accent the tile pattern? If you want it to blend, then you want a grout that will match the tile. If you want to accent it, use a soft colored grout, either in a neutral color, or one to match other colors going into your kitchen. What's most often used is either a soft gray, or a light tan or bone color.
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Looks good! I was going to post a picture of my very light gray (the color was called pearl) tile with Delorean gray grout. It is still very distinctive. With white it would have been more of a contrast. I have lung issues that keep me from using aerosols and cleaners with bleach, ammonia, or strong cleanser smell. I broke down and bought the Force of Nature cleaning system. It takes water and an ampule of salt and vinegar and, using electricity in a special activator bottle, changes it into a safe antimicrobial cleanser. The solution is good for 14 days, then you make more if you have not used it up. While I was waiting for my contractor to come gut my bathroom, I left a bottle of dog shampoo sitting on the tub rim in the corner and it was there months. When I did pick it up to put away, the grout and silicon had gotten moldy. I sprayed on the Force of Nature water and let it sit, then came and wiped it with a paper towel. Without scrubbing, half the mold was gone from the caulk, and most from the wall grout. I use it in the covered trough drain in my new shower, and probably will start using it on my solid surface shower's silicon caulk where the floor and wall meets. It really does work well, and kills mold, bacteria, viruses, and other organisms on contact or with a little dwell time.I used it on the boards on the shady side of the porch floor, where green had covered the boards. In two applications, with 15 minutes dwell time and a little scrubbing with a scrub brush on a mop handle, it was all gone. I had to go fill a bucket with water to wash it all away. Spraying your tile with this (it has a light chlorine odor) will keep it looking great.
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coleen3201118
12 years ago
We have creamy white subways - used mapei silver after so many here recommended it. I really like it.

{{!gwi}}
jejvtr
12 years ago
I would agree w/Bill V (he's the expert, how can one not agree? ;) -
That said bunglogirl brings a valid pt - I would not put white grout in a kitchen or a floor -

this is Mapei siliver on white subways in master bath

this is tumbled crema marfil w/a close matching grout in kit backsplash

I would recommend, esp given your experience, to get a board apply some tiles w/different grout colors put it up in the kitchen & live w/it before you do the actual application

good luck
tresamores
Original Author
12 years ago
Thank you Bill and all who responded. I'll be going to the tile store in a few hours to choose the grout. I'll look at the gray, silver, and bone. Great idea about applying some grout colors to a board first.

Does anyone have any more pictures?

Thank you all!

Marci
claybabe
12 years ago
I just put a bathroom floor (yeah, well, someone else did the work, I just did the pattern!) with 1" hex unglazed in white. When the guy helping me said "I can grout tomorrow" I ran to Home Depot to see what sort of gray grout I could get, and the choices were pretty limited. The recommended-by-Bill in that brand was Platinum, and it would have been a special order. I went with a slightly darker grout and it thankfully dried light. I'll snag a photo when I go up to the house later today and post it, even though it's hex and not subway, if you like. I love the way the soft gray accents the tile, and I would have assumed, prior to the Bill/Mongo/Bath and kitchen forum experience, that I should have done white.
meg711
12 years ago
Our kitchen has amber accent tiles and amber and brown tones in our granite, so we didn't want to go gray although I think that looks great. Instead we used a grout in a color called linen. Sorry I don't know the brand. The grout actually looks darker IRL. We had seen some darker grouts but they took on a pinkish tone that we didn't like.
suska6184
12 years ago
This almost looks white, but actually it's a soft gray and we're happy with it.
soigne
12 years ago
Grout = Tec, Dove Gray
glad
12 years ago
thx for posting the thread -- i just assumed i'd do plain white if i do white subway, also! so many things to think about...

suska- what type of tile do you have? really like it. i'll probably go with the plain daltile rittenhouse square white white, but a stone look is also an option.
tresamores
Original Author
12 years ago
Thank you all. I chose "bone" from Polyblend. It has a little hint of gray in it, so I think it'll look nice against by tan brown (dark grey) countertops.

I'll post a picture of the project when it's done.

Thanks again!
Marci
lakrajago_yahoo_com
9 years ago
Hi

This msg is for meg711 for the pic above..what is that granite name? it looks really nice?

thx
Lak

White/off-white subway - grout color???

Comments (12)

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