Software
Houzz Logo Print
purrus

Bathroom too white?

10 years ago

So, in the process of redoing a small master bath. The walls will be glossy white 4x8 subway tiles and the floors will be glossy white 2x2 hex tiles. I made this decision to save money; originally the floor was going to be tumbled white/grey marble but it was insanely expensive even for a small floor, so there goes any semblance of pattern or natural color to the room. One wall outside the shower will be tile as well but I am painting the other two walls Sherwin-Williams Amazing Gray. Grout will be whisper gray--I refuse to do white for sanity reasons .

My vanity is IKEA godmorgon glossy white (already purchased , store several hours away!!).

Mockup of floor and wall tile and vanity


I can obviously infuse more color through accessories though I have always been going for a more tonal, minimal, calm palette. I'm just not sure whether this is TOO white. Is it? Will I regret it?

Comments (32)

  • 10 years ago

    I love all white baths, such a clean spa like feel! My house still holds its orginal 1920 tile and it is hex with subway and although all the finishes are mostly white I do not look at it as a white bath. The walls, towels and shower curtain are blue so we always refer to it aa a blue bath. My subway tile does have a lovely art decoish black accent tile around the room which adds a bit of contrast but I think it would be just as lovely even without it.

  • 10 years ago

    We did the guest bath this past spring in white subway and white penny tile on the floor. Vintage white farmsink and white toilet. Chrome fixtures. I was too burnt out on picking tile etc and fell hard for the sink so we built a salvaged wood base for it and let it be the star of the bath. It turned out so good IMO. I have the option of all kinds of color for towels and accessories but just put in gray and white towels.

    I don't think you will regret all white at all. Sometimes colored tile is the first thing that dates a room. Certainly one of the most costly to change out over time.

  • 10 years ago
    last modified: 10 years ago

    Our daughter did her co-op in white porcelain marble like tile, white mosaic floor. All with white grout. It is stunning.

    If you look at your examples though, it looks like gray grout was used for the wall tiles and possibly the floor.

  • 10 years ago

    Awesome. I am so overwhelmed with choices and running out of time and stressed and just feel so pressured. So encouraging to read this!!!! So no need for any accent at all!! I'm gonna ditch any thought of an accent!!

  • 10 years ago

    Love all white baths but would probably paint semi gloss rather than gloss, just as easy to wipe off if needed. Like your idea of infusing color w/ accessories.

  • 10 years ago

    It will be lovely. Personally, I don't care for bathrooms that are not white. I think white = sanitary.

  • 10 years ago

    Oh I'm not painting gloss---going to paint semi gloss or satin. Tile is all gloss.

  • 10 years ago

    Don't think of it as "all white", it's " a tone on tone, muti-textured palette". Your whites will vary, your hex with contrasting grout adds a lot of texture. If you have a window consider a woven natural shade, which I would do in a very white tone. Sounds yummy!

  • 10 years ago

    Thank you!!

  • 10 years ago

    We just finished an all white bathroom and I love it, the walls are Fusion by C2 and the hex titles on the floor continue in the shower.

  • 10 years ago

    We did exactly what you are doing with our bath and loved the look. As you said, we warmed it up with art, towels, etc. The only issue I ever had was that the white floor showed every hair and piece of dust. Last year we were in the position of redoing it b/c of water damage from a broken pipe. We did everything the same, but I went with a bluey grey penny round floor tile just so that I wouldn't have to clean the floor daily. My other suggestion is to do a light grey grout rather than white because the white will become light grey soon enough, but not in a good way.

  • 10 years ago

    I am fine with all white. But penny tiles? That's a lot of grout lines to be cleaned. I would never voluntarily commit myself to that amount of cleaning.

  • 10 years ago

    I love white bathrooms. Clean and fresh. White towels too.

  • 10 years ago

    I like all white bathrooms also. I think it will look great. You can always add colorful accessories later if you want.

  • 10 years ago

    It will look great.

    Even though I'd never put glossy tile on the floors never mind how much grout line it has. But that's my own issues and safety concerns.

    In terms of looks-I really wouldn't worry. White bathrooms are as classy as they come(depending on where you live of course))

    Bring in some texture later on though, in your accessories..as in your inspiration pics.

    You can also add color later, if you'll feel you want it. And you'll have the whole rainbow to choose from)) But not as important as texture.

    (Texture can be anything..from a basket bin to a plant to a wooden stool to towels..the more the merrier)

  • 10 years ago

    What they all said! It will look beautiful.

  • 10 years ago

    My concern would also be the glossy tile on the floor, although small with lots of grout, it might still be slippery when wet.

  • 10 years ago

    chispa, i'd omit the word "might"..it will be slippery when wet

    but everybody has their level of comfort.

    I'd pick honed/matte tile, for the very least


  • 10 years ago

    Yes, good point. Maybe I better switch to matte.

  • 10 years ago

    matte grabs the dirt

  • 10 years ago

    Well..still better than if the dirt grabs me))

  • 10 years ago

    when I say "grabs" I mean grabs and never lets go. We had the glazed but not shiny hex tiles and they were easy to clean and not at all slippery. If you go for the true matte it will be a nightmare trying to clean them. One of our bathrooms had those and it was ridiculous. Our penny rounds are shiny, but with all the grout they aren't at all slippery, hexes would probably be the same.

  • 10 years ago

    Well, these are 2x2 hexes so not as small as pennies. So grout won't help the slippage so much. I'm not sure what to do. I don't want filthy looking tiles all the time though I am definitely using light gray grout because I cannot deal with white. Not sure whether to do matte or shiny at this point. I do prefer the look of shiny but I am clumsy as heck! Our bathroom is small though, so not a lot of space for me to walk much to slip.

  • 10 years ago

    Very pretty. Can you ever have too much white?

  • 10 years ago

    "when I say "grabs" I mean grabs and never lets go"-yes that's exactly what I meant too)) figuratively speaking

  • 10 years ago

    Sorry, my last response was confusing. From what I remember when we did our bathroom, you can get matte hex tiles that are glazed. These will be non slippery but won't attract/grab the dirt. Unglazed hex tiles will also be matte but they will grab the dirt. There are also glazed tiles that are glossy. These will be slippery. So what youre looking for are glazed matte hex tiles - best of both worlds. Don't floor tiles have a rating that tells how slippery they are? Maybe I dreamt that.

  • 10 years ago

    I didn't dream it! It's called dynamic coefficient of friction (DCOF). For wet areas, it is recommended that tiles have a DOCF of greater than 0.42. No idea how you go about finding out the DOCF of a tile.

  • 10 years ago

    It's usually in the description of the tile..well, at least on internet they always say it in the product description, with recommendation where to use it, etc, etc. I believe a store will have all this info too.

  • 10 years ago
    last modified: 10 years ago

    Sometimes the specs page for a tile will give you the DOCF. For a floor, it certainly matters. Even in a small space. Don't ask me how I know about small spaces (she says, eying her ankle...)

  • 10 years ago
    last modified: 10 years ago

    Since everyone is mentioning the floors. . . I really don't care for them. Somehow it reminds me of a hospital???? I can't even explain why and ignore me if you wish but I couldn't *not* say in case I could help to direct you away from it. I am far too lazy to clean it so maybe that is all my bias is.